Lopes host 3-team weekend with Rice, Saint Mary's

Friday, March 13

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Rice

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Bryce Fairchild

3/12/2026 7:05:00 PM | Baseball

GCU Notes

GCU returns to friendly confines looking to ignite offense

By: Josh Hauser

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Friday at 6 p.m.	LHP Anthony Diaz (2-1, 6.92)	RHP Garrett Ahern (1-2, 4.91)
Saturday at 1 p.m.	LHP Cam Staton (1-1, 5.03)	RHP JT Guerrero (0-2, 3.93)
Saturday at 6 p.m.	RHP Ryland Urbanczyk (0-1, 2.63)	LHP Chase Frey (0-3, 6.91)
Sunday at 3 p.m.	TBA	TBA

Grand Canyon returns home for a four-game weekend that includes two games apiece against Rice and Saint Mary's. The Lopes open with Rice on Friday at 6 p.m., play a doubleheader on Saturday against each team and wrap with a 3 p.m. Sunday game against Saint Mary's. Rice and Saint Mary's will also play two games against one another on Friday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.

All four of the Lopes' games of the weekend will stream on Mountain West Network with Saturday's first game and Sunday's game also televised on Arizona's Family Sports.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

NONCON WEEKEND FINALE: Already? The Lopes are playing their final nonconference weekend. The remaining nine weekends of the season will include eight weekends of Mountain West play (beginning at Washington State next week) and one off weekend. GCU has plenty of nonconference midweek action remaining.

CLEAN WITH THE GLOVE: GCU ranks No. 42 nationally and first in the Mountain West in fielding percentage (.980). The Lopes have not made an error in their last three games and have only committed multiple errors in a game once this season. GCU's longest error-free streak last season was six games.

SCALDEFERRI STREAKIN': Junior Billy Scaldeferri has a GCU-best 15-game hit streak and leads the team in average (.357) and OPS (1.054). His .661 slugging percentage ranks fifth in the MW and his mark of 16 RBIs is tied for sixth.

SCOUTING RICE

In the first full season under former Texas, Tulane and Sam Houston head coach David Pierce, Rice enters the weekend at 9-8, including a 6-3 mark at home and 3-5 on the road. The Owls opened the season with a series win against Northwestern before splitting midweek games with Louisiana and Purdue, then dropped a three-game road series at USC. Rice later won its series against Harvard but most recently was swept in a three-game set at Abilene Christian and fell in a midweek matchup at Houston.

Offensively, Rice has struggled to produce consistent run scoring, batting .219 as a team with a .331 on-base percentage and .350 slugging percentage while averaging 4.3 runs per game. The lineup has produced 17 home runs and 18 doubles in 17 games. The Owls' pitching staff has been competitive, posting a 5.00 ERA with opponents hitting .249 while striking out 134 batters in 147 2/3 innings. Rice's defense has turned 16 double plays and holds a .973 fielding percentage through 17 games.

SCOUTING SAINT MARY'S

Saint Mary's is coming off an NCAA Tournament season where it opened the Corvallis Regional with an upset of host Oregon State. Saint Mary's enters the weekend at 10-6, including a 6-3 mark at home and 4-3 on the road. The Gaels have built their early-season success on one of the most productive offenses in the country, batting .332 as a team with a .406 on-base percentage and .540 slugging percentage . Saint Mary's ranks among the national leaders in hits (188, 17th), batting average (18th) and slugging percentage (22nd) while also leading the West Coast Conference in runs (121), doubles (33) and home runs (25).

On the mound, Saint Mary's has posted a 5.07 team ERA with opponents hitting .258. While the pitching numbers are more middle-of-the-pack nationally, the offense has consistently driven results, with Saint Mary's averaging 7.6 runs per game and posting a .625 winning percentage entering the weekend.

WHAT'S NEXT?

GCU and Arizona State play the first in a three-game season series on Tuesday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. This is the lone game of the series that will be played on the road, with two return games to GCU Ballpark coming in May.

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