Tatrow launches 38th career homer in loss vs. GCU

ABILENE – Grayson Tatrow hit his second home run of the weekend, Tanner Tweedt drove in his 10th run of the weekend, but the ACU baseball team lost to Grand Canyon, 14-2, on Saturday afternoon in game two of the series. The Lopes (19-15, 10-7 WAC) scored in each of the first four innings, then scored six times in the eighth inning to break the game wide open, running away from the Wildcats (24-10, 9-6 WAC). Grand Canyon starter Daniel Avitia went the distance, tossing an eight-inning complete game against ACU, giving the Lopes their first-ever win in Abilene, evening up the series, and setting up the rubber match on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

How It Happened
- GCU got started in the top of the first inning, scoring a run with a double off ACU starter Breck Eichelberger. The Lopes scored one in each of the first two innings Saturday, opening up a 2-0 lead.
- ACU answered with the 38th career home run from Tatrow, a solo shot, to get the 'Cats on the board in the bottom of the second.
- GCU scored two in the third and two in the fourth to open up a 6-1 lead, forcing ACU to go to left-hander Luke Krkovski. The 'Cats would use five pitchers in total for the game.
- ACU's second and final run of the game came from a Tweedt single up the middle to plate Logan Britt to make it 6-2, but that's as close as the Wildcats would get.
- The Lopes got a two-run home run from Zach Yorke in the sixth, then used a six-run eighth that featured seven hits and 11 batters. It enforced the run-rule after ACU went down in the order in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Stat Pack
- The four hits for the 'Cats came from four different players: Tatrow, Tweedt, Britt, and Bash Randle.
- Tweedt drove in a run with a single, giving him 10 RBI for the weekend.
- Tatrow launched his 11th homer of the season, and his sixth solo shot.
- Eichelberger went 3.1 innings in the loss, his first of the season, allowing five earned runs on six hits with one strikeout.
- Krkovski went 3.1 innings in relief allowing two runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
- Brooks Gay, Rolando De La Cruz, and Adam Byrd all saw time in relief as well.

Beyond the Box Score
- Tatrow has hit 38 home runs in his ACU career, the most anyone has ever hit in any era in a Wildcat uniform. Tatrow has hit the 38 in less than three total seasons since joining ACU in 2021.

On Deck
- The rubber match is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at The Crutch. Right-hander Austin Glaze (2-0, 7.26 ERA) is projected to get the ball for the Wildcats against LHP Zach Thornton (5-1, 2.81 ERA) for GCU.