All phases click for 6-3 win vs. Saint Mary's

Sunday, March 15

Phoenix, Ariz.

3:15 p.m.

Grand Canyon

8-13

Saint Mary's

11-9

Saint Mary's

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Josh Cale

3/15/2026 7:36:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Chacon, Lopez each collect 3 hits; Robb tosses 6 relief innings

By: Paul Coro

The vision for what Grand Canyon baseball can be this season came into focus Sunday, when the fundamentals sharpened in all phases for GCU to take its most well-rounded victory of the season into a challenging schedule stretch.

The Lopes (8-13) advanced runners consistently, delivered timely hitting, defended perfectly and pitched efficiently to salvage a 2-2 weekend with a 6-3 win against Saint Mary's at GCU Ballpark.

GCU freshman third baseman Jose Lopez III and senior designated hitter Dominic Chacon each delivered a career-high three hits, and winning pitcher Nicholas Robb threw six relief innings for a Lopes staff navigating its fourth game in three days.

"That may have been our most complete game of the year," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It looked like classic Lopes baseball. We threw strikes with quality pitches. We played quality defense. We put the ball in play at a high level, and we executed offensively. I'm really proud of the team. This weekend has been up and down. Each game that didn't go so well, we responded the next day by playing dugout congrats

great."

Chacon, whose injuries sidelined him last season and limited him in the fall, began to warm up with home runs in consecutive games last week before having a breakout 3-for-4 game with a walk on Sunday.

The Horizon High School graduate doubled to right-center field in the second inning and scored the Lopes' first run when Lopez followed with a single to left field.

"Over the last three or four starts, I think Dom's really starting to see the ball better, get into a better rhythm, put some better swings on the ball and stay in the strike zone better," Wallis said. "When he does that, he can be a really good player."

That put GCU ahead 1-0 because sophomore right-hander Gunnar Penzkover opened with two shutout innings in his first pitching performance of the season. Delayed by health issues, Penzkover returned to the outfield Friday before resuming his starting role from last season on a limited pitch count.

After allowing a leadoff double in the second inning, Penzkover helped himself by fielding a bunt and throwing out a runner at third base. With runners at second and third base, Penzkover induced the second out on a shallow fly ball that did not allow the runner at third to tag up. Saint Mary's tried a two-out bunt that Penzkover fielded to end the inning unscathed.

"He filled up the zone," GCU pitching coach Nathan Bannister said. "In that second inning, he made two nice plays on bunts that really helped the inning. They got a couple hits on him, but he was able to manage the inning and hang a zero for us."

Lopes junior right-hander Nicholas Robb continued his relief role, handing the next six innings on 74 pitches. He allowed seven hits and three runs but was helped by two double plays in GCU's first game with three double plays this season.

The fairly new middle infield of junior Troy Sanders at shortstop and sophomore Jake Sanko at second base turned all three double plays Sunday. Sanko nearly turned a line-drive grab into a fourth double play, and Sanders added a 180-degree highlight play for the second consecutive game.

"Nick sinks the ball really well and throws the slider," Wallis said. "Everything's down, so he induces a lot of ground balls."

Robb was spotted a lead in the bottom of the fourth, when junior first baseman Cannon Peery worked a 1-2 count into a leadoff walk and was followed by a smoked Chacon single. Lopez delivered again, ripping a full-count pitch down the left-field line to score Peery for a 2-1 lead.

After a line-drive out by freshman left fielder Tanner Johns, Sanders brought Chacon home by selflessly pushing a RBI grounder to second base for the 3-1 lead.

GCU added three more runs in the fifth inning, when a single by Sanko and a walk by junior catcher Marcus Galvan set the table for situational execution.

Lopes junior Billy Scaldeferri laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Peery sent another RBI ground ball to second base to score Sanko for a 4-1 GCU edge.

Jose Lopez III

With two outs, GCU picked up successive RBI singles from Chacon and Lopez on their third hits of the game. Chacon stole second to set up Lopez driving him home with a 2-2 tip into deep left field for a 6-1 lead.

"I was looking for heaters, looking at something I can drive to the big part of the field," Lopez said. "I like going to the right-center gap. I feel like it helps me stay through balls a lot."

Lopez, who is from Miami, was 1 for 5 with one start in the first 17 games until he started at third base each game this weekend. The right-handed hitter smashed his first home run Saturday and followed it up by flashing more of his bat speed with a 3-for-4 game with two RBIs Sunday.

"He's extremely skilled, and he has waited his turn patiently with a great attitude," Wallis said "After coming back from Utah, the coaches sat down and reorganized our depth chart. We tried to find who we can maybe get in and give a shot that hasn't got much of one. We all thought Lopez deserved a shot. His work's been great. His attitude's been great. He's an exciting player. He's a really good third baseman. Great bat speed. He does not look like a freshman out there."

Robb only faced two batters over the minimum from the fourth inning to the seventh, earning a return for a more turbulent eighth inning with two Gaels running tightening the margin to 6-3.

"He's a jack of all trades," Bannister said of Robb. "He can do anything that we ask him to. He's got a lot of weapons that we can face both sides of the plate with. To compound their aggressiveness, he was able to fill up the zone with his slider and change-up. Two-strike fastballs surprised them, so he got some good ground balls. The defense up the middle was awesome."

After an eighth-inning threat came up empty for GCU when Sanders was thrown out at home on a ground ball to shortstop, senior right-hander Cam Cunnings closed out the Lopes win with his first save. He finished Saint Mary's on five pitches, dropping his ERA to 1.59 in eight appearances.

"I think this weekend put us back where we needed to be," Lopez said. "We got two very good wins this weekend, and I think we're going to take it into ASU and take it to the next weekend at Washington State and have a good week."

The Lopes (8-13) play the Sun Devils (14-5) on Tuesday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, where ASU took two of three games against No. 17 TCU this weekend. GCU also has a weekend series at Washington State and a game at Arizona the following Tuesday before Mountain West play begins with a home series against San Diego State.

"They're tough to play at their place," Wallis said of the Sun Devils. "This might be one of the better teams that they've had, at least since I've been over here. It's going to be a great challenge. We're excited to go over there."