Upcoming Event: Baseball versus MLB Desert Invitational on February 13, 2026
Baseball
vs MLB Desert Invitational
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 8
Nacogdoches, Texas
5:30 p.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
7-7, 1-0
14
at
4
Stephen F. Austin
3-13, 0-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
1
3
2
3
2
0
2
0
1
14
15
0
Stephen F. Austin
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
0
0
4
6
0
Lopes cruise to victory in WAC opener
3/8/2024 8:05:00 PM | Baseball
Every GCU starter records hit; Lopes improve to 8-1 in last 9 conference openers
NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Grand Canyon cruised to a 1-0 start in WAC play by defeating Stephen F. Austin 14-4 on Friday night.
The Lopes (7-7, 1-0 WAC) have won eight of their last nine conference openers.
"Great Friday night win," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It was a great way to start conference. (Junior starting pitcher) Danny Avitia came out and he wasn't perfect, but he was really competitive and he gave us a shot to win."
Avitia tossed seven innings and struck out 11 batters. In the process, he broke GCU's Division I record for career strikeouts with 221 to surpass Jake Repavich (2015-18).
From the plate, GCU racked up a season-high 14 runs thanks to an all-around effort that saw all nine Lopes starters record at least one hit. Senior corner outfielders Tyler Wilson and Eddy Pelc led the charge with three-hit efforts.
"The at bats in the second inning through the fifth inning were as gritty and relentless as we've had all year," Wallis said. "A lot of short swings, a lot of the top half of the baseball, low line drives. I thought the second through the fifth innings were some of our best at bats of the year and I was really pleased about that."
The Lopes spread the scoring over seven different innings including each of the first five frames.
Sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke began the scoring with a two-out solo home run in the first inning. Yorke has homered in three consecutive games, a feat only accomplished by one GCU batter last season in Cade Verdusco.
Yorke's first-inning blast was the first of three home runs on the night for the Lopes. Wilson homered in the third inning and junior designated hitter Beau Ankeney hit his team-leading sixth home run in the seventh inning.
GCU logged three hits in both the second and third innings to quickly grow its lead. The Lopes plated three runs in the second and two more in the third to build a 6-0 lead.
SFA hit a solo homer in the third to get on the board, but the Lopes kept scoring. GCU had two hits in the fourth and two more in the fifth to add five more runs on the board.
GCU didn't score for the first time in the sixth but added two more runs in the seventh and one more in the ninth to cap off a 14-run effort.
In relief of Avitia's 110-pitch start, freshman righty Hunter Watkins finished the game with two innings of hitless, scoreless baseball with three strikeouts.
The Lopes and Lumberjacks resume the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will have no live video coverage.
The Lopes (7-7, 1-0 WAC) have won eight of their last nine conference openers.
"Great Friday night win," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It was a great way to start conference. (Junior starting pitcher) Danny Avitia came out and he wasn't perfect, but he was really competitive and he gave us a shot to win."
Avitia tossed seven innings and struck out 11 batters. In the process, he broke GCU's Division I record for career strikeouts with 221 to surpass Jake Repavich (2015-18).
From the plate, GCU racked up a season-high 14 runs thanks to an all-around effort that saw all nine Lopes starters record at least one hit. Senior corner outfielders Tyler Wilson and Eddy Pelc led the charge with three-hit efforts.
"The at bats in the second inning through the fifth inning were as gritty and relentless as we've had all year," Wallis said. "A lot of short swings, a lot of the top half of the baseball, low line drives. I thought the second through the fifth innings were some of our best at bats of the year and I was really pleased about that."
The Lopes spread the scoring over seven different innings including each of the first five frames.
Sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke began the scoring with a two-out solo home run in the first inning. Yorke has homered in three consecutive games, a feat only accomplished by one GCU batter last season in Cade Verdusco.
Yorke's first-inning blast was the first of three home runs on the night for the Lopes. Wilson homered in the third inning and junior designated hitter Beau Ankeney hit his team-leading sixth home run in the seventh inning.
GCU logged three hits in both the second and third innings to quickly grow its lead. The Lopes plated three runs in the second and two more in the third to build a 6-0 lead.
SFA hit a solo homer in the third to get on the board, but the Lopes kept scoring. GCU had two hits in the fourth and two more in the fifth to add five more runs on the board.
GCU didn't score for the first time in the sixth but added two more runs in the seventh and one more in the ninth to cap off a 14-run effort.
In relief of Avitia's 110-pitch start, freshman righty Hunter Watkins finished the game with two innings of hitless, scoreless baseball with three strikeouts.
The Lopes and Lumberjacks resume the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will have no live video coverage.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Avitia, Daniel (2-2)
L: S. Jaco (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Barreras, Emilio 1
HR: Yorke, Zach 1 ; Ankeney, Beau 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 1
RBI: Crenshaw, Dustin 1 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Yorke, Zach 2 ; Ankeney, Beau 3 ; Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Paton, Eli 1 ; Pelc, Eddy 2 ; Sheehan, John 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Crenshaw, Dustin 2 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Yorke, Zach 2 ; Ankeney, Beau 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 3 ; Paton, Eli 2 ; Pelc, Eddy 1 ; Sheehan, John 1 ; Barreras, Emilio 1
SB: Crenshaw, Dustin 1 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Paton, Eli 1
HBP: Verdusco, Cade 1
Batting:
2B: B. Knoerr 1
HR: C. Griffin 1 ; N. Brown 1
RBI: C. Griffin 1 ; T. Biggs 1 ; N. Brown 2
SF: T. Biggs 1
Base Running:
RUNS: C. Griffin 2 ; B. Knoerr 1 ; N. Brown 1
HBP: N. Brown 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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