Completed Event: Baseball versus Cal State Fullerton on November 8, 2025 ,
Baseball
vs Cal State Fullerton
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, May 18
Orem, Utah
10:30 a.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
34-21, 23-7
16
at
5
Utah Valley
28-27, 18-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
2
2
2
0
4
3
3
16
16
1
Utah Valley
0
0
0
0
3
0
2
5
8
0
GCU ends regular season with 16-5 win
5/18/2024 1:55:00 PM | Baseball
Lopes clinch 15th consecutive WAC series, defeat Utah Valley in run-rule fashion
OREM, Utah — Already equipped with the WAC Tournament's No. 1 seed, Grand Canyon wanted to ensure it ended the regular season in rhythm.
While shaky at times early in a four-game Utah trip, the Lopes (34-21, 23-7 WAC) emphatically ended the week by scoring 23 runs in the last nine innings. GCU's offense was constant, scoring in the final two frames of Friday's win at Utah Valley and in six of the seven innings in Saturday's 16-5 victory that won the series.
"That's what we talked about yesterday: we're going to get hot and stay hot," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "We got hot late yesterday and then we stayed hot today. I feel like it's a great way to finish, winning a series on the road and rolling into the WAC Tournament hot."
After allowing 16 runs on Thursday to Utah Valley (28-27, 18-12 WAC), GCU flipped the script and scored 16 runs on Saturday to clinch its 15th consecutive WAC series. The Lopes finished off a 10-0 mark in WAC series in 2024 and concluded conference play at 23-7.
The Lopes posted 16 or more runs for the fourth time this season, using a 16-hit team effort that featured a hit or an RBI from all nine starters.
GCU senior left fielder Tyler Wilson — the WAC Player of the Year favorite — finished off the regular season with a four-hit day that extended his hitting streak to 23 games and improved his batting average to a conference-best .383. It is the longest GCU hitting streak since Chad De La Guerra hit in 24 consecutive games in 2015.
Junior left fielder Michael Diaz and senior second baseman Elijah Buries proved to be a dynamic duo in the Lopes' Nos. 5 and 6 spots in the order, combining for five hits, nine RBIs and four runs. Buries had the second multi-homer game of his career, dating back to his freshman season, and a career-high five RBIs.
"It was a team effort today," Wallis said. "Everyone swung the bat well. Elijah Buries with the big hits, two homers, five RBIs. I was really proud of (senior) Dustin Crenshaw as well. I thought he got some big hits to start innings. His first career start at shortstop. I thought he just ignited us, gave us some life at the bottom of the lineup and played great at shortstop."
GCU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in methodical fashion, scoring two runs per inning in the first three frames. Diaz delivered a two-out, two-run double in the first to get GCU on the board. Crenshaw had an RBI double to fuel a two-run second inning. Buries and senior right fielder Eddy Pelc delivered back-to-back home runs in the third inning.
The Lopes expanded their lead to 10-0 with a four-run fifth inning.
Utah Valley capitalized on three walks and two hit batsmen in a three-run fifth, threatening GCU's chance at a mercy-rule win.
GCU responded with back-to-back three-run innings to push the lead to 16-3. Buries hit a three-run homer in the sixth. Diaz had a key two-run single in the seventh.
The Lopes used Daniel Avitia, Garrett Ahern, Walter Quinn and Nathan Ward on the bump to get through the seven innings. Avitia and Quinn's stints were scoreless, while Ahern improved to 4-0 in his freshman season.
GCU does not yet know its opponent but knows it will begin WAC Tournament play on Thursday at 12 p.m. at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona.
"Rest up tomorrow and then have crisp practices," Wallis said. "Over the next four days, rest, get everyone healthy and continue to work on what we feel we need to get better at to win this tournament and beyond. We're playing great baseball. There's still a few things we have to work on to be the best team we can be."
With a double bye into Thursday's action, the Lopes could win three games consecutively to claim the tournament championship and the conference's NCAA regional automatic berth.
While shaky at times early in a four-game Utah trip, the Lopes (34-21, 23-7 WAC) emphatically ended the week by scoring 23 runs in the last nine innings. GCU's offense was constant, scoring in the final two frames of Friday's win at Utah Valley and in six of the seven innings in Saturday's 16-5 victory that won the series.
