Completed Event: Baseball versus Cal State Fullerton on November 8, 2025 ,
Baseball
vs Cal State Fullerton
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, April 20
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
22-17, 13-4
8
vs
7
Utah Tech
9-29, 7-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Utah Tech
0
0
0
6
0
0
1
0
0
7
10
1
Grand Canyon
0
0
1
0
0
4
0
0
3
8
11
0
Photo by: Jayden Todd
Yorke's walk-off hit clinches 11th straight WAC series
4/20/2024 11:07:00 PM | Baseball
Lopes erase 6-1 deficit, tally 3 runs in 9th to complete comeback
Grand Canyon's prospects at locking up a series win on Saturday night may have looked bleak at times, trailing 6-1 into the sixth inning and trailing 7-5 entering the ninth.
But the Lopes persevered and put together a four-run sixth inning and a three-run ninth inning, capped by sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke's walk-off double to overcome Utah Tech 8-7 at GCU Ballpark.
GCU (22-7, 13-4 WAC) has won 11 consecutive conference series, defeated Utah Tech 13 straight times, won six of its last eight games and maintains pace with California Baptist for first place in the WAC.
"We'll take it," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It was a gritty comeback. We were down 6-1 and it didn't seem like things were going our way. I told the team that I thought they could have played better, I thought I could have coached better. At the end of the day, we found a way to get it done. We clutched up in the ninth inning bigtime."
The Lopes quickly shrugged off an eighth inning that included two strikeouts and a foul pop-up.
Sophomore shortstop Emilio Barreras greeted Utah Tech's fifth pitcher of the game with a leadoff single. Senior center fielder Cade Verdusco reached base for the fifth time, drawing a walk. Senior left fielder Tyler Wilson made it eight straight games with multiple hits by singling in a run to pull the Lopes within 7-6.
That set the stage for Yorke with Verdusco on third, Wilson on first and one out.
"I was just trying to get a pitch I could drive," Yorke said. "I was staying patient because I knew they were trying to pitch around me a little bit. He threw me a middle-in cutter fastball, and I just put a good swing on it and hit it on the barrel."
Yorke's sharply hit ground ball bounced near the feet of the Trailblazers' first baseman and rolled into the deepest corner of right field. Verdusco trotted home comfortably from third base to tie the game, leaving only a question of whether Wilson had the speed to score from first base.
"Ty, according to all our strength and conditioning stuff, is our fastest player on the team," Yorke said. "So I knew he was going to score."
Verdusco confirmed: "Right when I saw that off the bat and I saw it get past the first baseman, I knew with Ty Wil's speed that we were going to win that game. We're just relentless and we put good swings on the ball."
GCU walked off with a win for the second time this season, adding to senior Eddy Pelc's March 16 extra-inning double against Tarleton State.
"I just wanted to get in there and start jumping around with the fellas," Yorke said of the customary mob greeting him at second base. "My teammates have done a really good job of picking me up. Coach Wally has obviously put a lot of trust in me and confidence in me by keeping me in the lineup a lot. I'm trying to work through a little something. Going to keep working hard and try to get back to where I was."
The Lopes were only in a position to win late thanks to a four-run sixth inning that trimmed a 6-1 deficit town to 6-5. The headlining sequence of the frame was a double off the center-field wall by junior third baseman Eli Paton, setting up a three-run home run by freshman catcher Alton Gyselman.
While GCU was chipping away, freshman right-hander Hunter Watkins was extremely effective in relief. He spun 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball, walking none while striking out five.
"He's been unreal," Yorke said. "He's got a lot of nasty pitches and he's 6-9 throwing out of the sky it looks like sometimes. He's a really tough at bat and he's gritty. We're always confident when he's on the mound."
Verdusco continued to loudly announce his return from a 17-game absence due to injury. His at bats went: double, single, single, walk, walk. He is 6 for 11 (.545) in his three games since returning from injury, improving his batting average to a cool .400 on the season.
"Credit to Jordan (Williams), our trainer," Wallis said. "He had a good plan for (Verdusco) to come back and get live ABs. We didn't rush him back. He was prepared. Credit to Jordan for putting a great plan together for Cade to come back and be ready to play right away."
The Lopes won't be bothered that their streak of four straight rubber matches in WAC series won't continue. But they will aim for a 14th consecutive win over Utah Tech when the teams reunite for the series finale on Sunday at noon.
But the Lopes persevered and put together a four-run sixth inning and a three-run ninth inning, capped by sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke's walk-off double to overcome Utah Tech 8-7 at GCU Ballpark.
GCU (22-7, 13-4 WAC) has won 11 consecutive conference series, defeated Utah Tech 13 straight times, won six of its last eight games and maintains pace with California Baptist for first place in the WAC.
