Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, May 14
Stephenville, Texas
11 a.m.
Grand Canyon
31-17-1, 0
16
at
7
Tarleton
20-32, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
0
0
0
1
0
3
1
5
6
16
18
0
Tarleton State
1
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
3
7
13
2
Lopes' bats come to life late
5/14/2021 4:05:00 PM | Baseball
GCU collects 15 runs, 14 hits in final 4 innings
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Grand Canyon faced a 4-1 deficit with one out and the bases empty in the sixth inning. But the Lopes promptly flipped the script by tying the game in the sixth and tacking on 12 more runs in the final three innings to rout Tarleton 16-7 in the series opener on Friday.
In the final four innings, GCU (31-17-1, 24-5 WAC) totaled 15 unanswered runs on 14 hits, including five home runs. In the first five innings, the Lopes were held to one run on four hits by Tarleton (20-32, 13-20 WAC).
"We just tell the guys, 'You don't panic. We have a nine-inning game,' " Lopes head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "We didn't have great at bats early, but our at bats got stingier. We had more grit. We were getting deeper in the count, and we were able to put together some good swings late. You're not always going to get out of the gate real well. We have to keep reminding ourselves it's a nine-inning game. Just come back in here and keep working and stay on it."
GCU remaines tied with California Baptist (32-13, 24-5 WAC) for first place in the WAC after the Lancers won 10-4 at New Mexico State on Friday.
The Lopes' Friday game at Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex had a very similar feel to the last time GCU opened a road WAC series. Much like two weeks ago at Sacramento State, the Lopes faced an early deficit before using five home runs to run away with a win. That game featured two-home run games from Brock Burton and Channy Ortiz, while Friday's win over the Texans featured two-homer games from Jonny Weaver and Elijah Buries.
"I think that's part of what we preach," Stankiewicz said. "We can't be a front-runner team, where we just play well when we get out in front. We're not always going to get out in front. We're playing good teams. I think that's part of our identity. Don't worry about the score. Just play for one. I think that's what we did well. Jonny Weaver and Elijah Buries put some good swings together late to get us moving a little bit. Just be patient. No panic."
Tarleton was in control 4-1 in the sixth before the Lopes had the game tied in a near instant. Senior catcher David Avitia hit a sacrifice fly to right to score freshman right fielder Cade Verdusco, while an errant throw on the play also allowed Burton to score. Having pulled within a run, Weaver tied the score on his first home run.
Buries, a freshman first baseman, hit a one-out home run to give GCU its first lead in the seventh. From that point on, the Lopes did not look back. GCU tacked on five runs on four hits in the eighth and six runs on five hits in the ninth. Weaver, a junior second baseman, and Buries both homered again in the eighth, while Verdusco made it a three-homer inning with a two-out solo shot.
Weaver, Buries and Verdusco ran their home run tallies to three, five and three, respectively. By game's end, every GCU starter recorded a hit.
Lopes freshman outfielder Homer Bush Jr. recorded the first base hit of his career in his home state. The Southlake, Texas, native singled and drove in a run in the ninth.
GCU junior starting pitcher Pierson Ohl surrendered three runs in the first two innings but persevered to post a six-inning start that netted him his eighth win.
In relief, senior right-hander Nick Hull posted two key scoreless frames while GCU's lead was still fragile. He entered with a tight 5-4 lead and helped hold Tarleton's bats quiet while the Lopes' pulled away on the offensive end. Hull has pitched 14 scoreless innings in his past seven relief appearances.
"Nick Hull was terrific," Stankiewicz said. "That was a big part of the game, coming in there and getting us two shutout innings. That was a momentum swing right there. Then, we start swinging the bats and putting some good swings together. I'm really proud of Nick. That's what he's been doing real well so far. It was a nice, stay-on-it comeback."
GCU had not hit five home runs in a game since 2010, but the Lopes now have done it twice in a span of two weeks. The Lopes set their season high with 16 runs, the most in a game since scoring 25 against Xavier on March 16, 2019.
The Lopes and Texans will play a Saturday doubleheader with first pitch moved an hour earlier to 10 a.m. (Phoenix time).
In the final four innings, GCU (31-17-1, 24-5 WAC) totaled 15 unanswered runs on 14 hits, including five home runs. In the first five innings, the Lopes were held to one run on four hits by Tarleton (20-32, 13-20 WAC).
