Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Cal State Fullerton on November 8, 2025 at 11 a.m.
Baseball
11 a.m.
vs Cal State Fullerton
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Monday, February 20
Phoenix, Ariz.
11 a.m.
Grand Canyon
2-2
1
vs
7
Michigan State
3-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Michigan State
0
0
2
0
1
0
1
3
0
7
15
1
Grand Canyon
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
2
Photo by: Taylor Hansen
Freshmen shine bright spot in loss to Michigan State
2/20/2023 2:57:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro
Lyon throws 2 shutout innings, Barreras delivers 2 hits in 1st starts
The hubbub of Grand Canyon baseball's performance in the season-opening MLB Desert Invitational boomed Saturday night with an upset of No. 2 Tennessee before quieting Monday with a 7-1 loss to Michigan State.
The 2-2 season start still spoke volumes for Lopes first-year head coach Gregg Wallis about what he and his staff are molding as they move into four home games against Ohio State and Gonzaga between Thursday and Saturday.
GCU used six pitchers on Monday, including a two-shutout inning start from freshman right-hander Isaac Lyon, and had another freshman, shortstop Emilio Barreras, stand out with the Lopes' only two-hit performance against the Spartans (3-1).
"It's about learning about what roles guys need to be in," Wallis said. "You play all fall and then you want to see how guys compete.
"I thought we had some outstanding performances on the mound. It doesn't necessarily look like it because of the 15 hits and seven runs, but for the most part, the pitchers did what we talked about. They didn't give up free passes. Michigan State could swing the bat, but we didn't necessarily give them much. We made them earn it. If we do that day in and day out, we have a chance to win a lot of games."
Michigan State, off to a .351-hitting start, did not pull away from the Lopes until a three-run eighth inning was set up by GCU's first two errors, as many as the Lopes had in their first three games.
In front of a crowd of 1,928 fans, GCU loaded the bases on Barreras' second hit with one out in the ninth inning but did not score, brining its runners left on base total to 10.
"We have to find a way to make an adjustment against those guys who show you the fastball and get to a 1-2 (count) and throw the off-speed," Wallis said after the Lopes went 10 for 63 in the losses to Michigan and Michigan State. "Those are the type of guys who we are going to face on Friday nights, who can use any pitch in any count. We've got to be a little grittier with our at bats against guys like that."
Barreras, who is from Casa Grande, Arizona, stepped up to his first college start at shortstop with Lopes junior Jacob Wilson moving to designated hitter because of a swollen shin from a Sunday foul ball.
"Emilio is playing great," Wallis said. "He's swinging the bat, and he's a great defender. He put together a lot of quality at bats. He smoked two balls for two hits. The time he got out, he put a nice ball toward the six-hole and the shortstop made a nice play."
Lyon, a 6-foot-3 right-hander from Santa Clara, Utah, was building up for bullpen work when he got word that his debut would be a Monday start. Because he was on a 45-pitch limit, Lyon was lifted after two shutout innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts.
"The change-up is usually my bread and butter, so it helped that it was six of nine in their lineup were lefties," Lyon said. "I was a little wild with the first-game jitters. I had a lot of 3-2 counts that put me in tough spots, but I threw a fastball on a 3-2 against the second batter for a close call that went our way and it worked out."
Also a capable infielder, Lyon ended his Monday mound work with a strikeout that stranded a runner on third.
"I was excited to put him out there because I think he's got a chance to be really good, and he showed that," Wallis said. "He established himself as what he thought. He was aggressive. He had the fastball, change-up and slider working. He attacked with strikes and set a tone for the game."
The next cleanest work came from sophomore right-hander Carson Ohl, the younger brother of former GCU ace Pierson. Ohl shut out Michigan State on three pitches, thanks to junior right fielder Cade Verdusco throwing out Sam Busch at second base trying to stretch a single.
The Lopes' lone run came in the fourth inning, when junior center fielder Homer Bush Jr. and freshman first baseman Zach Yorke drew consecutive two-out walks before Bush stole third and scored on an error.
GCU starts its upcoming four-game, three-day stretch on Thursday, when it faces Ohio State for a 6 p.m. game at GCU Ballpark.
