Completed Event: Baseball versus Northeastern on February 13, 2026 , Win , 10, to, 0 , (7 inn.)
Baseball
vs Northeastern
W 10-0
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, April 30
Tucson, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
26-18
24
at
8
Arizona
26-17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
2
3
0
2
1
4
12
24
23
2
Arizona
3
0
2
2
1
0
0
8
7
3
Photo by: Rachel Sollazzo
GCU trounces No. 21 Arizona 24-8
4/30/2024 9:18:00 PM | Baseball
Lopes take 2 of 3 from Wildcats in 2024; UA allows most runs since 2000
TUCSON, Ariz. — Grand Canyon emphatically claimed the season series from No. 21 Arizona with a 24-8 victory on Tuesday night at Hi Corbett Field.
The Lopes (26-18) scored the most runs that Arizona had allowed since 2000. In their last 20 games, the Wildcats (26-17) have only lost four times with two of them coming at the hands of GCU.
After falling in Tucson on March 19, the Lopes responded with a home win on April 16 and Tuesday's road victory in front of 2,704 fans to win the season series. Both GCU wins came against Arizona teams that were ranked No. 21.
"I just told the team, we've been talking all year how we feel like we have a really good ballclub," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "When we play consistent baseball, we have a chance to be really good. To take two of three, and especially to take one at their home from a team that's leading the Pac-12 right now, a top-25 team, it shows our guys that when we play well and when we're together, we have a chance to be really good."
GCU scored 20 runs for the second straight game and again posted its most runs since a 25-run effort in 2019. In the two-game span, the Lopes have tallied 44 runs on 39 hits for their most runs in a two-game span since returning to Division I in 2014. GCU posted back-to-back games of 20 or more runs for the first time since 1986.
The Lopes' rout did not start immediately. Through five innings, the clubs had played to an 8-8 tie before GCU reeled off 16 unanswered runs, including a 12-run seventh inning that induced a mercy rule.
"It was a back-and-forth game," Wallis said. "Just one of those weird midweek nights where it felt like something crazy was going to happen. We were just fortunate that a lot of it was on our side. We swung the bat really well."
The Lopes' wild 12-run inning started inauspiciously with a ground out. From that point, 13 consecutive batters reached base. The half-inning featured eight hits, four walks, two hit batters, an error, a wild pitch, a passed ball and four Arizona pitchers. A modest four-run GCU lead turned into a 16-run laugher after the Lopes' highest-scoring inning since 2019.
Arguably the most important inning of the night happened one inning prior, when the Lopes broke an 8-8 tie with a four-run sixth inning. GCU strung together four consecutive two-out, extra-base RBI hits to build a 12-8 lead.
As one would expect in a 24-run, 23-hit effort, it was a well-rounded offensive night. Every GCU starter recorded at least one hit. Senior third baseman Eli Paton was the high-RBI man with a career-high six, and senior center fielder Cade Verdusco was the high-hits man with a career-high tying four that takes his season batting average to .412. Three other Lopes recorded three hits: senior left fielder Tyler Wilson, senior second baseman Elijah Buries and senior right fielder Eddy Pelc.
"Tyler Wilson continued to have a great night including the leadoff triple," Wallis said of his leadoff man, who is batting .376 after falling a single shy of a cycle Tuesday night. "A big double, a big home run. Cade Verdusco had a great night. We had a lot of great nights but the two seniors at the top really stand out. Special nights in what could be their last game at University of Arizona."
GCU took a three-game season series from Arizona for the second time in the last three years.
"Now we've got to get back to work because we've got a big series this weekend," Wallis said. "We're going to enjoy this because it was a special night and then get back to work tomorrow."
The Lopes return to Phoenix for a three-game series with California Baptist in a matchup of two of the WAC's top three teams. GCU holds a two-game lead atop the conference over CBU and Abilene Christian. The series gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Lopes (26-18) scored the most runs that Arizona had allowed since 2000. In their last 20 games, the Wildcats (26-17) have only lost four times with two of them coming at the hands of GCU.
After falling in Tucson on March 19, the Lopes responded with a home win on April 16 and Tuesday's road victory in front of 2,704 fans to win the season series. Both GCU wins came against Arizona teams that were ranked No. 21.
