Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Mathew McGraw
Fall ball crowns Camp Canyon champ
10/31/2020 5:08:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro
Brown hits grand slam in title game; Burton, Barnes top awards
The beauty of the Grand Canyon fall baseball league, Camp Canyon League, was that champions would emerge from somewhere.
With the pandemic-canceled spring season swelling the roster, the Lopes were deep enough with pitchers that they were able to play a three-team intrasquad league with two weekly games for each.
It culminated into Saturday, when the thrill of competition and camaraderie looked like May as the Gray Dolphins stormed Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark twice – for a go-ahead grand slam by sophomore outfielder Hayden Brown and for the clinching out that earned Camp Canyon League championship T-shirts.
After finishing second in the 10-game season, the Gray Dolphins received six RBIs from Brown to beat Men in Black 5-2 and the Purple Cobras 6-4.
Brown, a graduate of Buckeye (Ariz.) Verrado High School, capped a Game 1 win with a two-run single and then was presented an unlikely opportunity in Game 2 when a pair of two-out hit batsman and a walk brought him up.
Facing senior left-hander Jack Schneider, the left-handed hitter had been working on pulling the ball less and smashed an opposite-field home run over the tall left-center field wall.
"That was one of the most electric moments I've had on the baseball field," said Brown, who was doused with a cooler of ice water by senior Brayden Merritt after the game. "It reminds me of why I love it every single day and why I'm out here working.
"It was an amazing feel. I was floating around the bases. When I rounded third and saw my team, I ran hard because I wanted to be with them."
Brown got the Saturday spotlight for a live-streamed playoff doubleheader, but senior Brock Burton won the Camp Canyon League Hitter of the Year by hitting .372 with three home runs, four doubles and 15 RBI in 11 games.
"You see him maturing as a hitter," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "He's starting to understand what the pitcher is trying to do. He's in the middle of the field better."
Burton emulates former Lopes outfielder Kona Quiggle, who played sparingly for his first two seasons but had a breakthrough fall and season as a junior to get drafted.
"I put a lot of time and effort into the time-off quarantine and took a step back and looked at my swing," said Burton, a Phoenix Desert Vista High School graduate. "I tried to cut out some weaknesses that I saw over my first three years at GCU and make it as efficient and consistent as possible. If you can be consistent, you have a shot to be really good."
Another senior, right-hander Zach Barnes, showed why he was the Camp Canyon Pitcher of the Year on Saturday. With hopes of developing into a starter, the Chandler (Ariz.) High School graduate has added a change-up to his low-90s fastball and slider under new GCU pitching coach Jon Wente.
Barnes' added strength allowed him to pitch consistently for five innings Saturday, allowing only two hits in the title game for the Purple Cobras for a fall ERA of 1.23.
"I finally felt like everything came together," Barnes said. "All three pitches mixed. I had good command. That was a good way to end the fall."
Camp Canyon also awarded Rookie of the Year to freshman Jacob Wilson, a Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton High School graduate who hit .486 this fall, and the Gold Glove went to senior Channy Ortiz, a Glendale (Ariz.) Apollo High School graduate.
The GCU pitching staff shined with Barnes, Pierson Ohl, Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis, Nick Hull and Coen Wynne.
"I like the way the veteran pitching staff came along this fall," Stankiewicz said. "We felt coming in that it was probably going to be the strongest part of our team and that's held true from what we've seen this fall."
With the pandemic-canceled spring season swelling the roster, the Lopes were deep enough with pitchers that they were able to play a three-team intrasquad league with two weekly games for each.
It culminated into Saturday, when the thrill of competition and camaraderie looked like May as the Gray Dolphins stormed Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark twice – for a go-ahead grand slam by sophomore outfielder Hayden Brown and for the clinching out that earned Camp Canyon League championship T-shirts.
After finishing second in the 10-game season, the Gray Dolphins received six RBIs from Brown to beat Men in Black 5-2 and the Purple Cobras 6-4.
Brown, a graduate of Buckeye (Ariz.) Verrado High School, capped a Game 1 win with a two-run single and then was presented an unlikely opportunity in Game 2 when a pair of two-out hit batsman and a walk brought him up.
Facing senior left-hander Jack Schneider, the left-handed hitter had been working on pulling the ball less and smashed an opposite-field home run over the tall left-center field wall.
"That was one of the most electric moments I've had on the baseball field," said Brown, who was doused with a cooler of ice water by senior Brayden Merritt after the game. "It reminds me of why I love it every single day and why I'm out here working.
"It was an amazing feel. I was floating around the bases. When I rounded third and saw my team, I ran hard because I wanted to be with them."
Brown got the Saturday spotlight for a live-streamed playoff doubleheader, but senior Brock Burton won the Camp Canyon League Hitter of the Year by hitting .372 with three home runs, four doubles and 15 RBI in 11 games.
"You see him maturing as a hitter," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "He's starting to understand what the pitcher is trying to do. He's in the middle of the field better."
Burton emulates former Lopes outfielder Kona Quiggle, who played sparingly for his first two seasons but had a breakthrough fall and season as a junior to get drafted.
"I put a lot of time and effort into the time-off quarantine and took a step back and looked at my swing," said Burton, a Phoenix Desert Vista High School graduate. "I tried to cut out some weaknesses that I saw over my first three years at GCU and make it as efficient and consistent as possible. If you can be consistent, you have a shot to be really good."
Another senior, right-hander Zach Barnes, showed why he was the Camp Canyon Pitcher of the Year on Saturday. With hopes of developing into a starter, the Chandler (Ariz.) High School graduate has added a change-up to his low-90s fastball and slider under new GCU pitching coach Jon Wente.
Barnes' added strength allowed him to pitch consistently for five innings Saturday, allowing only two hits in the title game for the Purple Cobras for a fall ERA of 1.23.
"I finally felt like everything came together," Barnes said. "All three pitches mixed. I had good command. That was a good way to end the fall."
Camp Canyon also awarded Rookie of the Year to freshman Jacob Wilson, a Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton High School graduate who hit .486 this fall, and the Gold Glove went to senior Channy Ortiz, a Glendale (Ariz.) Apollo High School graduate.
The GCU pitching staff shined with Barnes, Pierson Ohl, Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis, Nick Hull and Coen Wynne.
"I like the way the veteran pitching staff came along this fall," Stankiewicz said. "We felt coming in that it was probably going to be the strongest part of our team and that's held true from what we've seen this fall."
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballGCU Baseball - WAC Tournament vs. Utah Tech - Highlights
Thursday, May 22
Baseball at Stanford - Barreras' game-winning double
Saturday, May 10
Baseball vs. Arizona (5/6/25) - Yorke homers twice to break record
Wednesday, May 07
GCU Baseball - Eli Paton walk-off single vs. UTA
Saturday, April 26