GCU wins weekend opener at UT Arlington

Friday, April 12

Arlington, Texas

4 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

18-15, 10-3

UT Arlington

14-20, 9-7

GRAND CANYON

UT Arlington

4/12/2024 8:01:00 PM | Baseball

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Lopes reclaim lead with 3-run 6th inning, win 10th conference game

By: Josh Hauser

ARLINGTON, Texas — Grand Canyon racked up 13 hits and allowed only two earned runs in a 7-5 series-opening win over UT Arlington at Clay Gould Ballpark on Friday night.

Series openers had not been the Lopes' friend in 2024 with a 2-5 record entering Friday's matchup. GCU bucked the trend by grabbing a sixth-inning lead and cruising to victory.

"I don't know that we've won a Friday game in a while, so we're always having to fight our way back," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It feels good to get this.

"I thought it was a full team win. We really played a good game. We picked each other up when we needed to pick each other up. The team stayed positive the whole game with their self-talk with each other. They were encouraging each other. It was a really good night in the dugout as far as being emotionally in control and going out and executing."

GCU went up 3-1 early before a Lopes error extended the Mavericks' fourth and allowed three unearned runs to score.

The Lopes fought back with a three-run inning of their own. Senior left fielder Tyler Wilson opened the sixth inning with a triple. A ball that was bound to sneak through the right side of the infield hit the lip of the outfield grass and bounced off the head of UT Arlington's second baseman, pushing the ball deep into foul territory in right field. Senior catcher Alton Gyselman drove in a run on a single and two more runs scored on wild pitches.

"We were just stringing quality at bats together," Wallis said. "We didn't have too many quick innings tonight. Started from the first, we didn't get any hits or get on base but we made their guy work. I felt like that was all night. We were taking really gritty at bats, working counts and getting big hits when we needed them."

GCU's 6-4 lead coming out of the top of the sixth held true thanks to the work of the bullpen.

Freshman right-hander Hunter Watkins allowed a solo homer that narrowed the deficit to 6-5, but he finished the night allowing just the one run over 2 1/3 innings. Sophomore Walter Quinn threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings before giving the ball over to senior Nathan Ward for a four-out save, his seventh save of the season.

"Hunter Watkins came in and was outstanding," Wallis said of the freshman who picked up his first collegiate win. "Made that little mistake but besides that, he really settled the game down and gave us a chance to win. Walter and Ward have turned into a great one-two punch at the back."

Quinn entered in the seventh with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base before drawing a double-play ball to end the threat.

"Walter came in and got the huge inning-ending double play," Wallis said. "Wardo came in and picked him up. Our pitching and defense showed up. It was a good night."

Sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke gave the Lopes some breathing room in the ninth with an RBI single to score junior third baseman Eli Paton. Yorke was one of four Lopes with multi-hit nights.

The quest for GCU's 10th consecutive conference series win continues on Saturday at 12 p.m. (Phoenix time).