Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, May 29
Mesa, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
39-19-1
5
vs
4
UT Rio Grande Valley
32-26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
1
1
5
8
1
UTRGV
0
0
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
4
5
2
Photo by: Billy Hardiman
GCU rally captures WAC tourney, NCAA berth
5/29/2021 9:19:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro
Lopes overcome 4-1 hole with 6 shutout relief innings; Stankiewicz wins No. 300 in style
MESA, Ariz. – Grand Canyon entered the next college baseball echelon Saturday night by winning the WAC Tournament and earning the program's first NCAA Division I tournament berth.
The Lopes completed a 3-0 tournament run and dogpiled in jubilation at Hohokam Stadium after scoring four unanswered runs for a 5-4 championship victory against UT Rio Grande Valley. GCU 10th-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz's 300th win was his most meaningful, putting the Lopes in the NCAAs on only their third WAC Tournament attempt since GCU Athletics became Division I.
GCU (39-19-1) won for the 25th time in the past 30 games by overcoming a 4-1 deficit with six innings of shutout relief pitching and a ninth-inning, championship-winning RBI single by freshman Tyler Wilson. The Lopes will learn their regional destination and opening opponent at 9 a.m. Monday.
The Lopes won a big part of Saturday's clincher in last year's recruiting. Three GCU freshmen collected a RBI. Three freshmen scored a run. Freshman pitcher Connor Markl set up the Lopes' second tournament comeback with 2 1/3 shutout innings of clutch relief.
"It's crazy that it's been 10 years that we've been trying to build it and we said, 'OK, let's build it so that when we're eligible, we're one of the top teams in the conference and a team that is fighting every year for a regional,' " Stankiewicz said after having a water cooler dumped on him by his son Dane, a senior, and Dustin Crenshaw, a freshman. "That's what is most encouraging. We've been able to do that with a great coaching staff and great young men that play together and believe in each other. I'm excited for them more than anything else."
The Lopes began their rally from a 4-1 hole in the sixth inning, tied the game in the eighth inning on Crenshaw's pinch-hit double and took the lead on his roommate's hit in the top of the ninth inning. GCU freshman first baseman Elijah Buries smacked a one-out hit past the shortstop and hustled it into a double, setting up Tyler Wilson to battle from an 0-2 count and send an outside change-up up the middle for a game-winning hit.
"It's the best feeling ever," said Wilson, the Chandler Hamilton High graduate who started because of an injury to junior Juan Colato. "To come through for the team like that in such a big situation, I can't even describe that. I'm happy. When it went through, I was hyped up, jumping, screaming and looking at my boys."
Lopes senior closer Frankie Scalzo set the Vaqueros down order in the bottom of the ninth inning, throwing heat up to 97 mph for two strikeouts, his GCU-record 12th save and the program's first WAC Tournament championship after five regular-season WAC titles.
Gloves and hats scattered across the Hohokam Stadium field as the Lopes piled onto each other at the mound, including Colato hopping with his left foot in a protective boot and riding junior teammate Nick Hansen's back to the mound.
"It's incredible for all of us," said GCU senior center fielder Brock Burton, who went 5 for 10 with two walks in the tournament and had been part of GCU's 2018 No. 1 tournament seed and 2019 tournament runner-up. "To get so close in 2019 and do it today for GCU and each other, it's an awesome feeling. We all looked each other, threw our gloves and sprinted to the dogpile."
After not scoring with two on and no outs in the first inning, the Lopes pushed across the game's first run in the top of the third inning after back-to-back, one-out singles from seniors Channy Ortiz and Burton to set up freshman third baseman Jacob Wilson scoring Ortiz on a grounder.
UTRGV responded by also scoring on a one-out grounder in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 1-1.
GCU senior starting pitcher Dawson McCarville had allowed three earned runs over 44 1/3 innings in his past nine appearances, but he exited in the fourth inning after loading the bases on walks with no outs. All three runners scored, giving the Vaqueros a 4-1 lead that stayed there because Ortiz made a diving stop at shortstop and threw to first to end the inning.
UTRGV used two of its usual starting pitchers, seniors Kevin Stevens and Max Balderrama Jr., who had beaten GCU in March. Both had thrown earlier in the tournament, but they kept GCU to one run until Lopes freshmen Tyler Wilson and Cade Verdusco drew back-to-back walks in the top of the sixth.
Tyler Wilson scored on an opposite-field, bloop single by sophomore right fielder Tayler Aguilar on a 1-2 count. Verdsuco scored two batters later when junior second baseman Jonny Weaver beat out a grounder to short, cutting the UTRGV lead to 4-3.
GCU senior reliever Coen Wynne pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings, but he needed help from Markl to get the last out for a two-on jam. Markl, a left-hander from nearby Notre Dame Prep, retired seven consecutive UTRGV batters with three strikeouts.
"We needed him in a big way and he did a fantastic job of keeping us in that ball game," Stankiewicz said of Markl.
