Lopes tally 5 in 8th, rally to WAC Tournament win

Wednesday, May 21

Mesa, Ariz.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

31-25

Utah Tech

24-30

Utah Tech

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Darryl Webb

5/21/2025 9:02:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro

Box Score GCU Notes

GCU's Pelc stays hot with 2 hits, game-tying single in 8th

By: Paul Coro

MESA, Ariz. – Grand Canyon did not miss its WAC Tournament target when the Lopes did not grab the No. 1 seed on the regular season's final week.

GCU just took a different route, as it did Wednesday to win its tournament opener at Hohokam Stadium.

The Lopes advanced to the No. 1 seed's game Thursday when they rallied from a 6-2, eighth-inning hole for a 7-6 victory against Utah Tech.

A five-run, eighth inning included as many GCU hits (four) as the rest of the game when they flipped the pressure to Trailblazers, who the Lopes sent to the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

No. 4 seed GCU (31-25) returns to Hohokam to play top-seeded Sacramento State (31-24) at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. That winner will be one of two undefeated teams in Friday's semifinal round.

Despite having NCAA Tournament teams in three of the past four seasons, GCU broke a four-game WAC Tournament losing streak with Wednesday's resilient win.

"We did not have as good of a conference season this year," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "But when you look up, we're in the same game we were in last year. Yeah, we've pitched our ace, but the history of this tournament shows, it doesn't matter. Guys need to step up. It's that time of year."

The Lopes who stepped up Wednesday were junior right-handed starter Isaac Lyon, who put GCU in position to win, and a series of clutch hitters that featured red-hot graduate center fielder Eddy Pelc and pinch-hitting hero Carson Ohland.

Utah Tech, hitting .345 in its last 10 WAC games, took a 6-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning to leave GCU two chances to stay in the winner's bracket. The Lopes only needed one.

GCU puts its first four batters on base to flip momentum and spark a five-run inning that wiped out the deficit before taking the lead.

"Baseball is a game of momentum, and once you get that momentum on your side, it's like a snowball and it just rolls," said Ohland, a sophomore. "Once we got that, it was great."

It began simply with senior left fielder Michael Diaz's infield single and sophomore designated hitter Billy Scaldeferri drawing a walk, prompting Wallis to have Ohland pinch-hit after he finished the regular season with a two-hit game.

Carson Ohland

Facing a 1-2 count, Ohland pulled a changeup into right-center field to cut the lead to 6-3.

"He was sitting there for seven innings, cheering on his brothers, comes out there and gives us that swing that we needed," Pelc said of Ohland. "That was electric. That turned everything for us."

Ohland is 5 for his last 11 after getting what Pelc called the "swing of the day."

"I just was watching everybody else's at bats and taking notes throughout the whole game, thinking maybe I'll get my opportunity," Ohland said.

"Coach Wally's been telling us that it's the tournament, and anything can happen. The end of the regular season didn't end necessarily how we wanted, but now that we're in the tournament, anything can happen."

Sophomore catcher Marcus Galvan followed Ohland by working his at bat to a full count before punching a two-run single to right and reducing Utah Tech's lead to 6-5.

Even after junior right fielder Josh Wakefield was robbed when Trailblazers shortstop Petey Soto Jr. made a diving stab on his line drive, junior shortstop Emilio Barreras mounted the pressure with a one-out walk that brought up Pelc.

Eddy Pelc

The All-WAC second-team honoree pulled an RBI single to tie the game before graduate third baseman Eli Paton's safety squeeze bunt gave GCU a 7-6 lead.

"We put up so many good at bats, and we hit so many balls hard, but nothing really falls until late in the game," Pelc said. "It just shows how resilient this group is, how fun it is to be a part of this group. We just had that grind in us. We can stick with it for a whole nine."

Over the past 14 games, Pelc is hitting .538 (28 for 52) with 24 RBIs after his 2-for-3, two-RBI game Wednesday.

"I'm just blessed to be out here every day and be with this group of guys," Pelc said. "They make it easy.

"Finishing strong is a good thing, so I just hope I can keep it going."

Finishing strong has been junior closer Walter Quinn's calling card. Quinn tied for ninth in the nation with his 11th save, starting the final shutout inning with a filthy, three-pitch strikeout before he wiped out a two-out Utah Tech double with a game-ending ground out to Barreras.

Isaac Lyon

The win gave junior reliever Elijah Higginbottom a 6-0 record, but Lyon threw 99 pitches over six innings – his 10th consecutive start of five innings or more. Utah Tech broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning because of a GCU error and another fielding mental miscue.

"That's kind of the story of his season," Wallis said of Lyon, who is averaging 95 pitches per start this season. "It seems like some weird things happen. He gave up three two-out runs, but we made some mistakes that allowed those runs. If we play a little bit cleaner, communicate a little bit better on the diamond, he might only give up one today."

GCU scored earlier in the game on Paton's fourth-inning RBI double and Barreras' fifth-inning RBI sacrifice fly. The Lopes were given eight free passes (seven walks, one hit by pitch) over the first seven innings, but none of those runners scored.

"It didn't seem like we were going to get the big hit with runners in scoring position," Wallis said. "We had opportunities. We hit some balls hard early in the game, but right at guys.

"And then in the eighth, things just turned our way, and that's what you need in a tournament. Trust me, the tournament hasn't turned our way at times."

If GCU can beat No. 1 seed Sacramento State on Thursday, it will play at 11 a.m. Friday for a chance to reach the championship round. A loss would return the Lopes to Hohokam for a 7 p.m. elimination game against UT Arlington.