"I just told the team, we've been talking all year how we feel like we have a really good ballclub," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "When we play consistent baseball, we have a chance to be really good. To take two of three, and especially to take one at their home from a team that's leading the Pac-12 right now, a top-25 team, it shows our guys that when we play well and when we're together, we have a chance to be really good."
GCU scored 20 runs for the second straight game and again posted its most runs since a 25-run effort in 2019. In the two-game span, the Lopes have tallied 44 runs on 39 hits for their most runs in a two-game span since returning to Division I in 2014. GCU posted back-to-back games of 20 or more runs for the first time since 1986.
The Lopes' rout did not start immediately. Through five innings, the clubs had played to an 8-8 tie before GCU reeled off 16 unanswered runs, including a 12-run seventh inning that induced a mercy rule.
"It was a back-and-forth game," Wallis said. "Just one of those weird midweek nights where it felt like something crazy was going to happen. We were just fortunate that a lot of it was on our side. We swung the bat really well."
The Lopes' wild 12-run inning started inauspiciously with a ground out. From that point, 13 consecutive batters reached base. The half-inning featured eight hits, four walks, two hit batters, an error, a wild pitch, a passed ball and four Arizona pitchers. A modest four-run GCU lead turned into a 16-run laugher after the Lopes' highest-scoring inning since 2019.
Arguably the most important inning of the night happened one inning prior, when the Lopes broke an 8-8 tie with a four-run sixth inning. GCU strung together four consecutive two-out, extra-base RBI hits to build a 12-8 lead.
As one would expect in a 24-run, 23-hit effort, it was a well-rounded offensive night. Every GCU starter recorded at least one hit. Senior third baseman Eli Paton was the high-RBI man with a career-high six, and senior center fielder Cade Verdusco was the high-hits man with a career-high tying four that takes his season batting average to .412. Three other Lopes recorded three hits: senior left fielder Tyler Wilson, senior second baseman Elijah Buries and senior right fielder Eddy Pelc.
"Tyler Wilson continued to have a great night including the leadoff triple," Wallis said of his leadoff man, who is batting .376 after falling a single shy of a cycle Tuesday night. "A big double, a big home run. Cade Verdusco had a great night. We had a lot of great nights but the two seniors at the top really stand out. Special nights in what could be their last game at University of Arizona."
GCU took a three-game season series from Arizona for the second time in the last three years.
"Now we've got to get back to work because we've got a big series this weekend," Wallis said. "We're going to enjoy this because it was a special night and then get back to work tomorrow."
The Lopes return to Phoenix for a three-game series with California Baptist in a matchup of two of the WAC's top three teams. GCU holds a two-game lead atop the conference over CBU and Abilene Christian. The series gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Webb, Bryan (3-0)
L: Pluta, Tony (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Tyler 1 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Buries, Elijah 1 ; Pelc, Eddy 2 ; Barreras, Emilio 1
3B: Wilson, Tyler 1 ; Paton, Eli 1 ; Diaz, Michael 1
HR: Wilson, Tyler 1
RBI: Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Verdusco, Cade 2 ; Yorke, Zach 1 ; Sanders, Troy 1 ; Paton, Eli 6 ; Diaz, Michael 2 ; Buries, Elijah 3 ; Pelc, Eddy 3 ; Galvan, Marcus 2 ; Barreras, Emilio 1
SH: Verdusco, Cade 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Tyler 4 ; Verdusco, Cade 5 ; Yorke, Zach 1 ; Sanders, Troy 1 ; Paton, Eli 2 ; Diaz, Michael 2 ; Buries, Elijah 3 ; Pelc, Eddy 2 ; Galvan, Marcus 1 ; Barreras, Emilio 3
SB: Buries, Elijah 1
HBP: Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Paton, Eli 1
Batting:
2B: Cain, Andrew 1
HR: Caulfield, Garen 1
RBI: Caulfield, Garen 2 ; Mihalakis, Maddox 1 ; Corona, Emilio 1 ; Cain, Andrew 2 ; McDonald, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Summerhill, Brendan 2 ; Caulfield, Garen 1 ; White, Mason 1 ; Guzman, Adonys 1 ; Mihalakis, Maddox 1 ; Corona, Emilio 2
SB: Corona, Emilio 1
HBP: Summerhill, Brendan 1 ; White, Mason 1 ; Corona, Emilio 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
5
H
4
RBI
2
AB
5
R
4
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
UTIL
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