Utah Tech fell victim to a seventh-inning Grand Canyon power surge as the Trailblazers dropped the second game of their WAC weekend series to the Lopes, 10-4, on Saturday night at the GCU Ballpark.
 
The Trailblazers (9-29/4-13 WAC) drew first blood in the second when Blake Borgogno cashed in a pair of lead-off singles with a two-out hit to left field to plate Chase Rodriguez and Zach Thomas with the game's first runs.
 
GCU threatened to tie or take the lead in its half of the frame with two hits of its own and an error to load the bases. 
 
However UT southpaw Carston Herman (ND) would turn the Lopes away as he struck out Elijah Buries for the first out, then got Josh Buckley to roll in to an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam.
 
Utah Tech tacked on another run in the third on a wild pitch, while Herman made that lead stand by retiring nine of the next 10 Lopes he faced to send the game to the sixth.
 
GCU (22-17/13-7 WAC) spoiled the potential shutout bid in the sixth when the Lopes led off the frame with consecutive singles and managed to push both base runners across to trim the deficit to 3-2.
 
The Blazers got one of those runs back in the seventh on a double steal, only to see the Lopes strike for eight runs after the stretch to bolt out to a commanding 10-4 advantage.
 
GCU loaded the bases with one out in the home seventh, and Jacob Wilson unloaded them with a grand slam over the left field wall. The Lopes later tacked on two more runs on a Maxwell Andeel two-out blast to left, while a Blazer error extended the inning and allowed the Lopes to score two more runs on a bases-loaded wild pitch.
 
Utah Tech mounted one last charge in the eighth when a GCU error loaded the bases with two outs, but Lope reliever Connor Markl got Mathew Ivancich to fly out to deep right center to end the frame. GCU then retired the Blazers in order in the ninth to clinch the series win.
 
The Trailblazers lost despite outhitting GCU 11-10, with Thomas, Ethan He and Cayden Clark each collecting two hits apiece. Meanwhile Shane Taylor also saw his career-long hit streak end 18-straight games.
 
Herman pitched into the seventh, which marked the longest outing of his collegiate career. The sophomore struck out four and allowed four runs on eight hits, but he did not figure in the decision. 
 
Utah Tech will look to salvage the final game of the series on Sunday beginning at 12 noon (PT).