Completed Event: Baseball versus San Diego State on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 7
Baseball
vs San Diego State
L 2-7
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Prominence of GCU Baseball evident at D-backs Alumni Game
7/11/2017 10:00:00 AM | Baseball
Alongside Arizona Diamondbacks' legends such as Louis Gonzalez, Matt Williams and Steve Finley, Grand Canyon head baseball coach Andy Stankiewicz was back on the Chase Field diamond for the club's annual Alumni Game on Saturday afternoon. It was the same turf that Stankiewicz graced some 19 years ago as a member of the inaugural Diamondbacks team in 1998.
"It's great to see all the faces that you played with and played against all those years," Stankiewicz said. "It's a great time to reminisce and catch up. The Diamondbacks always do an unbelievable job of taking care of us old-timers."
Stankiewicz, who appeared in 77 games in his lone season for the Diamondbacks, manned second base for the purple team in the split-squad affair.
While the focus of the day was the reunion and camaraderie of former teammates, the rising profile of GCU Baseball was evident prior to the game.
"I played as a collegian with Andy Stankiewicz," three-time MLB All-Star Mark Grace said. "He's doing a great job."
Without being prompted, two-time MLB All-Star Shea Hillenbrand and Grace each brought up the fact that the upcoming season will mark the first year of full-fledged Division I membership and postseason eligibility, pending final NCAA approval.
"The Lopes should be in a good position this year to go into that bracket to be able to play the big boys," Hillenbrand said. "It's really cool to see the buzz that's going on with GCU."
"Now GCU is postseason eligible so I know they'll be there," Grace echoed. "Keep up the good work, Andy. Keep up the good work, Thunder Dan, all you guys out there."
In a between-inning interview on the Chase Field video board, Stankiewicz got a chance to update the entire crowd on the latest around GCU.
"We're getting there. We're building it up," Stankiewicz told the crowd. "We'll be eligible for the postseason for the first time next year, so we feel good about the team coming back. The university is just blowing up. What all the sports programs are doing on campus is amazing. Our administration is great, the school is growing, and it's really a great place to be right now."
The baseball program has won the Western Athletic Conference regular season title outright in two of the last three seasons. With a combination of new freshmen and transfers and a largely-veteran squad returning, the Lopes will begin preparation in the fall for what is set to be their first postseason-eligible season beginning in February in a brand new on-campus ballpark.
"It's great to see all the faces that you played with and played against all those years," Stankiewicz said. "It's a great time to reminisce and catch up. The Diamondbacks always do an unbelievable job of taking care of us old-timers."
Stankiewicz, who appeared in 77 games in his lone season for the Diamondbacks, manned second base for the purple team in the split-squad affair.
While the focus of the day was the reunion and camaraderie of former teammates, the rising profile of GCU Baseball was evident prior to the game.
"I played as a collegian with Andy Stankiewicz," three-time MLB All-Star Mark Grace said. "He's doing a great job."
Without being prompted, two-time MLB All-Star Shea Hillenbrand and Grace each brought up the fact that the upcoming season will mark the first year of full-fledged Division I membership and postseason eligibility, pending final NCAA approval.
"The Lopes should be in a good position this year to go into that bracket to be able to play the big boys," Hillenbrand said. "It's really cool to see the buzz that's going on with GCU."
"Now GCU is postseason eligible so I know they'll be there," Grace echoed. "Keep up the good work, Andy. Keep up the good work, Thunder Dan, all you guys out there."
In a between-inning interview on the Chase Field video board, Stankiewicz got a chance to update the entire crowd on the latest around GCU.
"We're getting there. We're building it up," Stankiewicz told the crowd. "We'll be eligible for the postseason for the first time next year, so we feel good about the team coming back. The university is just blowing up. What all the sports programs are doing on campus is amazing. Our administration is great, the school is growing, and it's really a great place to be right now."
The baseball program has won the Western Athletic Conference regular season title outright in two of the last three seasons. With a combination of new freshmen and transfers and a largely-veteran squad returning, the Lopes will begin preparation in the fall for what is set to be their first postseason-eligible season beginning in February in a brand new on-campus ballpark.
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