Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 25
Sacramento, Calif.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
at
Sacramento State
Photo by: Gary Breedlove
Key WAC series awaits in Sacramento
3/24/2022 10:10:00 PM | Baseball
Perennial conference contenders meet for 3-game set
March 25-27 | John Smith Field | Sacramento, Calif. |
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SACRAMENTO STATE
HORNETS (10-10, 2-4 WAC)
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vs. |
GRAND CANYON
LOPES (14-8, 6-0 WAC)
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PITCHING PROBABLES |
| Friday, March 25 • 6 p.m. Live Stats  • Watch RHP Eli Saul (2-0, 2.81)  vs.  RHP Nick Hull (1-1, 3.21) |
| Saturday, March 26 • 6 p.m. Live Stats  • Watch LHP Noah Lucchesi (0-3, 4.76)  vs.  RHP Daniel Avitia (2-2, 1.46) |
| Sunday, March 27 • 12 p.m. Live Stats  • Watch RHP Colin Hunter (1-1, 4.39)  vs.  LHP Connor Markl (4-1, 3.46) |
The WAC's two most recent NCAA tournament representatives meet for a three-game set when Grand Canyon faces Sacramento State at John Smith Field beginning on Friday.
The Lopes are coming off of their first stretch of back-to-back days without a game since March 2-3, having played 14 times in the last 19 days entering the series.
All three games of the series will be streamed on ESPN+.
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THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- WEEKLY WAC SWEEP: In a week that featured games at No. 5 Oregon State and a home series against Utah Valley, the Lopes swept the WAC Hitter and Pitcher of the Week awards. Sophomore shortstop Jacob Wilson was named the nation's top hitter by several publications after going 18 for 23 (.783) with four doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs. Freshman right-handed pitcher Daniel Avitia made a Saturday start against Utah Valley and tossed 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, racking up a career-high 11 strikeouts in a win.
 - TROPHY TEAMS: Grand Canyon and Sacramento State represent two of the WAC's top programs. The Hornets won the 2014 regular-season crown and have three tournament titles to their name. GCU has won four regular-season titles since re-joining the WAC and won the 2021 tournament. Combined, the programs have gone 259-124 (.676) in conference play since 2014.
 - NATIONAL RANKS: The Lopes offense has come to life of late and has joined its pitching in national rankings. GCU is 10th nationally in hits and 20th in doubles. Wilson ranks second nationally with 41 hits and fifth with 34 RBIs. GCU's pitching ranks fifth in fewest walks per inning and seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio.
SCOUTING
Sacramento State has had an up-and-down 2022 campaign thus far. The Hornets began the season 7-0 including an impressive sweep at then-No. 6 Long Beach State to debut in the top-25 rankings. The club has gone just 3-10 since, dropping series to Houston Baptist, Dixie State and Seattle U.
The Hornets are once again led by 12th-year head coach Reggie Christansen who has twice been named WAC Coach of the Year and has claimed three conference championships.
Familiar foes, Sacramento State and GCU have met in the last three WAC tournaments. The Lopes finally broke through for a lopsided postseason win against the Hornets in 2021 after Sac State claimed the first three tournament meetings. GCU won three of four at John Smith Field in the regular season.
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WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lopes return home for a season-long six-game homestand at GCU Ballpark beginning with Arizona on Tuesday.Â
For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view game notes and click here to view the media guide.
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Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
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