"That's what we talked about yesterday: we're going to get hot and stay hot," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "We got hot late yesterday and then we stayed hot today. I feel like it's a great way to finish, winning a series on the road and rolling into the WAC Tournament hot."
After allowing 16 runs on Thursday to Utah Valley (28-27, 18-12 WAC), GCU flipped the script and scored 16 runs on Saturday to clinch its 15th consecutive WAC series. The Lopes finished off a 10-0 mark in WAC series in 2024 and concluded conference play at 23-7.
The Lopes posted 16 or more runs for the fourth time this season, using a 16-hit team effort that featured a hit or an RBI from all nine starters.
GCU senior left fielder Tyler Wilson — the WAC Player of the Year favorite — finished off the regular season with a four-hit day that extended his hitting streak to 23 games and improved his batting average to a conference-best .383. It is the longest GCU hitting streak since Chad De La Guerra hit in 24 consecutive games in 2015.
Junior left fielder Michael Diaz and senior second baseman Elijah Buries proved to be a dynamic duo in the Lopes' Nos. 5 and 6 spots in the order, combining for five hits, nine RBIs and four runs. Buries had the second multi-homer game of his career, dating back to his freshman season, and a career-high five RBIs.
"It was a team effort today," Wallis said. "Everyone swung the bat well. Elijah Buries with the big hits, two homers, five RBIs. I was really proud of (senior) Dustin Crenshaw as well. I thought he got some big hits to start innings. His first career start at shortstop. I thought he just ignited us, gave us some life at the bottom of the lineup and played great at shortstop."
GCU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in methodical fashion, scoring two runs per inning in the first three frames. Diaz delivered a two-out, two-run double in the first to get GCU on the board. Crenshaw had an RBI double to fuel a two-run second inning. Buries and senior right fielder Eddy Pelc delivered back-to-back home runs in the third inning.
The Lopes expanded their lead to 10-0 with a four-run fifth inning.
Utah Valley capitalized on three walks and two hit batsmen in a three-run fifth, threatening GCU's chance at a mercy-rule win.
GCU responded with back-to-back three-run innings to push the lead to 16-3. Buries hit a three-run homer in the sixth. Diaz had a key two-run single in the seventh.
The Lopes used Daniel Avitia, Garrett Ahern, Walter Quinn and Nathan Ward on the bump to get through the seven innings. Avitia and Quinn's stints were scoreless, while Ahern improved to 4-0 in his freshman season.
GCU does not yet know its opponent but knows it will begin WAC Tournament play on Thursday at 12 p.m. at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona.
"Rest up tomorrow and then have crisp practices," Wallis said. "Over the next four days, rest, get everyone healthy and continue to work on what we feel we need to get better at to win this tournament and beyond. We're playing great baseball. There's still a few things we have to work on to be the best team we can be."
With a double bye into Thursday's action, the Lopes could win three games consecutively to claim the tournament championship and the conference's NCAA regional automatic berth.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ahern, Garrett (4-0)
L: Hennessey, Chase (0-4)
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Tyler 1 ; Diaz, Michael 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1 ; Crenshaw, Dustin 1
HR: Buries, Elijah 2 ; Pelc, Eddy 1
RBI: Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Yorke, Zach 1 ; Diaz, Michael 4 ; Buries, Elijah 5 ; Pelc, Eddy 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1 ; Crenshaw, Dustin 1
SF: Yorke, Zach 1 ; Gyselman, Alton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Tyler 2 ; Verdusco, Cade 1 ; Yorke, Zach 2 ; Paton, Eli 2 ; Diaz, Michael 1 ; Buries, Elijah 3 ; Pelc, Eddy 2 ; Gyselman, Alton 1 ; Crenshaw, Dustin 2
Batting:
3B: Schwarz, Matthew 1
RBI: Bach, Nate 1 ; Smith, Jayden 1 ; Schwarz, Matthew 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Camper, Burke 1 ; Halvorson, Calyn 1 ; Jordan, Cole 1 ; Piper, Lucas 1 ; Broussard, Garrett 1
HBP: Dickinson, Daniel 1 ; Jordan, Cole 1 ; Bach, Nate 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
4
RBI
2
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
5
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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INF
/ BaseballOF
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RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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