BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Grand Canyon broke open a one-run ball game by scoring four times in the top of the ninth as the Antelopes defeated CSU Bakersfield 9-4 Saturday night.

Zach Malis' sacrifice fly scored Preston Pavlica in the top of the second to give the Antelopes an early lead.  Dustin Frailey's 10-pitch at-bat against GCU starter Jake Repavich resulted in a sacrifice fly that plated Drew Seelman to tie the score in the bottom of the third.

Thanks to the sixth CSUB wild pitch of the series, Grand Canyon put runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the fourth. Roadrunner starter Andrew Hansen battled GCU clean-up hitter Garrison Schwartz in a 10-pitch at-bat which culminated in a grounder hit to CSUB first baseman Max Carter. Carter threw home, getting the first out on Jake Ortega's tag of Austin Bull. Pavlica worked the Hansen count to 3-2 before his sac fly to right scored Paul Panaccione. Malis grounded out to second for the final out.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Dustin Frailey doubled to the right center gap with Ortega on first. The Roadrunners elected to send Ortega home to tie the game, but he was thrown out at the plate, keeping the Antelopes in the lead by one.

Bull and Panaccione posted back-to-back singles to begin the Grand Canyon sixth. Schwartz' sacrifice bunt advanced the runners a base. With the Roadrunner infield playing in, Pavlica's sac fly allowed Bull to score. Adam Coats relieved Hansen. His first batter was Greg Saenz who pinch hit for Malis. Saenz walked. Saenz attempted to steal second. During the rundown, CSUB committed two errors, the first that allowed Bull to score from third and push Saenz to third. Tyler Wyatt singled up the middle score Saenz. Pinch hitter Matt Haggerty struck out to close the frame.

Mahlik Jones and David Metzgar recorded back-to-back singles to lead off the Roadrunners sixth. Max Carter grounded out to second which allowed Jones to score. Metzgar advanced to third when Cody White grounded out to short. Sergio Robles singled to right to create a 5-3 game. Ryan Grotjohn singled to through the right side to keep the 'Runner inning alive. Seelman hit a shot into the right center gap which Schwartz track down and caught falling to his back to prevent any more CSUB damage.

Pinch-hitter Christian Deaton led off the CSUB seventh with a walk against Grand Canyon reliever Jake Wong. Frailey reached on an infield single. With runners on first and second, Jones laid down a successful sacrifice bunt which let both Deaton and Frailey to advance a base. Metzgar grounded out as Deaton scored on the play. Wong struck out Carter to end the inning.

Grotjohn walked with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and stole second. For the second consecutive inning, CSUB stranded the tying run in scoring position as Seelman lined out to center. Thomas Lerouge reached on a Roadrunner error with one out in the ninth. Bull singled up the middle to bring up Panaccione who was hit by a pitch. Schwartz doubled down the left field to plate two. Pavlica doubled to left center to score two more for a 9-4 game.  

Bull went 4-for-4 with a run scored. Bull and Panaccione combined for seven of the 13 Antelope hits. Pavlica drove in a total of four runs. Frailey went 2-for-4 with an RBI.  

CSUB (5-21, 0-5 WAC) and Grand Canyon (14-12, 3-2 WAC) conclude the series Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. Tickets are available through the CSUB Ticket Office at (661) 654-BLUE or tickets@csub.edu, or online at Vallitix.com. Coverage is also available online on the WAC Digital Network.

~www.GoRunners.com~