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The 2-2 season start still spoke volumes for Lopes first-year head coach Gregg Wallis about what he and his staff are molding as they move into four home games against Ohio State and Gonzaga between Thursday and Saturday.
GCU used six pitchers on Monday, including a two-shutout inning start from freshman right-hander Isaac Lyon, and had another freshman, shortstop Emilio Barreras, stand out with the Lopes' only two-hit performance against the Spartans (3-1).
"It's about learning about what roles guys need to be in," Wallis said. "You play all fall and then you want to see how guys compete.
"I thought we had some outstanding performances on the mound. It doesn't necessarily look like it because of the 15 hits and seven runs, but for the most part, the pitchers did what we talked about. They didn't give up free passes. Michigan State could swing the bat, but we didn't necessarily give them much. We made them earn it. If we do that day in and day out, we have a chance to win a lot of games."
Michigan State, off to a .351-hitting start, did not pull away from the Lopes until a three-run eighth inning was set up by GCU's first two errors, as many as the Lopes had in their first three games.
In front of a crowd of 1,928 fans, GCU loaded the bases on Barreras' second hit with one out in the ninth inning but did not score, brining its runners left on base total to 10.
"We have to find a way to make an adjustment against those guys who show you the fastball and get to a 1-2 (count) and throw the off-speed," Wallis said after the Lopes went 10 for 63 in the losses to Michigan and Michigan State. "Those are the type of guys who we are going to face on Friday nights, who can use any pitch in any count. We've got to be a little grittier with our at bats against guys like that."
Barreras, who is from Casa Grande, Arizona, stepped up to his first college start at shortstop with Lopes junior Jacob Wilson moving to designated hitter because of a swollen shin from a Sunday foul ball."Emilio is playing great," Wallis said. "He's swinging the bat, and he's a great defender. He put together a lot of quality at bats. He smoked two balls for two hits. The time he got out, he put a nice ball toward the six-hole and the shortstop made a nice play."
Lyon, a 6-foot-3 right-hander from Santa Clara, Utah, was building up for bullpen work when he got word that his debut would be a Monday start. Because he was on a 45-pitch limit, Lyon was lifted after two shutout innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts.
"The change-up is usually my bread and butter, so it helped that it was six of nine in their lineup were lefties," Lyon said. "I was a little wild with the first-game jitters. I had a lot of 3-2 counts that put me in tough spots, but I threw a fastball on a 3-2 against the second batter for a close call that went our way and it worked out."
Also a capable infielder, Lyon ended his Monday mound work with a strikeout that stranded a runner on third.
"I was excited to put him out there because I think he's got a chance to be really good, and he showed that," Wallis said. "He established himself as what he thought. He was aggressive. He had the fastball, change-up and slider working. He attacked with strikes and set a tone for the game."
The next cleanest work came from sophomore right-hander Carson Ohl, the younger brother of former GCU ace Pierson. Ohl shut out Michigan State on three pitches, thanks to junior right fielder Cade Verdusco throwing out Sam Busch at second base trying to stretch a single.
The Lopes' lone run came in the fourth inning, when junior center fielder Homer Bush Jr. and freshman first baseman Zach Yorke drew consecutive two-out walks before Bush stole third and scored on an error.
GCU starts its upcoming four-game, three-day stretch on Thursday, when it faces Ohio State for a 6 p.m. game at GCU Ballpark.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carson,Andrew (1-0)
L: Martinez, Jacob (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Farquhar,Trent 1 ; Frank,Jack 1 ; Ziegler,Greg 1
3B: Jebb,Mitch 1
RBI: Jebb,Mitch 2 ; Vradenburg,Brock 2 ; Frank,Jack 1 ; Mayes,Casey 1 ; Kark,Dillon 1
SF: Frank,Jack 1 ; Kark,Dillon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Farquhar,Trent 3 ; Jebb,Mitch 1 ; Vradenburg,Brock 2 ; Ziegler,Greg 1
HBP: Farquhar,Trent 1
Batting:
2B: Gregory, Zack 1 ; Crenshaw, Dustin 1 ; Barreras, Emilio 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bush Jr., Homer 1
SB: Bush Jr., Homer 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
ph/3b
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
UTIL
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