Completed Event: Baseball versus Oklahoma State on February 21, 2026 , Loss , 7, to, 10
Baseball
vs Oklahoma State
L 7-10
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 27
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
4-6
5
vs
4
Pacific
4-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Pacific
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
4
8
0
Grand Canyon
1
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
X
5
9
1
Photo by: Nate Cochran
Early pitcher's duel, late scoring frenzy yields GCU win
2/27/2026 9:58:00 PM | Baseball
Johns' 2-run double in 7th gave Lopes late-game lead
Grand Canyon erased a sixth-inning deficit and delivered in the late innings Friday night, edging Pacific 5-4 at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
The Lopes (4-6) scored four of the game's final six runs and leaned on a four-man pitching effort to secure the series-opening win.
"That's a classic Friday night baseball game," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It doesn't matter who you play, everyone's going to have an ace on Friday night, and you have to play well to win the game. It's great to win this because this is what a typical Friday night game is going to look like. Close game, using a lot of guys out of the bullpen, having to execute and get some clutch hits. So overall, I was really happy with the win tonight."
The clutch GCU hit came in the seventh.
With the game tied after Pacific (4-5) answered in the top half, sophomore third baseman Jake Sanko sparked the rally with his second double of the night. After a pair of outs were recorded, junior first baseman Cannon Peery kept the inning alive with an infield single.
That set the stage for freshman left fielder Tanner Johns, and he ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to score Scaldeferri and Peery and put GCU back in front for good at 5-3.
Johns, the reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week, finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a walk, delivering the decisive swing in a game that featured four lead changes or ties.
Peery ignited the comeback an inning earlier. Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, the junior launched his third home run of the season to even the score. Later in the frame, Johns worked a walk and moved into scoring position on a balk before freshman shortstop Austin Owens singled. A wild pitch allowed Johns to race home with the go-ahead run, flipping a one-run deficit into a 3-2 Lopes advantage.
Pacific briefly tied the game again in the seventh on a solo home run, but GCU's response in the bottom half proved to be the difference.
On the mound, junior right-hander Garrett Ahern battled through early trouble to keep the Lopes within striking distance. After two unearned runs scored in the first inning following an error, Ahern settled in and allowed just one hit over his next four-plus innings. He went 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three hits and no earned runs while striking out six.
"Garrett just kept getting sharper," Wallis said. "In the first he wasn't showing his usual command. We walked a guy, we made an error. So we still gave some free bases for them to score. Then I felt like he got stronger from the second through the fifth. Garrett gave us an outstanding outing."
Sophomore right-hander Billy Gregory bridged the middle innings to earn the win before junior right-hander Tommy McGuire recorded two key outs in the eighth. Senior right-hander Aidan Lee closed it out, striking out two over the final 1 1/3 innings to secure the save and strand the tying run on base in the eighth.
GCU answered Pacific's two-run first inning immediately when Sanko singled, stole second and scored on Scaldeferri's RBI double in the bottom half.
Sanko had a game-high three hits, matching his Wednesday three-hit effort to up his average to .500 (8 for 16) on the young season.
Wallis pointed to an at bat that never showed up in the box score as a turning point.
"The biggest at bat of the night was (graduate catcher) Mito Perez," said Wallis of an eight-pitch, third-inning walk. "It won't show up in the box score. But he extended the inning, tired their guy out and elevated the pitch count. It's not always the hits. It's taking tough at bats, working counts and trying to break down a good starter."
GCU has strung together back-to-back wins for the first time and looks to continue its momentum when it sends junior righty JT Guerrero to the mound for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.
The Lopes (4-6) scored four of the game's final six runs and leaned on a four-man pitching effort to secure the series-opening win.
"That's a classic Friday night baseball game," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It doesn't matter who you play, everyone's going to have an ace on Friday night, and you have to play well to win the game. It's great to win this because this is what a typical Friday night game is going to look like. Close game, using a lot of guys out of the bullpen, having to execute and get some clutch hits. So overall, I was really happy with the win tonight."
