GCU returns to road for Dixie State series

Friday, April 8

St. George, Utah

5 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Dixie State

4/7/2022 4:05:00 PM | Baseball

GCU Notes DSU Notes

Lopes return to St. George for 1st time since winning NCAA D-II West Regional in 2013

By: Josh Hauser

April 8-10 \| Brurce Hurst Field \| St. George, Utah

	DIXIE STATE TRAILBLAZERS (14-14, 8-4 WAC)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (20-11, 10-2 WAC)

PITCHING PROBABLES

Friday, April 8 • 5 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Live Stats • Watch
RHP Brett Porthan (5-1, 5.21) vs. RHP Nick Hull (2-1, 2.25)

Saturday, April 9 • 1 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Live Stats • Watch
RHP Dillon Holliday (2-4, 5.20) vs. RHP Daniel Avitia (3-3, 1.64)

Sunday, April 10 • 11 a.m. (Phoenix time)
Live Stats • Watch
RHP Ryan Hardman (2-1, 4.88) vs. LHP Connor Markl (5-1, 3.75)

Grand Canyon returns to conference action with a three-game set at Dixie State beginning on Friday night. The Trailblazers are tied with California Baptist for second place in the WAC West Division, two games back of the Lopes.

The Lopes will journey north to St. George, Utah, for the first time since 2013. In its last visit, GCU went 5-1 in the NCAA Division II West Regional to punch a ticket to the D-II National Championships under second-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz.

All three games of the series will be streamed on ESPN+.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

THE SWEEP: In the context of opponent ranking, GCU is coming off its best series victory in program history. The Lopes took a pair of games from No. 4 Texas Tech at GCU Ballpark, winning Tuesday's series opener 9-4 and Wednesday's series finale 8-7. Sophomore first baseman Tyler Wilson and sophomore third baseman Dustin Crenshaw each had three-RBI hits in the game to help GCU win comfortably in Game 1. The Lopes homered three times on Wednesday to build a large lead and absorbed a five-run Texas Tech ninth inning to sweep the series.
THE PITCHING: After posting a 3.00 ERA in two games against one of the nation's top offenses, the Lopes cracked the top 30 in team ERA. GCU's WAC-leading ERA sits at 3.71. In conference games, it's an even more impressive 1.83 with WAC opposition batting just .207 off the Lopes. Freshman right-hander Daniel Avitia leads all individuals with an overall ERA of 1.64.
THE ROAD: Having just wrapped its longest homestand of the season, GCU faces a road-heavy section of the schedule. The weekend's three-game series at Dixie State begins a stretch of 12 road games in a 15-game span.

SCOUTING

Dixie State enters the weekend riding the momentum of a midweek victory over BYU to bounce back from being swept by Cal Poly in nonconference action last weekend.

The Trail Blazers have won all four of their WAC series 2-1 including home matchups with Utah Valley and New Mexico State and road visits to Seattle U and Sacramento State.

Dixie State is in its second season of a four-year transition to the D-I level.

WHAT'S NEXT

For the first time this season, the Lopes will be off from midweek action. But next weekend's conference series against California Baptist begins a day early with the opener set for 6 p.m. on Thursday at GCU Ballpark.

For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view game notes and click here to view the media guide.