Lopes Staying in Arizona for Tucson Regional
INDIANAPOLIS - Two days after winning the 2021 WAC Baseball Tournament, the Grand Canyon Lopes found out they will be heading down I-10 to Tucson to open the NCAA Baseball Tournament against in-state rival Arizona on Friday at 7 p.m. PT.
The Lopes (39-19-1) earned their first trip to the postseason after picking up wins over NM State, Sacramento State and UT Rio Grande Valley at the WAC Tournament. Junior right-hander Pierson Ohl was named both WAC Pitcher of the Year and WAC Tournament MVP and the Lopes bullpen didn't allow an earned run in tournament play.
GCU's opening round opponent won't be an easy one as the Lopes will take on fifth-seeded Arizona. The Wildcats, champions of the Pac-12, hold a 40-15 record, with two of those losses coming at the hands of WAC opponents in GCU and Dixie State.
The other first round game in the Tucson regional will feature UC Santa Barbara (39-18) and Oklahoma State (35-17-1). The Gauchos earned an at-large berth after finishing second in the Big West this season. The regional will mark just the second trip outside the state of California for UCSB this season.
The Cowboys fell in the Big 12 tournament title game, earning an at-large berth to this year's tournament. OSU and GCU faced off earlier this season with Oklahoma State picking up wins in the first two games before playing to a travel-curfew-caused draw in the series finale.
The winner of the Tucson regional will match up with the winner of the Oxford regional, hosted by Ole Miss and featuring the host Rebels, Southeast Missouri State, Florida State and Southern Miss.