All phases click to beat Ohio State, move to 4-0

Tuesday, February 20

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-0

Ohio State

2-2

Ohio State

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Sebastian Molinar

2/20/2024 10:35:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes deliver 18 hits to back up 5 pitchers' 5-hitter

By: Paul Coro

For Grand Canyon baseball to extend its hot start to 4-0, it felt right to stay left Tuesday night.

The Lopes threw a trio of left-handers for seven innings to quell Ohio State's offense, allowing GCU to stack hits as well as its best hitting game of last season.

An 18-hit Lopes attack matched last season's high vs. Arizona State and pulled GCU away from Ohio State for a 10-3 victory in front of 2,008 GCU Ballpark fans.

Coming off three MLB Desert Invitational wins, the Lopes tamed the Buckeyes with a five-pitcher carousel that included GCU debuts for southpaws Ben Smith, a freshman, and David Case, a junior college transfer, and right-handed transfers Barrett Skaugrud and Brock Toney.

Smith, the 6-foot-7 starter from Henderson, Nevada, shut out Ohio State for three innings with five strikeouts to set up offensive fireworks from Lopes seniors Cade Verdusco, Dustin Crenshaw and Eddy Pelc.

Verdusco delivered a four-hit game, and Crenshaw added a three-hit game – the first time each notched those feats since an April 2022 series against Seattle U. Pelc, a Santa Ana (California) College transfer, matched Verdusco's 4-for-5 effort

"We weren't up there overswinging all night," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "We were just taking short swings. We were getting base hits and a couple doubles. Then they left a ball up, and Cade hits it out of the park. I just liked our approach at the plate all night."

The top third of the lineup went 8 for 15 with Verdusco's onslaught and two-hit games by sophomore shortstop Emilio Barreras and senior third baseman Eli Paton. Barreras knocked in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, when he drove a low fastball to the left-center gap for a 4-3 lead.

The game broke open with a two-out rally in the seventh inning from the bottom third of the Lopes' lineup, which went 9 for 14 with freshman catcher Alton Gyselman's 2 for 4 in his first start, Pelc's 4 for 5 and senior second baseman Dustin Crenshaw's 3 for 5.

"We have so many great bats," Pelc said. "We have a great lineup. We're definitely deep, and I'm just trying to pass it to the next guy and keep it simple."

Pelc singled to the opposite field for the third consecutive at bat before Crenshaw and Barreras followed with RBI singles to extend the lead to 6-3.

Cade Verdusco

Verdusco followed with a first-pitch home run that he lined over the left-field wall on a hanging slider. Verdusco's first home run in his last 24 games put the Lopes ahead 9-3.

"It kind of got out in a hurry," Verdusco said. "I thought I had a double. I'll take the home run.

"I've been feeling good at the plate, but the results haven't really shown. I've been telling myself, 'Trust the process and trust the swing.' Today showed that it's all coming together."

GCU has used 13 pitchers over four wins for a 2.00 staff ERA with 50 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .168. The Lopes' five Tuesday pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts, one shy of last year's season best.

Smith ended each of his three innings with a strikeout, stranding four Buckeyes runners.

"What I like about Ben is he's right around the strike zone, and he challenges hitters in the zone," Wallis said. "He's got some deception, so his fastball's got a little ride to it. Hitters don't seem to see him well. It's a big body, and he kind of throws from a low slot. It's just an uncomfortable at bat."

Ohio State picked up all three of its run in the sixth inning, which also featured quality pitching. GCU senior left-hander Bryan Webb inherited two runners and allowed successive singles and a sacrifice fly that tied the game before he escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts.

Toney and Skaugrud ended the game with no-hit innings, backed by the GCU defense's fourth consecutive game without an error..

The Lopes are undefeated halfway through an eight-game, 10-day stretch that continues Thursday with the start of a four-game home series against Nebraska, a Big Ten opponent following season-opening GCU wins against teams from the Big East, Pac-12, Big 12 and Big Ten.

"It reminds you of how you played baseball when you were a kid," Pelc said. "Just how fun it was and showing up every day and wanting to be around the guys here."