GCU returns entire starting rotation with big-hitting Bess
By: Paul Coro
No matter the roster losses, Grand Canyon baseball keeps racking up wins.
GCU boasts the winningest program in WAC play over the past three years with an eye-popping 57-18 conference record. As another Lopes season begins Friday night with a series against No. 22 Oklahoma State at GCU Ballpark, a Lopes team that sent four more draftees to the pros last year is built to sustain the success of last season's 36 wins.
The lineup returns junior Cuba Bess, who ranked 43rd nationally for on-base percentage (.476) last season, but GCU's strength lies in a fully restored yet bolstered pitching staff. The preseason WAC favorite brings back last season's starting rotation of senior Kade Mechals, freshman Pierson Ohl and junior Jack Schneider, who combined to go 21-8 with a 2.81 ERA last season.
With a schedule loaded by seven opponents who qualified for last year's NCAA tournament, the Lopes rotation is equipped better than ever to compete in challenging mid-week games. GCU's
Andy Stankiewicz
recruiting class, ranked 30th nationally, added a pair of Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor High School products in right-handed junior Dawson McCarville (via Glendale Community College) and left-handed freshman Cal Lambert. Like Mechals (40th round), McCarville (30th round) passed on signing professionally to play for the Lopes this season.
"There are five legitimate starters who can go out and compete on a weekly basis," GCU ninth-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "Kade has earned the right to be one of the top pitchers. Pierson had a great year last year as a freshman and we feel he's going to keep growing and getting better. Jack just knows who he is. He doesn't try to overpower everybody. He's going to pitch and mix up his pitches well and keep hitters off-balance."
Mechals, the Friday night starter, is the most heralded as one of six pitchers in the nation named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America first team. He shared the national lead for regular-season wins (11) last season with only one loss while positing a 2.16 ERA and a .193 opponent batting average.
"We're an older, much more confident staff," Mechals said. "With the addition of Hawk (new pitching coach Blake Hawksworth), we've built on our strengths and attacked our weaknesses. We're going to be really good this year.
"We're going to have a true mid-week starter or two. We're going to have a ton of depth, which is absolutely crucial for WAC Tournament and postseason time."
The Lopes staff has bullpen depth too with junior Frankie Scalzo joining Mechals and Ohl on the Preseason All-WAC team after finding his niche in long relief last season. Scalzo's ERA was 3.12 in bullpen work, including a 1.29 ERA over his final 12 appearances of his first GCU season.
"We're throwing strikes," Stankiewicz said. "We're throwing down in the zone. We're pitching to contact. That's who we've got to be."
Cuba Bess
GCU lost six regulars from its regular batting order but returns its leading hitter, Cuba Bess. The left-handed hitter batted .341 last season with 11 home runs, 18 doubles and 40 RBI in 182 at bats for a .632 slugging percentage. Following an injury redshirt season, Bess' breakout season helped the Lopes reach the WAC Tournament championship round that ended in a pair of one-run losses.
"It puts an extra chip on the shoulder, especially with the upperclassmen," Bess said. "It left a bitter taste in our mouths to do our thing in nonconference this season and keep doing it in conference. We're going to keep our head down and focused on what the goal is."
Junior Brock Burton, the team's second-leading returning hitter, is adapting well and making smart reads in his move to center field as part of an all-new outfield. That group could include sophomore Jake Jarvis, left-handed hitting freshman Tayler Aguilar, speedy freshman Ty Sifferman, South Mountain Community College transfer Juan Colato and Phoenix College product Dominic Grissom.
Colato, an El Salvador native, is coming off an injury season but hit .383 as a freshman.
"Colato is an X-factor, strong and fast, but a little bit raw," Stankiewicz said. "He can play third and left and he's one of the fastest guys we've got. He's in the lineup because he's dynamic with strength and speed."
Sophomore Jonny Weaver, who started 26 of the final 27 games at shortstop last season, returns but may be at third base with junior shortstop Channy Ortiz coming back to the program after a season of every-day play at Yavapai College enhanced his game IQ and strengthened his body.
Junior Drew Smith moves into second base for GCU after being named the Division II junior college player of the year for hitting .465 at Northeast Community College in Nebraska. Sophomore Nick Hansen gives the Lopes a big presence at first base at 6 feet 4 and 225 pounds.
Senior Dane Stankiewicz also offers a left-handed bat as a utility infielder and GCU benefited from the persistence of Phoenix College transfer Dominic Grissom, an infielder who pushed for a fall walk-on chance and earned a roster spot and playing time.
The Lopes are solid behind the plate with junior catcher David Avitia, who came from nearby Alhambra High School and became one of the nation's best defensive catchers. He threw out 18 of 36 potential base stealers last season and called games for a team ranking in the nation's top 20% for team ERA.
"I'm hoping that David will surprise some people offensively," Stankiewicz said. "His offense has gotten better. He's starting to impact the ball. He's using the field. He's older and smarter."
GCU will look different offensively after ranking fourth in the nation last season for doubles per game (2.47). The Lopes will be more of a contact hitting club to put pressure on defenses.
This weekend's series with Oklahoma State is the first of three opponents who were NCAA Super Regional teams last season. The schedule also includes visits from Arizona State and Arizona, two of five Pac-12 opponents. The Lopes will play series at Arkansas, Baylor and Stanford.
"I really think we're closer to being able to take two out of three on a weekend," Stankiewicz said. "That's how you build notoriety.
"We've got to get our guys comfortable with competing against big arms who are first-rounders, third-rounders and fifth-rounders. We've got to get comfortable winning a 3-2 game, a 5-4 game, a 4-3 game. Those are the games you have to win in the playoffs."
It starts Friday night with Mechals taking the hill before an expected sold-out crowd at 4,000-seat GCU Ballpark. He faces an Oklahoma State team that won 40 games last year and adds a recruiting class that was ranked third in the nation.
"That's what I play for," Mechals said. "It's going to be a lot of fun to get after it and compete. I don't care if they're ranked. I'm just going to go out and attack."
