TEMPE, Ariz. – The Wichita State University baseball team split a pair of games on Saturday, Feb. 16, in the Angels College Classic at Diablo Stadium, downing Grand Canyon, 8-7, before dropping a 5-4 contest to fifth-ranked Stanford. 

The Shockers (1-2) won't have long until their next game, as they are slated to play the Pepperdine Wave Sunday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m. MT in their final game of the Angels College Classic. 

In Wichita State's victory over the GCU Lopes (2-1), six Shockers recorded at least two hits. Senior Mason O'Brien went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while Ross Cadena added a pair of hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Jordan Boyer and Luke Ritter both doubled and drove in a run, and Alex Jackson and Hunter Gibson each had two hits, respectively. 

Junior right-hander Preston Snavely (1-0) earned his first victory of 2019 after allowing two earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks in six innings of work, while redshirt sophomore left-hander Alex Segal secured his first career save after tossing a scoreless eighth and ninth inning with a walk and three strikeouts. 

Wichita State plated six of its eight runs in the opening four innings of the game. Cadena opened the scoring for the Shockers in the top of the first, belting a double to left field that drove in Jacob Katzfey and Ritter, who hit back-to-back one-out singles to get on-base. 

Grand Canyon answered with a run in the bottom-half of the first to cut the lead to 2-1, but a Jackson triple to right field plated Gibson in the top of the second, building the Wichita State lead back to two runs at 3-1. 

WSU ballooned its lead to 6-1 with a trio of runs in the top of the fourth. Boyer drove in the first run of the frame on an RBI double to left, before Ritter blasted a ground-rule double to right-center that pushed Boyer across home plate for another run. Katzfey provided the final run of the inning, plating Ritter on a single to right field. 

The Shockers added two more runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings, and led 8-1 before Grand Canyon mounted a furious rally. 

The Lopes scored two in the sixth, one in the seventh and three in the eighth to cut the Wichita State lead to one run, 8-7, heading to the ninth inning. 

After Wichita State failed to plate a run in the top-half of the frame, GCU's first two batter's reached base in the bottom of the ninth via an infield single and walk. Segal kept the Lopes from crossing home plate though, getting a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to seal the win for WSU. 

Tyler Wyatt and Pikai Winchester each collected a pair of hits and drove in a run, leading Grand Canyon in the batter's box. 

Frankie Scalzo (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up six earned runs on 13 hits with one strikeout in 3 2/3 innings. 

In the night cap setback against the fifth-ranked Stanford Cardinal (2-0), Ritter went 2-for-3 at the plate and hit his first homer of the season to lead the Shockers offensively.

Sophomore reliever Liam Eddy (0-1) was the tough luck losing pitcher in the contest after he surrendered just one earned run on five hits with three walks and no strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. 

The Cardinal took a 1-0 lead after plating a run in the top of the first on a Shocker error, before Wichita State answered with a run of its own in the bottom-half of the inning, tying the contest, 1-1, on Katzfey's sacrifice fly. 

WSU took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the bottom of the second. Boyer got the scoring started after he powered an RBI triple to right that plated Paxton Wallace, who led-off the inning with a single, before Jackson placed a single through the left side, scoring Boyer for the second run in the inning. 

Stanford answered though, and scored three runs in the top of the third to regain the advantage, 4-3. 

The Shockers didn't go away, however, and tied the contest, 4-4, after Ritter hammered a 2-2 pitch over the left-center wall in the bottom of the fifth. It was his first home run of the season. 

The Cardinal took back the lead with a run in the top of the seventh, and kept Wichita State off the scoreboard the remaining two innings, to securing the victory. 

Will Matthiessen went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and an RBI, and Andrew Daschbach added a double and Maverick Handley had a triple, leading Stanford at the plate. 

Cardinal reliever Cody Jensen (1-0) earned the win on the mound after allowing no earned runs on just one hit with three strikeouts in two innings, while consensus preseason first-team All-American closer Jack Little tallied his second save of 2019 after tossing two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.