Completed Event: Baseball at Stanford on May 9, 2025 , Win , 4, to, 3
Baseball
at Stanford
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Sunday, March 10
Nacogdoches, Texas
10 a.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
9-7, 3-0
10
at
1
Stephen F. Austin
3-15, 0-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
0
0
0
2
3
0
1
0
4
10
15
0
Stephen F. Austin
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
3
3
GCU holds SFA to 3 hits, finishes sweep
3/10/2024 2:37:00 PM | Baseball
Lopes rack up 15 hits for 2nd time in series, run WAC win streak to 16
NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Grand Canyon limited Stephen F. Austin to three hits in a 10-1 rout on Sunday afternoon to record a series sweep and run its WAC winning streak to 16 games.
Freshman right-hander Connor Mattison threw the first five innings of a strong day on the mound for GCU (9-7, 3-0 WAC), which set a season low of three hits allowed and matched a season low of one run allowed.
"This is a tough place to play, so I'm really proud of the team for coming in and getting three Ws," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "Today, the story was similar to last night. We didn't come out of the gates swinging the bats really well, but Connor Mattison got us a bunch of holds. He kept us in the game. He gave our offense a chance to get going."
Mattison picked up his second collegiate win and struck out seven. In 16 innings of work this season, he has struck out 25 batters.
Mattison was throwing up zeros while GCU's offense was finding its footing. The Lopes managed only one baserunner through the first three frames.
Senior outfielders Cade Verdusco and Tyler Wilson jolted GCU's offense to life in the fourth inning, with Verdusco singling and Wilson getting the Lopes on the scoreboard with his fifth homer of the season, matching his 2023 total.
"Tyler Wilson got the big swing, a two-run home run with two outs in the fourth," Wallis said. "Connor got the holds. He gave our offense a chance to get going. Tyler Wilson had an outstanding weekend. He just showed his leadership and showed how veteran and experienced he is with his at bats all weekend and driving in the big runs when we needed him."
From there, the Lopes controlled the game and kept tacking on runs en route to a sixth straight WAC series win.
In the fifth, GCU tested SFA's infield defense with three consecutive bunts after senior right fielder Eddy Pelc opened the inning with a double. Two of the bunts ended up as singles and the third was a sacrifice to help push the inning along. The Lopes netted three runs on four hits in the frame to build a 5-0 lead.
SFA scored its first run in the fifth inning before GCU got it right back in the seventh on Wilson's third RBI of the day.
In the ninth, junior designated hitter Beau Ankeney homered and junior third baseman Eli Paton doubled to provide the big blows in a four-run, four-hit, two-error final inning.
Sophomores Walter Quinn and Isaac Lyon provided scoreless relief in back of Mattison's outing. Each reliever tossed two innings and struck out three batters.
The Lopes capped off a dominant weekend where they outscored SFA 29-8, outhit SFA 40-18, hit six homers and seven doubles, and struck out 43 SFA batters.
GCU returns to Phoenix for a three-game WAC series with Tarleton State that gets underway on Friday at 6 p.m. at GCU Ballpark.
Freshman right-hander Connor Mattison threw the first five innings of a strong day on the mound for GCU (9-7, 3-0 WAC), which set a season low of three hits allowed and matched a season low of one run allowed.
"This is a tough place to play, so I'm really proud of the team for coming in and getting three Ws," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "Today, the story was similar to last night. We didn't come out of the gates swinging the bats really well, but Connor Mattison got us a bunch of holds. He kept us in the game. He gave our offense a chance to get going."
Mattison picked up his second collegiate win and struck out seven. In 16 innings of work this season, he has struck out 25 batters.
Mattison was throwing up zeros while GCU's offense was finding its footing. The Lopes managed only one baserunner through the first three frames.
Senior outfielders Cade Verdusco and Tyler Wilson jolted GCU's offense to life in the fourth inning, with Verdusco singling and Wilson getting the Lopes on the scoreboard with his fifth homer of the season, matching his 2023 total.
"Tyler Wilson got the big swing, a two-run home run with two outs in the fourth," Wallis said. "Connor got the holds. He gave our offense a chance to get going. Tyler Wilson had an outstanding weekend. He just showed his leadership and showed how veteran and experienced he is with his at bats all weekend and driving in the big runs when we needed him."
From there, the Lopes controlled the game and kept tacking on runs en route to a sixth straight WAC series win.
In the fifth, GCU tested SFA's infield defense with three consecutive bunts after senior right fielder Eddy Pelc opened the inning with a double. Two of the bunts ended up as singles and the third was a sacrifice to help push the inning along. The Lopes netted three runs on four hits in the frame to build a 5-0 lead.
SFA scored its first run in the fifth inning before GCU got it right back in the seventh on Wilson's third RBI of the day.
In the ninth, junior designated hitter Beau Ankeney homered and junior third baseman Eli Paton doubled to provide the big blows in a four-run, four-hit, two-error final inning.
Sophomores Walter Quinn and Isaac Lyon provided scoreless relief in back of Mattison's outing. Each reliever tossed two innings and struck out three batters.
The Lopes capped off a dominant weekend where they outscored SFA 29-8, outhit SFA 40-18, hit six homers and seven doubles, and struck out 43 SFA batters.
GCU returns to Phoenix for a three-game WAC series with Tarleton State that gets underway on Friday at 6 p.m. at GCU Ballpark.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mattison, Connor (2-1)
L: E. Balmaceda (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Paton, Eli 1 ; Pelc, Eddy 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1
HR: Ankeney, Beau 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 1
RBI: Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Ankeney, Beau 2 ; Wilson, Tyler 3 ; Avila, Blake 1 ; Barreras, Emilio 1
SH: Crenshaw, Dustin 1
SF: Ankeney, Beau 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Verdusco, Cade 2 ; Ankeney, Beau 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Paton, Eli 1 ; Pelc, Eddy 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1 ; Avila, Blake 1 ; Barreras, Emilio 1
SB: Verdusco, Cade 2
Batting:
RBI: T. Carr 1
SF: T. Carr 1
Base Running:
RUNS: C. Fleischer 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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