GCU takes momentum into Utah ballpark opening

Friday, March 6

Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark • Salt Lake City, Utah

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Utah

Photo by: Nathan Peters

3/5/2026 6:28:00 PM | Baseball

GCU Notes Utah Notes

Lopes have won 4 of 5, play 1st series at Utes' new ballpark

By: Josh Hauser

PITCHING PROBABLES

Game 1
RHP Colter McAnelly (1-2, 3.86) vs. RHP Garrett Ahern (1-1, 3.77)

Game 2
RHP Payton Riske (1-1, 4.97) vs. RHP JT Guerrero (0-1, 5.11)

Game 3
TBA vs. TBA

Game 4
TBA vs. TBA

Winners of four of the last five, Grand Canyon heads to Salt Lake City where it has the unique opportunity of being the first opponent in a brand new ballpark. Utah will open Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark in this weekend's four-game set that gets underway on Friday at 6 p.m.

All four games of the series, which continues through Monday, will stream on ESPN+.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

THE BALLPARK: Utah's new 1,200-seat ballpark moves games onto campus after sharing a downtown Triple-A ballpark for nearly 30 years. The Salt Lake Bees' announced move to the suburbs accelerated Utah's plans to find an on-campus solution, and Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark opens in 2026.

SANKO SUCCESS: Sophomore third baseman Jake Sanko is 12 for 22 (.545) in his last five games with three three-hit games. GCU is 4-1 when Sanko bats leadoff. The Phoenix native got 11 at bats in his freshman season, but has been a mainstay in GCU's lineup in 2026.

LOPES V BIG 12: The Lopes continue a Big 12-heavy nonconference schedule, where they play six different teams across 16 games. GCU already has a four-game series against Oklahoma State in the books, plays three games apiece with Arizona and Arizona State, and hosts BYU and Kansas State. The Lopes have picked up wins against Oklahoma State and Arizona thus far.

SCOUTING UTAH

Utah enters the weekend at 5-5 after opening the season with a road-heavy schedule that included trips to Fresno State, the Tony Gwynn Legacy event in San Diego and a three-game series at No. 24 UC Santa Barbara. The Utes began the year by winning two of three games at Fresno State and later picked up neutral-site victories over San Diego State and Creighton before closing the trip with a 13-4 win at Loyola Marymount. Utah has shown the ability to generate offense in bunches, highlighted by an 11-run eighth inning against LMU, its highest single-inning output since 2017.

The offense has been led by junior first baseman Cameron Gurney, who enters the series leading Utah in hits, RBIs, batting average (.333) and on-base percentage (.489). Outfielder Jake Long has also sparked the lineup with a five-game hitting streak and RBIs in each of those contests. On the mound, junior right-hander Colter McAnelly anchors the weekend rotation after earning All-Big 12 honors last season, when he struck out 92 batters to rank fourth in a single season in program history.