Lopes take 1st-place tie into UT Arlington series

Friday, April 25 - Sunday, April 27 \| Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS (13-24, 5-7 WAC)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (24-16, 10-5 WAC)

PITCHING PROBABLES

Friday, April 25 • 7 p.m.
Live Stats • Watch on ESPN+ • Tickets
RHP Caylon Dygert (4-3, 4.45) vs. RHP Isaac Lyon (3-3, 3.46)

Saturday, April 26 • 7 p.m.
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RHP Nicholas Robb (2-4, 4.25) vs. RHP Garrett Ahern (5-2, 4.36)

Sunday, April 27 • 12 p.m.
Live Stats • Watch on ESPN+ • Tickets
RHP Joe Steeber (3-3, 3.73) vs. TBA

In the thick of a three-game tie atop the conference standings, Grand Canyon hosts the first of back-to-back WAC weekends with UT Arlington visiting. The Mavericks are in a three-way tie for fifth in the WAC.

The three-game series will be streamed on ESPN+.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

SWINGING A HOT BAT: With April coming to a close, a few Lopes have been swinging an exceptionally hot bat in the month. Sophomore Cannon Peery leads the way with GCU-best marks of a .400 batting average, .510 on-base percentage and six doubles. Middle infielders Emilio Barreras (junior shortstop) and Troy Sanders (sophomore second baseman) are hitting .370 and .362, respectively, to rank among the Lopes' leaders. The power has come from senior outfielder Michael Diaz, who is slugging .909 this month with five home runs and two triples.

KEYS TO SUCCESS: A few metrics have been indicative of GCU's success this season. The Lopes can roll out a lineup filled with left-handed bats that has led to a 17-7 mark against right-handed starters (all three of UTA's scheduled starters are righties). Additionally, GCU is 19-8 when it hits at least one home run while it is 15-6 when it doesn't allow one. The Lopes are 10-1 when they play error-free baseball and 19-2 when they hold the advantage in the hits column.

COUNTDOWN TO 100: Lopes third-year head coach Gregg Wallis is already eyeing a key career milestone, sitting three wins away from his 100th. If Wallis reaches the mark this homestand, he will become the second-fastest coach to reach 100 wins in program history to Gil Stafford, and the first coach to reach the mark in only his third season since Stafford in 1982.

SCOUTING UT ARLINGTON

UT Arlington is in its first season under longtime Hawai'i head coach Mike Trapasso, who took over the Mavericks program after two seasons as an assistant coach on its staff. The win-loss record has been shaky, but it has come against the nation's No. 15 nonconference schedule. UTA has earned series wins over UTSA and Little Rock and swept a three-game WAC set at Tarleton State. The Mavericks are 0-5 against ranked teams and dropped WAC series to Sacramento State, California Baptist and Abilene Christian.

UT Arlington has struggled offensively, sitting near the bottom in batting average (230th nationally, eighth WAC), on-base percentage (273rd/ninth), slugging percentage (250th/ninth) and runs scored (263rd/ninth). However, the Mavericks rank 10th nationally in double plays turned per game. Additionally, the pitching staff has been disciplined in limiting free passes, ranking 19th in the nation and third in the conference in walks allowed per nine innings (3.5).

WHAT'S NEXT?

The homestand continues with a Monday afternoon game against BYU and another WAC weekend against Sacramento State.

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

Friday, April 25 - Sunday, April 27 | Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark | Phoenix, Ariz.

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PITCHING PROBABLES

3 THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING UT ARLINGTON

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Garrett Ahern

Emilio Barreras

Michael Diaz

Isaac Lyon

Cannon Peery

Troy Sanders

Grand Canyon University Athletics