GCU pitching coach Jon Wente told his staff that an unlikely hero would emerge in a key situation if the Lopes won the WAC Tournament. Markl had thrown 17 innings this season and might have only faced one batter Saturday night if he did not look so sharp. He only looked better as his outing continued, getting his second win of the season after beating Arizona State in April.
"I wanted to get the team fired up and see if we could win the ballgame," Markl said. "It's just the beginning for us. I believe we have a very bright future here. It was a great to be a part of this. Definitely a memorable moment."
Markl's work set up GCU's opportunity to tie the score in the top of the eighth inning, when Aguilar drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Crenshaw tied the game at 4-4 on his first tournament plate appearance. He roped an outside fastball for an opposite-field double, making him 5 for 8 this season as a pinch-hitter.
"Coach teed me up in the sixth and said, 'Get ready,' " Crenshaw said. "I just had to calm myself down throughout the innings. For the most part, I've been ready for that moment so not too much nerves. I've been seeing that moment for a long time now. I've been ready. I've been visualizing that moment to happen."
The relief work of Wynne, Markl and Scalzo helped keep UTRGV to five hits after the Vaqueros entered the game with 29 runs and 31 hits in its previous two WAC Tournament wins. The Lopes bullpen did not allow an earned run in 12 2/3 WAC Tournament innings.
The postgame celebration scene included Jude Buries, GCU freshman first baseman Elijah Buries' mother who surprised her son by attending a game for the first time since Feb. 21 and receiving stem cell treatment for multiple myeloma.
She saw Buries, the team's leading hitter at .365, slide head first over home plate to score the winning run for the first WAC Tournament No. 1 seed to win the championship and automatic NCAA regional berth since 2014.
"It's pretty special because a lot of work goes into it behind the scenes," Stankiewicz said of GCU Athletics' 11th conference championship of 2020-21. "That's the fun part. We feel like we have to keep up with everybody else at GCU. We can't lay off the gas. We've got to be part of this as well."
The Lopes completed a 3-0 tournament run and dogpiled in jubilation at Hohokam Stadium after scoring four unanswered runs for a 5-4 championship victory against UT Rio Grande Valley. GCU 10th-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz's 300th win was his most meaningful, putting the Lopes in the NCAAs on only their third WAC Tournament attempt since GCU Athletics became Division I.
GCU (39-19-1) won for the 25th time in the past 30 games by overcoming a 4-1 deficit with six innings of shutout relief pitching and a ninth-inning, championship-winning RBI single by freshman Tyler Wilson. The Lopes will learn their regional destination and opening opponent at 9 a.m. Monday.
The Lopes won a big part of Saturday's clincher in last year's recruiting. Three GCU freshmen collected a RBI. Three freshmen scored a run. Freshman pitcher Connor Markl set up the Lopes' second tournament comeback with 2 1/3 shutout innings of clutch relief.
"It's crazy that it's been 10 years that we've been trying to build it and we said, 'OK, let's build it so that when we're eligible, we're one of the top teams in the conference and a team that is fighting every year for a regional,' " Stankiewicz said after having a water cooler dumped on him by his son Dane, a senior, and Dustin Crenshaw, a freshman. "That's what is most encouraging. We've been able to do that with a great coaching staff and great young men that play together and believe in each other. I'm excited for them more than anything else."The Lopes began their rally from a 4-1 hole in the sixth inning, tied the game in the eighth inning on Crenshaw's pinch-hit double and took the lead on his roommate's hit in the top of the ninth inning. GCU freshman first baseman Elijah Buries smacked a one-out hit past the shortstop and hustled it into a double, setting up Tyler Wilson to battle from an 0-2 count and send an outside change-up up the middle for a game-winning hit.
"It's the best feeling ever," said Wilson, the Chandler Hamilton High graduate who started because of an injury to junior Juan Colato. "To come through for the team like that in such a big situation, I can't even describe that. I'm happy. When it went through, I was hyped up, jumping, screaming and looking at my boys."Lopes senior closer Frankie Scalzo set the Vaqueros down order in the bottom of the ninth inning, throwing heat up to 97 mph for two strikeouts, his GCU-record 12th save and the program's first WAC Tournament championship after five regular-season WAC titles.
Gloves and hats scattered across the Hohokam Stadium field as the Lopes piled onto each other at the mound, including Colato hopping with his left foot in a protective boot and riding junior teammate Nick Hansen's back to the mound.
"It's incredible for all of us," said GCU senior center fielder Brock Burton, who went 5 for 10 with two walks in the tournament and had been part of GCU's 2018 No. 1 tournament seed and 2019 tournament runner-up. "To get so close in 2019 and do it today for GCU and each other, it's an awesome feeling. We all looked each other, threw our gloves and sprinted to the dogpile."
After not scoring with two on and no outs in the first inning, the Lopes pushed across the game's first run in the top of the third inning after back-to-back, one-out singles from seniors Channy Ortiz and Burton to set up freshman third baseman Jacob Wilson scoring Ortiz on a grounder.
UTRGV responded by also scoring on a one-out grounder in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 1-1.