"We just tell the guys, 'You don't panic. We have a nine-inning game,' " Lopes head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "We didn't have great at bats early, but our at bats got stingier. We had more grit. We were getting deeper in the count, and we were able to put together some good swings late. You're not always going to get out of the gate real well. We have to keep reminding ourselves it's a nine-inning game. Just come back in here and keep working and stay on it."
GCU remaines tied with California Baptist (32-13, 24-5 WAC) for first place in the WAC after the Lancers won 10-4 at New Mexico State on Friday.
The Lopes' Friday game at Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex had a very similar feel to the last time GCU opened a road WAC series. Much like two weeks ago at Sacramento State, the Lopes faced an early deficit before using five home runs to run away with a win. That game featured two-home run games from Brock Burton and Channy Ortiz, while Friday's win over the Texans featured two-homer games from Jonny Weaver and Elijah Buries.
"I think that's part of what we preach," Stankiewicz said. "We can't be a front-runner team, where we just play well when we get out in front. We're not always going to get out in front. We're playing good teams. I think that's part of our identity. Don't worry about the score. Just play for one. I think that's what we did well. Jonny Weaver and Elijah Buries put some good swings together late to get us moving a little bit. Just be patient. No panic."
Tarleton was in control 4-1 in the sixth before the Lopes had the game tied in a near instant. Senior catcher David Avitia hit a sacrifice fly to right to score freshman right fielder Cade Verdusco, while an errant throw on the play also allowed Burton to score. Having pulled within a run, Weaver tied the score on his first home run.
Buries, a freshman first baseman, hit a one-out home run to give GCU its first lead in the seventh. From that point on, the Lopes did not look back. GCU tacked on five runs on four hits in the eighth and six runs on five hits in the ninth. Weaver, a junior second baseman, and Buries both homered again in the eighth, while Verdusco made it a three-homer inning with a two-out solo shot.
Weaver, Buries and Verdusco ran their home run tallies to three, five and three, respectively. By game's end, every GCU starter recorded a hit.
Lopes freshman outfielder Homer Bush Jr. recorded the first base hit of his career in his home state. The Southlake, Texas, native singled and drove in a run in the ninth.
GCU junior starting pitcher Pierson Ohl surrendered three runs in the first two innings but persevered to post a six-inning start that netted him his eighth win.
In relief, senior right-hander Nick Hull posted two key scoreless frames while GCU's lead was still fragile. He entered with a tight 5-4 lead and helped hold Tarleton's bats quiet while the Lopes' pulled away on the offensive end. Hull has pitched 14 scoreless innings in his past seven relief appearances.
"Nick Hull was terrific," Stankiewicz said. "That was a big part of the game, coming in there and getting us two shutout innings. That was a momentum swing right there. Then, we start swinging the bats and putting some good swings together. I'm really proud of Nick. That's what he's been doing real well so far. It was a nice, stay-on-it comeback."
GCU had not hit five home runs in a game since 2010, but the Lopes now have done it twice in a span of two weeks. The Lopes set their season high with 16 runs, the most in a game since scoring 25 against Xavier on March 16, 2019.
The Lopes and Texans will play a Saturday doubleheader with first pitch moved an hour earlier to 10 a.m. (Phoenix time).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ohl, Pierson (8-1)
L: Poe, Zach (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Aguilar, Tayler 1
3B: Colato, Juan 1
HR: Buries, Elijah 2 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Weaver, Jonny 2
RBI: Colato, Juan 2 ; Buries, Elijah 4 ; Aguilar, Tayler 2 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Bush Jr., Homer 1 ; Avitia, David 1 ; Merritt, Brayden 1 ; Weaver, Jonny 3
SF: Avitia, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ortiz, Channy 1 ; Wilson, Jacob 1 ; Colato, Juan 2 ; Buries, Elijah 3 ; Aguilar, Tayler 1 ; Verdusco, Cade 2 ; Burton, Brock 2 ; Avitia, David 1 ; Weaver, Jonny 3
SB: Ortiz, Channy 1
HBP: Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Avitia, David 1
PO: Ortiz, Channy 1
Batting:
HR: Rivera, Kemuel 2 ; Frew, Dean 1 ; Hamilton, Reed 1
RBI: Raburn, Wade 2 ; Rivera, Kemuel 3 ; Frew, Dean 1 ; Hamilton, Reed 1
SH: Seltzer, Colby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fowler, Tyler 1 ; Rivera, Kemuel 2 ; Groves, Ian 1 ; Frew, Dean 2 ; Hamilton, Reed 1
CS: Raburn, Wade 1
PO: Raburn, Wade 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
3
H
4
RBI
4
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
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