3-time WAC champs seek more than standard

Friday, February 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Georgetown

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Rachel Sollazzo

2/13/2024 8:00:00 AM | Baseball, Paul Coro

GCU Notes Georgetown Notes USC Notes BYU Notes

Avitia leads Lopes' strength in pitching with Yorke hitting at heart of lineup

By: Paul Coro

The ideal offshoot of Grand Canyon baseball's high standards is that those expectations drive, develop and attract players who want to rise to that level and beyond.

The Lopes enter a new season this weekend with the base expectation of winning a fourth consecutive WAC regular-season championship, an admirable objective that suits GCU's talent and experience even after losing three MLB Draft top-160 picks.
Gregg Wallis

GCU won its final 13 regular-season games last year to pull off the WAC three-peat, but the Lopes' greater desire was for a third consecutive NCAA regional trip. For the returning players and coaches, ending last season on two WAC Tournament losses lit an offseason fire that could illuminate GCU Ballpark for Friday's 6 p.m. opener against Georgetown.

"Having a good year but not accomplishing our goal of competing in a regional and being competitive there, I do feel like there's a different edge this year – a different hunger," said GCU second-year head coach Gregg Wallis, who has coached in the program since 2014.

"That

's with myself and the coaches too. I feel it especially from the older guys, who always want to win a conference championship and take it a step further. We want to put our best foot forward to compete and do something in a regional that's never been done."

The Lopes return the staff ace, junior right-hander and top-100 pro prospect Daniel Avitia, and project to have seven position starters who started an average of 34 games for GCU last season. That formula made WAC coaches tab GCU as the preseason conference favorite for a seventh consecutive year.

During its WAC three-peat, the Lopes have won 80% of their conference games (76-19) to be 14 1/2 games better than the next closest conference member (California Baptist at 62-34).

"I came in here with that expectation, and we have to fulfill that," said Lopes four-year starter Cade Verdusco, who moves to center field this season. "The way we go about practice and training, it's all going to show on the field. We take pride in how we play our game. Playing the game the way we do has given us the recognition and honor to be preseason favorites."

Verdusco is among seven local products who project to be among the 10 on the Opening Night lineup card. Nobody is more local than Avitia, the Alhambra High School graduate who grew up a half-mile away in west Phoenix.

Daniel Avitia

Avitia made a freshman splash as WAC Pitcher of the Year and has gone 15-6 with 192 strikeouts in 167 innings over two seasons. After posting a 3.92 ERA last season, Avitia impressed last summer with a 1.62 ERA in six starts at the Cape Cod Baseball League, the nation's best summer collegiate league.

GCU pitching coach Nathan Bannister developed a fall plan with Avitia to have him throw fewer scrimmages and focus on weight room and pitch design. The result is a refined slider that should help his pro aspirations when grouped with his fastball and change-up.

"Having an anchor like Danny Aviita is a good feeling, knowing we have a guy on Friday nights who can compete with anyone in the country," Wallis said. "He's not the skinny kid from down the street. Now, it's, 'Who is this man taking the mound?' His focus, maturity and work ethic have all shot up."

Pitching appears to be the strength of the team in large part because of freshmen Connor Mattison and Hunter Watkins.

Mattison, a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Canyon View High School just west of Phoenix, was dominant in fall scrimmages and was named the top WAC freshman by Perfect Game.

"The fans will see him really soon," Wallis said. "He has a three-pitch mix with a fastball, slider and change-up. He's aggressive and confident. He's got plus stuff, and he's really competitive. He's going to be exciting to watch."

The entire pitching staff has good size, but nobody comes from a higher release point than 6-foot-8 Hunter Watkins, a right-hander from Simi Valley, California, with the same alma mater, Grace Brethren, as former GCU ace Pierson Ohl.

"It's just an uncomfortable at bat to get in the box when the ball is coming from the clouds and straight downhill," Wallis said. "He's got a little bit of an intimidation factor. He's got a fastball and breaking ball with a lot of natural movement, and he throws strikes."

With eight games in the first 10 days of the season, the Lopes will get a look at several arms, but they already believe they know what they have in senior right-hander Carter Young. A stellar fall has Young throwing the best he ever has, Wallis said.

The competitive, 5-foot-11 Wyoming right-hander has a career ERA of 4.80 with 34 career starts in just about every situation, including weekend rotation, high-profile, mid-week games and postseason.

"Wally and the coaches have done a really good job of recruiting all these big names who are willing to do what it takes to get the job done," Young said. "Seeing these young guys showcase their talent, especially guys like Connor Mattison, and having that competition makes every single pitcher and hitter we have work that much harder to compete for a starting job."

The lineup is tasked with replacing the No. 6 overall pick, shortstop Jacob Wilson, and the No. 128 pick, center fielder Homer Bush Jr., after they combined to hit .388 with 36 doubles and 102 RBIs last season.

Cade Verdusco

Verdusco, who boasts an elite throwing arm, moves from right field to center to take over for Bush. The Tempe Corona del Sol High graduate is looking for a bounce-back season at the plate following .307 sophomore hitting with a .257 average last season.