GCU senior starting pitcher Dawson McCarville had allowed three earned runs over 44 1/3 innings in his past nine appearances, but he exited in the fourth inning after loading the bases on walks with no outs. All three runners scored, giving the Vaqueros a 4-1 lead that stayed there because Ortiz made a diving stop at shortstop and threw to first to end the inning.
UTRGV used two of its usual starting pitchers, seniors Kevin Stevens and Max Balderrama Jr., who had beaten GCU in March. Both had thrown earlier in the tournament, but they kept GCU to one run until Lopes freshmen Tyler Wilson and Cade Verdusco drew back-to-back walks in the top of the sixth.
Tyler Wilson scored on an opposite-field, bloop single by sophomore right fielder Tayler Aguilar on a 1-2 count. Verdsuco scored two batters later when junior second baseman Jonny Weaver beat out a grounder to short, cutting the UTRGV lead to 4-3.
GCU senior reliever Coen Wynne pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings, but he needed help from Markl to get the last out for a two-on jam. Markl, a left-hander from nearby Notre Dame Prep, retired seven consecutive UTRGV batters with three strikeouts.
"We needed him in a big way and he did a fantastic job of keeping us in that ball game," Stankiewicz said of Markl.GCU pitching coach Jon Wente told his staff that an unlikely hero would emerge in a key situation if the Lopes won the WAC Tournament. Markl had thrown 17 innings this season and might have only faced one batter Saturday night if he did not look so sharp. He only looked better as his outing continued, getting his second win of the season after beating Arizona State in April.
"I wanted to get the team fired up and see if we could win the ballgame," Markl said. "It's just the beginning for us. I believe we have a very bright future here. It was a great to be a part of this. Definitely a memorable moment."
Markl's work set up GCU's opportunity to tie the score in the top of the eighth inning, when Aguilar drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Crenshaw tied the game at 4-4 on his first tournament plate appearance. He roped an outside fastball for an opposite-field double, making him 5 for 8 this season as a pinch-hitter.
"Coach teed me up in the sixth and said, 'Get ready,' " Crenshaw said. "I just had to calm myself down throughout the innings. For the most part, I've been ready for that moment so not too much nerves. I've been seeing that moment for a long time now. I've been ready. I've been visualizing that moment to happen."
The relief work of Wynne, Markl and Scalzo helped keep UTRGV to five hits after the Vaqueros entered the game with 29 runs and 31 hits in its previous two WAC Tournament wins. The Lopes bullpen did not allow an earned run in 12 2/3 WAC Tournament innings.
The postgame celebration scene included Jude Buries, GCU freshman first baseman Elijah Buries' mother who surprised her son by attending a game for the first time since Feb. 21 and receiving stem cell treatment for multiple myeloma.She saw Buries, the team's leading hitter at .365, slide head first over home plate to score the winning run for the first WAC Tournament No. 1 seed to win the championship and automatic NCAA regional berth since 2014.
"It's pretty special because a lot of work goes into it behind the scenes," Stankiewicz said of GCU Athletics' 11th conference championship of 2020-21. "That's the fun part. We feel like we have to keep up with everybody else at GCU. We can't lay off the gas. We've got to be part of this as well."
WAC Tournament MVP |
||
| Position | Player | School |
| Pitcher | Pierson Ohl, senior | GCU |
All-WAC Tournament Team |
||
| Position | Player | School |
| Second baseman | Andy Atwood, senior | UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Outfielder | Jack Bollengier, freshman | Sacramento State |
| Outfielder | Brock Burton, senior | GCU |
| Pitcher | Nestor German, freshman | Seattle U |
| Outfielder | Coleman Grubbs, senior | UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Pitcher | Nick Hull, senior | GCU |
| Pitcher | Chris Jefferson, senior | New Mexico State |
| Shortstop | Connor O'Brien, senior | Seattle U |
| Shortstop | Christian Sepulveda, senior | UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Second baseman | Jonny Weaver, junior | GCU |
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Markl, Connor (2-1)
L: Ariza, JC (0-4)
S: Scalzo, Frankie (12)
Batting:
2B: Buries, Elijah 1 ; Crenshaw, Dustin 1
RBI: Wilson, Jacob 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 1 ; Aguilar, Tayler 1 ; Crenshaw, Dustin 1 ; Weaver, Jonny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ortiz, Channy 1 ; Buries, Elijah 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 1 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Aguilar, Tayler 1
HBP: Burton, Brock 1
Batting:
2B: Sepulveda, Christian 1
RBI: Grubbs, Coleman 1 ; Atwood, Andy 1 ; Hirsh, Jacob 1 ; Sepulveda, Christian 1
SH: Alexander, Elijah 1
SF: Grubbs, Coleman 1 ; Hirsh, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ramirez, Diego 1 ; Alexander, Elijah 1 ; De La Cruz, Angel 1 ; Sepulveda, Christian 1
HBP: Atwood, Andy 1 ; De La Cruz, Angel 1 ; Sepulveda, Christian 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
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H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballGCU Baseball - WAC Tournament vs. Utah Tech - Highlights
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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