Completed Event: Baseball versus Cal State Fullerton on November 8, 2025 ,
Baseball
vs Cal State Fullerton
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, April 6
Moraga, Calif.
11 a.m.
Grand Canyon
15-14
10
at
12
St. Mary's
17-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
0
3
4
2
0
1
0
10
9
3
Saint Mary's
0
10
1
1
0
0
X
12
10
1
Resilience keys doubleheader split
4/6/2024 4:10:00 PM | Baseball
Lopes score 3 runs with 2 outs in 9th inning of Game 2 to split day
MORAGA, Calif. — Grand Canyon and Saint Mary's played two tightly contested games in a Saturday doubleheader with each team winning one game.
Resiliency was key throughout the afternoon as GCU battled back from a big deficit in the first game before falling12-10 and then made a spirited two-out, ninth-inning rally to claim the nightcap 3-2.
"We kept playing," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "That's what I'm really proud about with this team. I don't think anyone is happy dropping the first two games, but what I am proud of is that they keep playing. We're not perfect. We understand that. We have to get better. But we kept playing baseball all day. It didn't look great, but we found a way to get it done."
After dropping the first two games of the weekend series, the Lopes (16-14) ended Saturday on a winning note to set up a chance for a series split against the Gaels (17-11) on Sunday.
"We kept fighting," Wallis said. "The first game, just didn't get the big hit with runners in scoring position. We fought back from down seven and made it a ballgame."
The Lopes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning on RBI hits from junior designated hitter Blake Avila, senior catcher Alton Gyselman and senior center fielder Eddy Pelc.
GCU's lead was quickly erased in a nightmarish bottom of the second that featured three hit batsmen, two walks, two errors and five hits leading to 10 runs.
The Lopes jumped right back in the game with a four-run third inning to narrow the deficit to 10-7. The third inning was highlighted by a two-run double from Gyselman.
GCU scored two more in the fourth on a double from sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke and a sac fly from junior outfielder Michael Diaz. The Lopes added another tally in the sixth on a solo homer by senior left fielder Tyler Wilson.
Despite pulling within two runs late, the Lopes ran out of time in a shortened seven-inning game that was agreed upon when Thursday's series opener was rained out.
After seniors Elijah Buries and Wilson drew walks, junior right fielder Maxwell Andeel smacked a two-out double down the left-field line to plate the Lopes' first run of the day with Wilson moving to third.
Gyselman continued his stellar day, facing a two-strike count and bouncing a ball up the middle to score the tying and go-ahead runs. The ball narrowly escaped the infield, glancing off the outstretched glove of the shorstop and into center to score Wilson and Andeel.
"That was big," Wallis said. "Two strikes, two outs, on a little losing streak, about to drop the first three. He finds the middle of the field and knocks in two. Huge at bats in the ninth really by everyone, but especially starting with Buries. We found a way to get it done, and we're excited about it."
Gyselman drove in two runs in the first game and was called back into action in the second game of the doubleheader after an injury to junior catcher John Sheehan.
"His offense all year has been great," Wallis said. "He's really been a great contributor offensively, and he's catching great as well. We're happy with the production that Alton's given us all year."
Senior closer Nathan Ward walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth, but helped himself out by picking off the lead runner at second base. That paved the way for a fly out and a strikeout to end the game and seal his fifth save of the season.
"We were looking for another opportunity to get him out on the bump in a save situation," Wallis said, after Ward was unable to convert on a Tuesday night save. "He's been great for us for two years. We knew what he was going to do. He likes the high pressure, the high leverage. He got it done today. It was good to see him back out doing his thing."
The freshman duo of Hunter Watkins and Ben Smith combined to throw eight innings of two-run baseball, each allowing one run in a four-inning appearance.
"The best part of the day was our three freshmen that haven't gotten a ton of innings, but we feel really confident in," Wallis said. "Everyone's seen what Connor (Mattison) has done, but I think we have a four-headed monster with Hunter Watkins, Ben Smith and Garrett Ahern. What they did was great for today, but also great for the rest of the year and the future of the program to have four freshman arms like that that are that good."
GCU and Saint Mary's conclude the series on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Resiliency was key throughout the afternoon as GCU battled back from a big deficit in the first game before falling12-10 and then made a spirited two-out, ninth-inning rally to claim the nightcap 3-2.
"We kept playing," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "That's what I'm really proud about with this team. I don't think anyone is happy dropping the first two games, but what I am proud of is that they keep playing. We're not perfect. We understand that. We have to get better. But we kept playing baseball all day. It didn't look great, but we found a way to get it done."
After dropping the first two games of the weekend series, the Lopes (16-14) ended Saturday on a winning note to set up a chance for a series split against the Gaels (17-11) on Sunday.