"His arm is game-changing," Wallis said. "He can do more to win games than just what you see on a stat sheet."

Verdusco is flanked in left field by senior switch-hitter Tyler Wilson, a Chandler Hamilton High graduate who has hit better than .300 in each of his first three GCU seasons, and junior Maxwell Andeel, a .304 hitter last season with 36 starts.

Newcomer Eddy Pelc will slide into the right-field spot. The lefthanded hitter was a pitcher/outfielder when he began his college career at San Diego but focused on outfield last season at Santa Ana (California) College and hit .332 with 15 doubles and nine home runs.

"You have to watch him every day to really appreciate the kind of ball player he is," Wallis said. "He takes quality at bats and does things to help you win baseball games."

Along with Avitia and Verdusco, sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke was a Preseason All-WAC pick and showed a mature bat last season. The Glendale Mountain Ridge High graduate is the leading returning hitter at .368 with eight home runs and 13 doubles, which helped him share the team RBI lead with Wilson at 61. He drew 46 walks for a .478 on-base percentage to garner Freshman All-America honors.

Yorke, who will bat third or fourth in the order, also went to Cape Cod, where the burly 6-2 lefty hit .338 with a wood bat and knocked in 19 runs over 20 games.

"He just always takes quality at bats," Wallis said. "He rarely veers from his approach, which is just really solid. He's looking to hit line drives to the middle of the field. He has power, but he's just a really good hitter and has a great awareness of the strike zone."

With 50 career starts, senior Dustin Crenshaw offers another left-handed bat in the role of second baseman, which senior Elijah Buries (154 starts) figures to play also with his .328 career average.

Sophomore Emilio Barreras has an amazingly tough act to follow at shortstop but already got the feel of that during a 32-start freshman season, when he received many of those starting nods in important late-season game with Wilson hurt.

The Casa Grande, Arizona, native made defensive gems during a championship chase to earn an All-WAC Defensive Team spot and seems to be on a trek similar to former Lopes standout shorstop Channy Ortiz, whose bat developed later than his sure-handed glove.

"We feel really comfortable with him because he's a great ball player and a great kid," Wallis said. "He does everything right and he's a leader. We're excited about him taking over this role."

Freshman Troy Sanders of Tucson rivaled Yorke with his hitting over the past month and could play either middle infield spot.

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 14: Grand Canyon University baseball scrimmage (Photo by: Rachel Sollazzo/GCU)

Junior third baseman Eli Paton, a 6-3 left-handed hitter, has made one of the team's best offseason improvements. He already went from eight at bats in two UCLA seasons to starting 22 games in his GCU debut last season.

"We've got a brand-new team, a whole new chemistry, new culture," said Paton, a team leader. "We're really excited to see what we've got. We're pumped up. It's going to be a great year. The last three years we've won the WAC, but we're focused on the present.

"You can teach the younger guys how much of a grind it is. If you keep building together, you're ready to go through it. We've had success for an extended period of time, so that's the expectation."

Paton led GCU's fall games in extra-base hits and improved his defense at third base, where the Lopes also have 6-2, 225-pound sophomore Christian Perez, a Phoenix Sunnyslope High graduate who transferred from New Mexico State. Perez could be a designated hitter option, along with juniors Beau Ankeney and Blake Avila.

After starting 11 games last season, junior John Sheehan's continual improvement gives GCU a defensive package at catcher with his throwing arm (caught five of nine attempted steals last season), blocking ability and his handling of the pitching staff.

"it's going to be situational baseball," Wallis said of GCU's hitting attack. "We have to focus on team offense to start, and we'll see what develops from there."

The bullpen has a closer in 6-8, 275-pound right-hander Nathan Ward, who earned a growing late-inning role last season and posted an ERA of 0.72 in 14 appearances. The Lopes also could turn to 6-3, 220-pound left-hander Grant Richardson for extended closes. He struck out 31 batters in 24 innings last season, while Ward had 33 strikeouts in 25 innings.

GCU also will rely on the experience of seniors Shawn Triplett, a right-hander, and Bryan Webb, a left-hander, for key roles in back-end relief. More will be expected from sophomores Jace Smith and Isaac Lyon while another freshman duo, 6-5 right-hander Garrett Ahern of Campo Verde High School and 6-7 left-hander Ben Smith of Henderson, Nevada, will get opportunities in the opening eight-game, 10-day stretch.

The Lopes play in the MLB Desert Invitational against Georgetown at home, vs. USC on Saturday at Salt River Fields and vs. BYU on Monday at Sloan Park before returning to GCU Ballpark for a Tuesday night game against Ohio State and a four-game series against Nebraska on Feb. 22-25.

"We're a lot more in a rhythm of all aspects of the program," Wallis said. "Roles of assistant coaches, day-to-day practice, overall mission. The season comes so quickly, but it feels a little more slowed down having done it for a year. I feel comfortable in what a full season looks like and what we need to be prepared for and what messages need to be relayed to the team."