Series evened with complete offensive effort

Saturday, March 2

San Antonio, Texas

1 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

5-5

UTSA

5-6

Grand Canyon

UTSA

Photo by: Ozzy Jaime

3/2/2024 4:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Every GCU starter reaches base in 9-7 victory highlighted by Ankeney, Diaz homers

By: Josh Hauser

SAN ANTONIO — Grand Canyon evened its weekend series at UTSA with a 9-7 victory on Saturday afternoon.

GCU (6-4) used a complete offensive effort to collect its first road victory of the season. Eight of the nine Lopes' starters recorded a hit and all nine reached base.

The day was highlighted by home runs from junior designated hitter Beau Ankeney (his fourth of the season) and junior right fielder Michael Diaz (his first as a Lope).

Lopes senior righty Carter Young tossed six innings and was credited with the win after allowing four runs on eight hits but striking out seven and walking none. The bullpen duo of sophomore Grant Richardson and senior Nathan Ward bent but didn't break, surrendering three runs on seven hits in three combined innings. Ward earned his second save of the season, stranding the go-ahead run on second base to end the eighth and the tying run on first base to end the ninth.

beau inset

GCU took a 2-0 lead in the third inning and never tied or trailed after. UTSA (5-6) kept the pressure on the whole afternoon and twice narrowed the deficit to one run at 4-3 in the fifth and 8-7 in the eighth.

Senior center fielder Cade Verdusco opened the third inning with a double and scored on a wild pitch to get GCU on the board. Ankeney followed it up with a solo homer to center field to give the Lopes a 2-0 edge.

GCU built on its lead in the fifth inning with two more runs. Verdusco again began the frame with a hit — this time a single. Senior left fielder Tyler Wilson drove in Verdusco on a single of his own and worked his way around the basepaths on two UTSA errors.

The Lopes lead was nearly erased with back-to-back home runs by UTSA in the fifth inning that cut GCU's lead to 4-3.

tyler inset

GCU went right back to work in the sixth, using a four-run frame to build its biggest lead of the day. The Lopes strung together four hits to open the inning with sophomore shortstop Emilio Barreras' hit driving in a pair. Ankeney was hit by a pitch to bring in a third run, and Wilson drew a walk to close out the inning's scoring and make the lead 8-3.

The Roadrunners scored in three consecutive innings — one in the sixth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth — to pull within a run.

Diaz opened the ninth with a full-count, opposite-field home run to give GCU a late insurance run. The South Mountain Community College transfer is 5 for his first 7 (.714) in a Lopes uniform.

GCU and UTSA meet for a rubber-match finale on Sunday at 12 p.m. (Phoenix time).