Rocky topple: Lopes renew rise, upset No. 2 Vols

Saturday, February 18

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-0

Tennessee

0-2

Tennessee

Grand Canyon

2/18/2023 9:45:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Cooper-Vassalakis, Avitia shut out Tennessee for 4 1/3 innings in front of 4,457 fans

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon is a baseball program that envisions venturing beyond the levels that it hit with two straight NCAA regional visits, and the Lopes skyrocketed there Saturday night.

The Lopes treated an overflow GCU Ballpark crowd of 4,457 fans to a hallmark 4-3 upset victory over mighty Tennessee in the MLB Desert Invitational.

The Volunteers stepped into a raucous environment with a No. 2 national ranking, a projected 2024 No. 1 draft pick on the mound and on the heels of a 2022 season in which it led the nation in home runs and ERA … but Tennessee left with a loss as an MLB Network audience saw another steppingstone for a rapidly rising national threat.

"We really prepared for this moment," GCU junior shortstop Jacob Wilson said. "It's pretty special to be a part of that win. This is something I'll cherish pretty much forever. I got tears of happiness after that game. I'm so proud of our guys. We're not scared of anybody."

With senior Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis and sophomore Daniel Avitia tossing 4 1/3 shutout innings, GCU scored a run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to wipe out a 3-1 hole when junior right fielder Cade Verdusco's two-out, infield single scored sophomore first baseman Eli Paton with the go-ahead run.

The Lopes put on a thorough display of defensive fundamentals in an error-less performance and savvy hitting that squeezed four runs out of six hits and four walks.

"It's the second game of the year, but tonight felt like a regional," Gregg Wallis said of his second game as GCU head coach after nine years as an assistant. "This is something Coach (Andy) Stankiewicz instilled in this program. If you play good baseball with the players we have, we have a chance to beat anyone."

GCU's scoring started where it did in Friday's season-opening 12-4 win against UC San Diego at Salt River Fields. For the second consecutive day, MLB Draft top-10 prospect Jacob Wilson tripled on an 0-2, first-inning pitch. This time, it put GCU ahead 1-0 after senior second baseman Zack Gregory's walk, one of five base on balls in his two Lopes games after transferring from Arkansas.

"The guy on the mound is going to pitch in the big leagues, and the guy in the plate is going to play in the big leagues," Wallis said of Wilson facing right-hander Chase Burns, who hit 98 mph on Saturday. "It was a great battle, and Jacob did what he does. He stayed on a nasty slider. We think it was a slider. He got to third, and said, 'I don't even know what that was.' That's what good hitters do. He stayed on the pitch, shot it down the line and gave us a scoring opportunity early. We needed that. We needed to settle into the game to know we can do this."

After junior starting pitcher Connor Markl gave GCU 4 2/3 innings with a 93-pitch outing, the Lopes trailed 3-1 once Cooper-Vassalakis navigated a nine-pitch at bat to strand a Volunteer runner in scoring position.

Gregg Wallis

"For him to not have his best stuff and hold the No. 2 team in the country to three runs and give us a strong start, that shows how good he is and I think he's got a chance to have a special year," Wallis said.

GCU cut the lead to 3-2 in the fifth with Paton sparking his team with a one-out double to the opposite-field corner off Burns, who went 8-2 last season with a 2.09 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings for a 57-9 team last year.

Paton moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a deep sacrifice fly to center by junior third baseman Dustin Crenshaw.

An inning later, the Lopes tied the game when Wilson hit a leadoff infield single, took second on a wild pitch and scored when junior left fielder Elijah Buries bunted and the Volunteers committed one of three errors on the throw.

GCU's other ace, sophomore right-hander Danny Avitia, took the mound to start the seventh inning after not being able to start the game because of an ankle injury. Wallis went to him in the sixth inning and told the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year to put the ball down and relax.

When he entered in the seventh, Avitia used his change-up and pitch location effectively to keep the game tied with an inning-ending double play, setting up GCU to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Paton drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on redshirt freshman catcher John Sheehan's sacrifice bunt. Verdusco hit a two-out infield single up the middle and Tennessee shortstop Austin Juslove's throw to first popped up to let Paton race home for a 4-3 run and a celebration with the Havocs section.

The most serious threat on Avitia came in the eighth, when he issued a lead off walk but helped himself with two fly-ball outs before Verdusco helped even more. Pinch-hitter Dylan Dreiling singled, but Verdusco scooped it cleanly in shallow right and easily threw out Zane Denton at third with a laser throw.

"That fired me up," Avitia said. "An electric arm. Unreal. The kid rakes."

Cade Verdusco

Verdusco noticed the ball was wet when he picked it up.

"I was licking my chops a little bit when I saw him rounding second base," said Verdusco, who was moved to right field by Wallis because his arm could be a weapon against base-runners.

Avitia threw a seven-pitch perfect ninth inning to cap his three shutout innings and earn the win to set off a celebration that topped beating No. 4 Texas Tech last season.

Among GCU's six hits, Wilson and Verdusco each went 2 for 4.

"We didn't even play our best baseball team tonight and we still found a way to scratch out a dub," Verdusco said. "You got to give it all to Wally (Wallis). He works his tail off. He's building a relationship with every single player. He's making sure everybody trusts him, and he trusts us. When you are going to battle for a guy who really cares for you, it's just a lot different. The camaraderie with this team is something I haven't seen yet."

GCU already had pulled off a victory before the game started with a full house, picturesque sunset and the raves of MLB Network broadcasting a Lopes win for a second day in a row at the MLB Desert Invitational. The Lopes play Michigan at 5 p.m. Sunday in Mesa at the Chicago Cubs' Sloan Field before facing Michigan State at 11 a.m. Monday at GCU Ballpark, where Saturday's crowd included standing-room-only rows in the ballpark and three levels of the neighboring parking garage lined with spectators.

"What a baseball environment – probably one of the best-kept secrets in all of college baseball," MLB Director of Baseball and Softball Development Chuck Fox said. "Thanks to GCU, Jamie Boggs, their athletic director. They've welcomed us with open arms. Just an unbelievable college baseball setting."