Goal lies 3 wins in 3 days away for GCU at WAC Tournament

Thursday, May 23

Mesa, Ariz.

1:25 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Tarleton State

Tickets

Photo by: Jack Gilday

Goal lies 3 wins in 3 days away for GCU at WAC Tournament

5/22/2024 6:34:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro

GCU TOURNAMENT NOTES WAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET

Top-seeded Lopes open with quarterfinal vs. Tarelton State at Hohokam Stadium

By: Paul Coro

Thursday, May 23 \| 12 p.m. \| WAC Tournament \| Hohokam Stadium \| Mesa, Ariz.

	(5) TARLETON STATE TEXANS (29-28, 17-13 WAC)	vs.	(1) GRAND CANYON LOPES (34-21, 23-7 WAC)

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Before the season, someone in Tim Salmon Clubhouse scribbled "We are hitting .315 as a team this year!" on a piece of paper and tacked it to a wall corkboard where players look daily for itineraries and lineups.

It seemed like a lofty expectation for a team that was favored in the WAC for its pitching strengths and was losing .411 hitter Jacob Wilson and .370 hitter Homer Bush Jr.

The Lopes came darn close and aren't done yet, as they take their best-ever Division I-era batting average (.311) into their WAC Tournament opener against Tarleton State at noon Thursday at Mesa's Hohokam Stadium.

Under head coach Gregg Wallis, GCU continued its WAC regular-season dominance with a fourth consecutive regular-season championship, accumulating a 99-26 conference record after going 23-7 in WAC play this season.

The Lopes were driven to secure the champion's two rounds of tournament byes so that they could be three wins in three days away from the opportunity missed last year – a WAC Tournament championship an

d its corresponding automatic NCAA regional berth. This large GCU senior class wants to go out how it came in, making NCAA regionals in 2021 and 2022.

"We're going to play our brand of baseball," said Lopes senior center fielder Cade Verdusco, who improved his batting average 70 points this season to .327. "If we play our game, not many people are going to be able to stop us. We do the little things right. We do the big things right. If you put it all together, like we have been lately, we're going to be a tough team to beat."

GCU (34-21) enters the Oakland A's spring training park this week as more than the WAC favorite. The Lopes are one of five teams in the nation to rank in the top 30 for batting average (23rd) and ERA (29th).

An injury to WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Daniel Avitia changed the rotation in his absence and his role upon return. Young arms stepped up with sophomores Isaac Lyon (6-1, 3.31 ERA) and Grant Richardson (4-1, 4.08 ERA) in the rotation with freshmen Connor Mattison and Hunter Watkins taking on huge roles.

The Lopes bats relentlessly backed the pitchers, averaging 11 runs per game over the final 13 games of the regular season.

Elijah Buries BP

"We've got a united team," said senior second baseman Elijah Buries, whose 251 career hits is a GCU Division I-era record and ranks 31st among active D-I players. "We're excited to play for each other. At this point, it's playing for the team. Being the last ride here, everybody's all in for each other, and it's going to be fun."

GCU opens the double-elimination tournament against Tarleton State, which defeated No. 8 seed Sacramento State 12-6 on Tuesday and No. 4 seed California Baptist 5-3 on Wednesday to reach Thursday's quarterfinal.

The Lopes won a mid-March series against the Texans with an emphatic 14-0, run-rule finale. More seniors – Dustin Crenshaw (5 for 12), Eli Paton (6 for 11) and Eddy Pelc (6 for 10) – feasted on Tarleton State pitching that series.

GCU has won 15 consecutive WAC series, but will need three wins in three days at Hohokam Stadium to reach its goal.

"When you win it your freshman year and you get an at-large bid your second year, the WAC championship is expected out of us," said GCU senior Tyler Wilson, the WAC Player of the Year with .383 hitting, 15 home runs and 59 RBIs. "To go to a regional and win a game, a lot of the older guys are ready to get back to where we need to be and do something special. We know what we're capable of doing."

WHAT'S NEXT?

The winner of Thursday's GCU-Tarleton State game will advance to a noon Friday semifinal round game against the Thursday 9 a.m. game winner between Utah Valley and Abilene Christian. The GCU-Tarleton State loser will play No. 7 seed UT Rio Grande Valley in a 7 p.m. elimination game Thursday. The event uses digital tickets only, which are available here.

For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view game notes.