Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Avitia follows brother; ace further builds GCU
6/2/2022 10:00:00 AM | Baseball, Paul Coro
Growing up 2 miles from campus, pitcher ranks among nation's top freshmen
While head coach Andy Stankiewicz was building a budding but bona fide baseball program at Grand Canyon, a west Phoenix home within 2 miles of campus was becoming one of the rise's greatest contributors.
At the Avitia house, the two eldest of three brothers, Abel and David, smashed two water bottles inside a plastic bag and tightly taped it. It was their version of a baseball to play with neighborhood friends and their little brother, Daniel.
"David would always beat me and I'd get so mad and start crying," said Daniel, who would run inside their home to tell their mother, Emma Duarte, that his older brothers were beating him up … with home runs. "I'd throw a ball as hard as I could and he'd always hit it. That's basically when I started liking pitching, though. He'd ask if I wanted to hit and I'd say, 'Nah, I want to pitch.' "
But Daniel was not showing the promise of who he has become – the WAC Pitcher of the Year as a GCU freshman. As a chip off the block of GCU's neighborhood and his family, Daniel will start Friday when his 41-19 Lopes face Arkansas in an NCAA regional opener at Oklahoma State.
Lanky Daniel was not built like stout David, a starting catcher for GCU from 2018 to 2021. Even as David began his Lopes career, Daniel was a successful pitcher less than a half-mile away from GCU Ballpark at Alhambra High School with a low-80s fastball that did not resemble his mid-90s heat of this season.
"I wouldn't get out of bed," Daniel said of his early teens. "I would be kind of lazy every day until he came up every day and said, 'Let's go. We're going to go work out and throw.' I was just like, 'OK.' Ever since then, it's been the model that you have to work hard for this. It's not just gifted to you, so every day I would come with it."
In the summer before his senior year, Daniel and David went into the alley behind their house's backyard for enough of a strip to throw. The pop of Daniel's live arm felt different to David, who had caught GCU pitchers for three years by that point.
At Daniel's next club baseball game, his fastball touched 90 mph. A weekend later, he was hitting 92 and 93 on the radar guns. Suddenly, his goals of being a community college player were upgraded with GCU quickly becoming the first of several Division I scholarship offers.
"Me, my dad (Abel) and my older brother (Abel II) sat him down and said, 'You see what you do when you actually work at something, have a little fun and just work your body?' " said David, who is a student assistant coach for Stankiewicz this season. "Now, he takes it a lot more serious and he gets his body ready. Now, he's throwing at GCU, just shoving and doing his thing."
His thing developed quickly at GCU, where he pitched in relief for three games before becoming part of the starting rotation. With a three-pitch mix, Avitia attacks batters with fervor and carries the confidence that helped him lead underdog Alhambra past the state's No. 1 team, Chandler Hamilton, in high school playoffs last year.
"He's always been very aggressive on the mound," Stankiewicz said. "He's one of those young men that attacks the strike zone. He's got a great fastball, change-up and slider and he'll use any of them in any count."
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander is 8-4 with opponents hitting .220 against him for a 3.59 ERA (3.20 since those first two relief appearances). With his three-quarter delivery slot, Daniel ranks second nationally among freshmen for strikeouts with 107 in 82 2/3 innings.
"When I would look at GCU, I would say, 'Hopefully, one of my kids could come here one day, but I felt like it was too much to ask for,' " Abel, their father, said in Spanish.
The Avitia sons not only grew up in the shadows of GCU, but their father helped form those shadows. He was part of the construction crew on GCU Arena in 2010 and 2011.
The Avitias marveled at Brazell Field's gold benches and wound up in a newer version, 4-year-old GCU Ballpark, that symbolizes the ascension of the program to a national top-25 ranking and second consecutive regional visit.
"Since they were little, I would tell them, 'Just pick a sport,' " Abel said. "I just didn't want them to be out on the streets doing drugs or painting the streets. When I saw they starting winning more and more trophies, I felt like we were doing something right."
And doing something for GCU, which formed a partnership to help raise Alhambra High School's academic performance years before the baseball bond was formed with the Avitias.
As an outstanding defensive catcher, David started 124 games from 2018 to 2021 for GCU, played on two WAC regular-season champions and helped the Lopes make their first NCAA Division I tournament trip last year.
"Nerveracking," David said of his switched role for this year's regional team. "I get more nervous than Danny does when he goes out to pitch. I always get excited watching everyone pitch, but moreso Danny because he is my brother."
Daniel's interest in baseball turned into a passion. Dedicated workouts, after never lifting weights until his Alhambra senior year, strengthened his 190-pound frame. More potential growth in strength and pitching ability lies ahead in a promising future that affirms his decision to join GCU after the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the 19th round.
"I've learned a lot," Daniel said. "I mainly learned how to throw my game. David told me that I needed to learn how to throw my game and how to throw each pitch in each count and know how to pitch against bigger teams."
Even with a strong schedule that helped GCU earn an at-large bid, the competition and stage hit another level this week with GCU facing Arkansas on Friday and either host Oklahoma State or Missouri State on Saturday in a double-elimination regional.
Just as they are built different physically, Daniel and David differ in personality. After GCU had the steady, stoic ways of David handling the plate for four years, Daniel is working the plate with performances fueled by his emotion and the game setting. In his last three starts, he has 34 strikeouts in 20 innings with only five walks.
"I like throwing everything out there, all my emotions," Daniel said. "I feel like I'm mainly better when I'm mad out there. I start throwing harder and everything comes out better.
