No. 7 Stanford cools GCU

Friday, April 22

San Diego, Calif.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

26-13

Stanford

22-11

Grand Canyon

Stanford

4/22/2022 4:21:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Cardinal ace keeps Lopes to 1 run over 8 innings

By: Paul Coro

SAN DIEGO – After going 3-1 against top-10 teams this season, Grand Canyon is not sneaking up on college baseball powers any longer.

No. 7 Stanford was ready and waiting for the Lopes with their pitching staff ace and big bats to back him in an 11-1 win on Friday at Tony Gwynn Stadium. GCU (26-13) will return to the park for a 6 p.m. nightcap against host San Diego State, which it beat 7-2 on Thursday night with sophomore pitcher Carter Young getting the start.

The Lopes will get a rematch with Stanford at 1 p.m. Saturday and look to fare better than Friday's result, when a 1-0 start quickly flipped on them and cooled off the team's run of nine wins in the last 10 games.

Cardinal senior righthanded ace Alex Williams had not allowed an earned run in his previous three starts, but GCU got on the scoreboard first Friday when sophomore outfielder Cade Verdusco's hot bat carried over from Thursday night's three-hit game. In the top of the second inning, Verdusco sent a 1-2 pitch up the middle to score sophomore first baseman Elijah Buries, who had GCU's only multi-hit game against the Cardinal.

Stanford took the lead back in the bottom of the second, when Lopes freshman starter Daniel Avitia hit the first two batters after also plunking a batter in the first inning. Avitia struck out the next batter but allowed three RBI hits before he could escape the inning with Stanford ahead 4-1.

Avitia entered the game as the WAC leader in ERA at 2.09 but allowed more than three earned runs in a game for the first time this season. Stanford added two runs in the third, which opened with the first of freshman Braden Montgomery's two leadoff home runs. Avita threw a perfect fourth but allowed the second leadoff Montgomery home run in the fifth, which ended with an 8-1 Cardinal lead when Buries made a diving catch to end another threat.

Williams allowed one earned run and struck out five batters in eight innings with seven hits allowed, which was more than he had allowed in his previous two starts combined (five) against Arizona State and UCLA.

GCU stranded eight by going 3 for 16 when runners were on base. It was only the third one-run game of the season for the Lopes, who have not been shut out this season. The Lopes did not make an error in consecutive games for the second time this month (also at Dixie State).