Game 1
GCU bounced back from its worst inning of the season, a 10-run second inning that put the Lopes in a 10-3 hole. GCU kept chipping away at the deficit but ran out of time in the shortened seven-inning contest."We kept fighting," Wallis said. "The first game, just didn't get the big hit with runners in scoring position. We fought back from down seven and made it a ballgame."
The Lopes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning on RBI hits from junior designated hitter Blake Avila, senior catcher Alton Gyselman and senior center fielder Eddy Pelc.
GCU's lead was quickly erased in a nightmarish bottom of the second that featured three hit batsmen, two walks, two errors and five hits leading to 10 runs.
The Lopes jumped right back in the game with a four-run third inning to narrow the deficit to 10-7. The third inning was highlighted by a two-run double from Gyselman.
GCU scored two more in the fourth on a double from sophomore first baseman Zach Yorke and a sac fly from junior outfielder Michael Diaz. The Lopes added another tally in the sixth on a solo homer by senior left fielder Tyler Wilson.
Despite pulling within two runs late, the Lopes ran out of time in a shortened seven-inning game that was agreed upon when Thursday's series opener was rained out.
Game 2
The Lopes were staring the day's second loss in the face with two outs in the top of the ninth, but GCU flipped the script and won 3-2.After seniors Elijah Buries and Wilson drew walks, junior right fielder Maxwell Andeel smacked a two-out double down the left-field line to plate the Lopes' first run of the day with Wilson moving to third.
Gyselman continued his stellar day, facing a two-strike count and bouncing a ball up the middle to score the tying and go-ahead runs. The ball narrowly escaped the infield, glancing off the outstretched glove of the shorstop and into center to score Wilson and Andeel.
"That was big," Wallis said. "Two strikes, two outs, on a little losing streak, about to drop the first three. He finds the middle of the field and knocks in two. Huge at bats in the ninth really by everyone, but especially starting with Buries. We found a way to get it done, and we're excited about it."
Gyselman drove in two runs in the first game and was called back into action in the second game of the doubleheader after an injury to junior catcher John Sheehan.
"His offense all year has been great," Wallis said. "He's really been a great contributor offensively, and he's catching great as well. We're happy with the production that Alton's given us all year."
Senior closer Nathan Ward walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth, but helped himself out by picking off the lead runner at second base. That paved the way for a fly out and a strikeout to end the game and seal his fifth save of the season.
"We were looking for another opportunity to get him out on the bump in a save situation," Wallis said, after Ward was unable to convert on a Tuesday night save. "He's been great for us for two years. We knew what he was going to do. He likes the high pressure, the high leverage. He got it done today. It was good to see him back out doing his thing."
The freshman duo of Hunter Watkins and Ben Smith combined to throw eight innings of two-run baseball, each allowing one run in a four-inning appearance.
"The best part of the day was our three freshmen that haven't gotten a ton of innings, but we feel really confident in," Wallis said. "Everyone's seen what Connor (Mattison) has done, but I think we have a four-headed monster with Hunter Watkins, Ben Smith and Garrett Ahern. What they did was great for today, but also great for the rest of the year and the future of the program to have four freshman arms like that that are that good."
GCU and Saint Mary's conclude the series on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DELVECCHIO, Dylan (2-1)
L: Mattison, Connor (4-2)
S: REITZ, Jason (1)
Batting:
2B: Paton, Eli 1 ; Yorke, Zach 1 ; Avila, Blake 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1
HR: Wilson, Tyler 1
RBI: Pelc, Eddy 1 ; Yorke, Zach 1 ; Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Avila, Blake 1 ; Diaz, Michael 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 3 ; Sanders, Troy 1
SF: Diaz, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Paton, Eli 2 ; Yorke, Zach 3 ; Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Avila, Blake 1 ; Diaz, Michael 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1
Batting:
HR: MASHORE, Dalton 2 ; METTAM, Jared 1
RBI: PIERCE, Ryan 1 ; DUROFF, Brian 1 ; SCHMIDT, Coleman 1 ; MASHORE, Dalton 4 ; METTAM, Jared 4
SF: SCHMIDT, Coleman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: NAPIER, Gavin 2 ; ALMANZA, Christian 1 ; PIERCE, Ryan 1 ; DUROFF, Brian 1 ; SCHMIDT, Coleman 1 ; MASHORE, Dalton 3 ; CHONG, Nathan 1 ; HARRISON, Connor 1 ; METTAM, Jared 1
HBP: NAPIER, Gavin 1 ; DUROFF, Brian 1 ; CHONG, Nathan 1 ; HARRISON, Connor 1
Game Leaders
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4
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2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
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