"I like being in that big moment. I embrace it. I like to be the guy who helps the team in those big moments."
At the Avitia house, the two eldest of three brothers, Abel and David, smashed two water bottles inside a plastic bag and tightly taped it. It was their version of a baseball to play with neighborhood friends and their little brother, Daniel.
"David would always beat me and I'd get so mad and start crying," said Daniel, who would run inside their home to tell their mother, Emma Duarte, that his older brothers were beating him up … with home runs. "I'd throw a ball as hard as I could and he'd always hit it. That's basically when I started liking pitching, though. He'd ask if I wanted to hit and I'd say, 'Nah, I want to pitch.' "But Daniel was not showing the promise of who he has become – the WAC Pitcher of the Year as a GCU freshman. As a chip off the block of GCU's neighborhood and his family, Daniel will start Friday when his 41-19 Lopes face Arkansas in an NCAA regional opener at Oklahoma State.
Lanky Daniel was not built like stout David, a starting catcher for GCU from 2018 to 2021. Even as David began his Lopes career, Daniel was a successful pitcher less than a half-mile away from GCU Ballpark at Alhambra High School with a low-80s fastball that did not resemble his mid-90s heat of this season.
"I wouldn't get out of bed," Daniel said of his early teens. "I would be kind of lazy every day until he came up every day and said, 'Let's go. We're going to go work out and throw.' I was just like, 'OK.' Ever since then, it's been the model that you have to work hard for this. It's not just gifted to you, so every day I would come with it."
In the summer before his senior year, Daniel and David went into the alley behind their house's backyard for enough of a strip to throw. The pop of Daniel's live arm felt different to David, who had caught GCU pitchers for three years by that point.
At Daniel's next club baseball game, his fastball touched 90 mph. A weekend later, he was hitting 92 and 93 on the radar guns. Suddenly, his goals of being a community college player were upgraded with GCU quickly becoming the first of several Division I scholarship offers.
"Me, my dad (Abel) and my older brother (Abel II) sat him down and said, 'You see what you do when you actually work at something, have a little fun and just work your body?' " said David, who is a student assistant coach for Stankiewicz this season. "Now, he takes it a lot more serious and he gets his body ready. Now, he's throwing at GCU, just shoving and doing his thing."His thing developed quickly at GCU, where he pitched in relief for three games before becoming part of the starting rotation. With a three-pitch mix, Avitia attacks batters with fervor and carries the confidence that helped him lead underdog Alhambra past the state's No. 1 team, Chandler Hamilton, in high school playoffs last year.
"He's always been very aggressive on the mound," Stankiewicz said. "He's one of those young men that attacks the strike zone. He's got a great fastball, change-up and slider and he'll use any of them in any count."
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander is 8-4 with opponents hitting .220 against him for a 3.59 ERA (3.20 since those first two relief appearances). With his three-quarter delivery slot, Daniel ranks second nationally among freshmen for strikeouts with 107 in 82 2/3 innings.
"When I would look at GCU, I would say, 'Hopefully, one of my kids could come here one day, but I felt like it was too much to ask for,' " Abel, their father, said in Spanish.
The Avitia sons not only grew up in the shadows of GCU, but their father helped form those shadows. He was part of the construction crew on GCU Arena in 2010 and 2011.
The Avitias marveled at Brazell Field's gold benches and wound up in a newer version, 4-year-old GCU Ballpark, that symbolizes the ascension of the program to a national top-25 ranking and second consecutive regional visit.
"Since they were little, I would tell them, 'Just pick a sport,' " Abel said. "I just didn't want them to be out on the streets doing drugs or painting the streets. When I saw they starting winning more and more trophies, I felt like we were doing something right."
And doing something for GCU, which formed a partnership to help raise Alhambra High School's academic performance years before the baseball bond was formed with the Avitias.
As an outstanding defensive catcher, David started 124 games from 2018 to 2021 for GCU, played on two WAC regular-season champions and helped the Lopes make their first NCAA Division I tournament trip last year.
"Nerveracking," David said of his switched role for this year's regional team. "I get more nervous than Danny does when he goes out to pitch. I always get excited watching everyone pitch, but moreso Danny because he is my brother."
Daniel's interest in baseball turned into a passion. Dedicated workouts, after never lifting weights until his Alhambra senior year, strengthened his 190-pound frame. More potential growth in strength and pitching ability lies ahead in a promising future that affirms his decision to join GCU after the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the 19th round."I've learned a lot," Daniel said. "I mainly learned how to throw my game. David told me that I needed to learn how to throw my game and how to throw each pitch in each count and know how to pitch against bigger teams."
Even with a strong schedule that helped GCU earn an at-large bid, the competition and stage hit another level this week with GCU facing Arkansas on Friday and either host Oklahoma State or Missouri State on Saturday in a double-elimination regional.
Just as they are built different physically, Daniel and David differ in personality. After GCU had the steady, stoic ways of David handling the plate for four years, Daniel is working the plate with performances fueled by his emotion and the game setting. In his last three starts, he has 34 strikeouts in 20 innings with only five walks.
"I like throwing everything out there, all my emotions," Daniel said. "I feel like I'm mainly better when I'm mad out there. I start throwing harder and everything comes out better.
"I like being in that big moment. I embrace it. I like to be the guy who helps the team in those big moments."
GCU Baseball - WAC Tournament vs. Utah Tech - Highlights
Thursday, May 22
Baseball at Stanford - Barreras' game-winning double
Saturday, May 10
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