The clutch GCU hit came in the seventh.
With the game tied after Pacific (4-5) answered in the top half, sophomore third baseman Jake Sanko sparked the rally with his second double of the night. After a pair of outs were recorded, junior first baseman Cannon Peery kept the inning alive with an infield single.
That set the stage for freshman left fielder Tanner Johns, and he ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to score Scaldeferri and Peery and put GCU back in front for good at 5-3.
Johns, the reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week, finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a walk, delivering the decisive swing in a game that featured four lead changes or ties.
Peery ignited the comeback an inning earlier. Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, the junior launched his third home run of the season to even the score. Later in the frame, Johns worked a walk and moved into scoring position on a balk before freshman shortstop Austin Owens singled. A wild pitch allowed Johns to race home with the go-ahead run, flipping a one-run deficit into a 3-2 Lopes advantage.
Pacific briefly tied the game again in the seventh on a solo home run, but GCU's response in the bottom half proved to be the difference.
On the mound, junior right-hander Garrett Ahern battled through early trouble to keep the Lopes within striking distance. After two unearned runs scored in the first inning following an error, Ahern settled in and allowed just one hit over his next four-plus innings. He went 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three hits and no earned runs while striking out six.
"Garrett just kept getting sharper," Wallis said. "In the first he wasn't showing his usual command. We walked a guy, we made an error. So we still gave some free bases for them to score. Then I felt like he got stronger from the second through the fifth. Garrett gave us an outstanding outing."
Sophomore right-hander Billy Gregory bridged the middle innings to earn the win before junior right-hander Tommy McGuire recorded two key outs in the eighth. Senior right-hander Aidan Lee closed it out, striking out two over the final 1 1/3 innings to secure the save and strand the tying run on base in the eighth.
GCU answered Pacific's two-run first inning immediately when Sanko singled, stole second and scored on Scaldeferri's RBI double in the bottom half.
Sanko had a game-high three hits, matching his Wednesday three-hit effort to up his average to .500 (8 for 16) on the young season.
Wallis pointed to an at bat that never showed up in the box score as a turning point.
"The biggest at bat of the night was (graduate catcher) Mito Perez," said Wallis of an eight-pitch, third-inning walk. "It won't show up in the box score. But he extended the inning, tired their guy out and elevated the pitch count. It's not always the hits. It's taking tough at bats, working counts and trying to break down a good starter."
GCU has strung together back-to-back wins for the first time and looks to continue its momentum when it sends junior righty JT Guerrero to the mound for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gregory, Billy (1-0)
L: Wilson, Brady (1-2)
S: Lee, Aidan (1)
Batting:
2B: French, Blaine 1
HR: Orr, Robert 1
RBI: Orr, Robert 1 ; Sloan, Andrew 1 ; French, Blaine 2
SH: O'Sullivan, Brendan 1
SF: Sloan, Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Orr, Robert 1 ; Tandy, Jake 1 ; Shank, JT 1 ; French, Blaine 1
Batting:
2B: Sanko, Jake 2 ; Scaldeferri, Billy 1 ; Johns, Tanner 1
HR: Peery, Cannon 1
RBI: Scaldeferri, Billy 1 ; Peery, Cannon 1 ; Johns, Tanner 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanko, Jake 1 ; Scaldeferri, Billy 1 ; Peery, Cannon 2 ; Johns, Tanner 1
SB: Perez, Mito 1 ; Sanko, Jake 1 ; Owens, Austin 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball1B/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballGCU Baseball vs. Pacific - Cannon Peery's fourth homer of season
Saturday, February 28
GCU Baseball vs. Pacific - Tanner Johns' go-ahead double
Saturday, February 28
GCU Baseball vs. Oklahoma State (Game 1) - Highlights
Friday, February 20
GCU Baseball vs. Northeastern - Highlights
Saturday, February 14