"We'll take it," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It was a gritty comeback. We were down 6-1 and it didn't seem like things were going our way. I told the team that I thought they could have played better, I thought I could have coached better. At the end of the day, we found a way to get it done. We clutched up in the ninth inning bigtime."
The Lopes quickly shrugged off an eighth inning that included two strikeouts and a foul pop-up.
Sophomore shortstop Emilio Barreras greeted Utah Tech's fifth pitcher of the game with a leadoff single. Senior center fielder Cade Verdusco reached base for the fifth time, drawing a walk. Senior left fielder Tyler Wilson made it eight straight games with multiple hits by singling in a run to pull the Lopes within 7-6.
That set the stage for Yorke with Verdusco on third, Wilson on first and one out.
"I was just trying to get a pitch I could drive," Yorke said. "I was staying patient because I knew they were trying to pitch around me a little bit. He threw me a middle-in cutter fastball, and I just put a good swing on it and hit it on the barrel."
Yorke's sharply hit ground ball bounced near the feet of the Trailblazers' first baseman and rolled into the deepest corner of right field. Verdusco trotted home comfortably from third base to tie the game, leaving only a question of whether Wilson had the speed to score from first base.
"Ty, according to all our strength and conditioning stuff, is our fastest player on the team," Yorke said. "So I knew he was going to score."Verdusco confirmed: "Right when I saw that off the bat and I saw it get past the first baseman, I knew with Ty Wil's speed that we were going to win that game. We're just relentless and we put good swings on the ball."
GCU walked off with a win for the second time this season, adding to senior Eddy Pelc's March 16 extra-inning double against Tarleton State.
"I just wanted to get in there and start jumping around with the fellas," Yorke said of the customary mob greeting him at second base. "My teammates have done a really good job of picking me up. Coach Wally has obviously put a lot of trust in me and confidence in me by keeping me in the lineup a lot. I'm trying to work through a little something. Going to keep working hard and try to get back to where I was."
The Lopes were only in a position to win late thanks to a four-run sixth inning that trimmed a 6-1 deficit town to 6-5. The headlining sequence of the frame was a double off the center-field wall by junior third baseman Eli Paton, setting up a three-run home run by freshman catcher Alton Gyselman.
While GCU was chipping away, freshman right-hander Hunter Watkins was extremely effective in relief. He spun 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball, walking none while striking out five."He's been unreal," Yorke said. "He's got a lot of nasty pitches and he's 6-9 throwing out of the sky it looks like sometimes. He's a really tough at bat and he's gritty. We're always confident when he's on the mound."
Verdusco continued to loudly announce his return from a 17-game absence due to injury. His at bats went: double, single, single, walk, walk. He is 6 for 11 (.545) in his three games since returning from injury, improving his batting average to a cool .400 on the season.
"Credit to Jordan (Williams), our trainer," Wallis said. "He had a good plan for (Verdusco) to come back and get live ABs. We didn't rush him back. He was prepared. Credit to Jordan for putting a great plan together for Cade to come back and be ready to play right away."
The Lopes won't be bothered that their streak of four straight rubber matches in WAC series won't continue. But they will aim for a 14th consecutive win over Utah Tech when the teams reunite for the series finale on Sunday at noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ahern, Garrett (2-0)
L: Carson Bonus (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Kyle McDaniel 2
HR: Hunter Katschke 1
RBI: Ethan Royal 2 ; Kyle McDaniel 1 ; Hank Dodson 1 ; Hunter Katschke 1 ; Petey Soto Jr. 1 ; Blake Borgogno 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ethan Royal 1 ; Hunter Katschke 2 ; Brennen Study 1 ; Chase Rodriguez 1 ; Petey Soto Jr. 1 ; Blake Borgogno 1
SB: Chase Rodriguez 1
HBP: Petey Soto Jr. 1
Batting:
2B: Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Yorke, Zach 1 ; Paton, Eli 1
HR: Gyselman, Alton 1
RBI: Wilson, Tyler 1 ; Yorke, Zach 2 ; Diaz, Michael 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 3
SF: Diaz, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Verdusco, Cade 2 ; Wilson, Tyler 1 ; Buries, Elijah 1 ; Yorke, Zach 1 ; Paton, Eli 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1 ; Neville, Cooper 1
SB: Paton, Eli 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballUTIL
/ Baseball1B
/ BaseballGCU Baseball - WAC Tournament vs. Utah Tech - Highlights
Thursday, May 22
Baseball at Stanford - Barreras' game-winning double
Saturday, May 10
Baseball vs. Arizona (5/6/25) - Yorke homers twice to break record
Wednesday, May 07
GCU Baseball - Eli Paton walk-off single vs. UTA
Saturday, April 26