GCU claims 10th consecutive WAC series

Sunday, April 14

Arlington, Texas

10 a.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

19-16, 11-4

UT Arlington

15-21, 10-8

Grand Canyon

UT Arlington

4/14/2024 2:09:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Diaz's pinch-hit double in 8th pushes Lopes to 7-5 win at UT Arlington

By: Josh Hauser

ARLINGTON, Texas — Grand Canyon broke a late-game tie with a three-run eighth inning to defeat UT Arlington 7-5 on Sunday afternoon. The Lopes won their fourth straight conference rubber match to clinch their 10th straight WAC series.

A pinch-hitting Michael Diaz delivered the big blow in the form of the Phoenix native's two-out, two-run double to right-center field to extend GCU's lead to 7-4.

"I took a fastball down on my first pitch, so I was telling myself, 'See him up,' " said Diaz, a junior. "He threw the same pitch again; he missed his spot, I'm assuming. Kept a short swing to it, shot it up the middle and saw that the ball was rolling. I said, 'I'm going to take two here.' Just a little hustle double and trying to get the runs in."

The Lopes have faced rubber-match series finales in four of their five WAC series: Tarleton State, at UT Rio Grande Valley, Sacramento State and at UT Arlington. GCU has won all of them.

"That's the goal in baseball when you set out is you want to win the series," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "Road series are tough, especially against a good program like UTA. They're battle tested just like we are. They're doing well in the WAC. Their midweeks are against TCU and Oklahoma. So that's a battle-tested, tough team that's going to be there in the end. To come into their yard and take two of three, I'm very proud of the guys for handling some adversity yesterday and bouncing back and getting the series."

GCU jumped out to a 4-0 lead before UT Arlington roared back to tie. In the eighth inning, the Lopes had just reclaimed their lead on an error. Junior third baseman Eli Paton and senior catcher Alton Gyselman remained in scoring position as Diaz stepped in.

"It was a tough decision to get (shortstop) Emilio Barreras out of the game, but then Michael made that look really good by coming in and getting a two-RBI hit," Wallis said. "He came off the bench and really gave us some breathing room because this was a back-and-forth, tight game."

ESPN+ analyst John Mocek, a longtime UT Arlington assistant coach, was impressed with the substitution while on Sunday's broadcast call.

"I've got to tip my cap to Coach Wallis on that," Mocek said. "You talk about rolling the dice and coming up seven."

Of Diaz's 15 hits this season, four have come as a pinch hitter.

"Watching the pitcher against hitters like myself, other lefties and whatnot," Diaz said of staying focused for a potential pinch-hit appearance. "Seeing what he's mixing in. Just trusting my abilities and going up to the plate and simplifying it: see ball, hit ball."

Diaz left his feet for a leaping, head-first slide and landed with enough force to leave his entire jersey unbuttoned as he stood up to celebrate the game-winning hit.

"That was definitely unplanned, but it was kind of cool," Diaz said. "We'll see, maybe it might be the new thing for the Lopes."

Sophomore right-hander Walter Quinn was the deserved winner for GCU, tossing the final three innings and giving up only one unearned run.

"He's been phenomenal all year," Wallis said. "Came in Friday and did a great job. He looked really strong today, so we made the decision he was rolling a bit, made the decision to keep him out there."

The sidearmer picked up his second win of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.15.

GCU came charging hard out of the gates, scoring four runs in the first three innings. Sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke hit a two-out RBI single in the first. Seniors Eddy Pelc (productive ground out) and Elijah Buries (two-out single) each produced a run in the second. Paton drove in a run on a two-out single in the fourth.

The Lopes' offense went cold in the middle innings just as the Mavericks rallied for back-to-back two-run frames in the fourth and fifth innings. GCU rallied back in the final third of the game to win.

"There's ebbs and flows of a baseball game," Wallis said. "The first three, we were in control. The second three, they took control of the game. But then we got it back. We got some big at bats when we needed them. Was really happy to see us take control of the game back in the late innings and win the series."

Sophomore starting pitcher Isaac Lyon allowed only two earned runs over his six-inning outing. The Lopes have won Lyon's last three WAC starts.

GCU's defense produced three double plays that squashed UT Arlington threats throughout the afternoon.

GCU and California Baptist emerged from the weekend as the co-leaders in the WAC at 11-4. The Lopes have not lost a conference series in over a year.

The Lopes have a busy week ahead, but it will all take place on the home turf. GCU hosts Arizona on Tuesday and Washington State on Wednesday — both at 7 p.m. — before hosting a WAC weekend against Utah Tech starting on Friday.