Buries makes Lopes walk-off winners again

Friday, March 11

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

9-5

San Diego

6-6

San Diego

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Alan Cisneros

3/11/2022 10:22:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Aguilar homers to tie in 8th; GCU rallies late from 5-3 hole

By: Jerob Moon

The Grand Canyon baseball team celebrated its second walk-off win of the week, a 6-5 thriller over San Diego at GCU Ballpark on Friday night.

On an 0-2 count in the bottom of the ninth, sophomore first baseman Elijah Buries laced a ball into the left-center gap. It deflected off the glove of the San Diego left fielder. Second baseman Jaxson Wall, who came into the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth, came around to score from first and proceed to celebrate with Buries and the rest of the team in left field.

"I got to two strikes there, and I was just trying to shorten up and not try to hit a home run," Buries said. "Luckily I was able put a good swing on it with two strikes and win us the game. The pitching staff gave us a chance and Tayler Aguilar's big home run in the eighth set us up pretty nice for the night."

The Lopes (9-5) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to aggressive at bats. In the frame, GCU collected a single by sophomore center fielder Homer Bush Jr. and back-to-back RBI doubles by Jacob Wilson and Aguilar each on the first pitch. San Diego (6-6) starter Garrett Rennie threw just 12 pitches in seven plate appearances.

GCU starter Nick Hull took the mound at Brazell Field for the first time since opening night and threw seven innings, a career-high and the most by a Lope this season. After GCU's three-run inning to start the game, the Toreros scored in three straight innings off Hull: a solo home run in the third, two two-run doubles in the fourth and a pair of fielder choice groundouts in the fifth to lead 5-3.

Despite the five runs, the senior righty allowed just five hits and had no walks with five strikeouts.

Junior reliever Eli Ankeney took over for Hull in the top of the eighth and was nearly perfect in the final two innings. The left-handed junior allowed two hits in the eighth but retired the final four batters he faced to keep the game tied heading to the bottom of the ninth.

"Nick Hull did a great job and Eli Ankeney did what he's been doing," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "It's been real impressive to watch his performance early in the year. He's tough, he attacks the strike zone and he's not afraid. So great job by him."

After the GCU offense went quiet in the middle innings, the Lopes were finally able to break through in the eighth inning when Aguilar launched a two-run home run to tied the game at 5-5. With one out in the inning and Buries on first, Aguilar crushed an offspeed pitch in the middle of the plate that just cleared the fence and the outstretched arm of San Deigo's Camden Vasquez.

In the ninth, Wall singled through the right side on a 2-2 count and after Bush Jr. strikeout, Buries stepped up the plate for the eventual winning double, the sixth extra-base hit of the night.

"Jaxson Wall coming off the bench and that's a good pitching staff we faced so great job by him to get that leadoff knock to get on first and give us a chance with Elijah," Stankiewicz added. "He put a great swing on the ball. That guy he faced I venture to say when it's all said and done will be one of the best arms on the west coast. Elijah put a good swing on it and great baserunning by Jaxson to score the winning run."

The Lopes and Toreros will meet tomorrow in the second game of the weekend series at 6 p.m.