Completed Event: Baseball versus Pacific on February 27, 2026 , Win , 5, to, 4
Baseball
vs Pacific
W 5-4
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 6
Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark • Salt Lake City, Utah
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
6-8
0
at
9
Utah
6-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
1
Utah
0
0
1
0
6
0
2
0
X
9
12
1
Photo by: Nathan Peters
GCU falls to Utah in series, ballpark opener
3/6/2026 9:30:00 PM | Baseball
Lopes escaped early jams, couldn't get bats rolling
SALT LAKE CITY — Grand Canyon escaped some early jams but was held scoreless Friday night, falling 9-0 at Utah in the first game played at Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark.
Junior first baseman Cannon Peery reached three times for the Lopes (6-8), recording a double and walking twice. GCU walked four times as a team and stranded eight runners on base.
In front of a debut crowd of 1,323, Utah (6-5) broke open a close game with a six-run fifth inning and later added a two-run homer in the seventh to create separation.
GCU's pitching staff kept the game tight early behind junior right-hander Garrett Ahern, who worked four innings before Utah's offense erupted in the fifth. The Utes loaded the bases in the first inning but Ahern coaxed a foul out and a ground ball to escape with no runs allowed. Utah had runners on first and second with one out in the second, but Ahern struck out two in a row to get out of the inning.
The Utes strung together five hits in the fifth inning to jump out to a 7-0 lead.
Utah first broke through in the third inning on a one-out RBI single for the game's opening run. The Utes later added two more runs in the seventh on a home run by Derek Smith to push the advantage to nine.
GCU's best scoring chance came in the fourth inning when Peery doubled, but Utah starter Colter McAnelly escaped the threat and went on to throw six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.
The Lopes finished with four hits — singles from junior center fielder Griffin Cameron, graduate second baseman Vince Bianchina and junior right fielder Billy Scaldeferri, along with Peery's double.
Utah totaled 12 hits and five walks in the win while limiting the Lopes to four hits and striking out 11.
The Lopes will look to bounce back in the series as the teams continue their weekend matchup on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Junior first baseman Cannon Peery reached three times for the Lopes (6-8), recording a double and walking twice. GCU walked four times as a team and stranded eight runners on base.
In front of a debut crowd of 1,323, Utah (6-5) broke open a close game with a six-run fifth inning and later added a two-run homer in the seventh to create separation.
GCU's pitching staff kept the game tight early behind junior right-hander Garrett Ahern, who worked four innings before Utah's offense erupted in the fifth. The Utes loaded the bases in the first inning but Ahern coaxed a foul out and a ground ball to escape with no runs allowed. Utah had runners on first and second with one out in the second, but Ahern struck out two in a row to get out of the inning.
The Utes strung together five hits in the fifth inning to jump out to a 7-0 lead.
Utah first broke through in the third inning on a one-out RBI single for the game's opening run. The Utes later added two more runs in the seventh on a home run by Derek Smith to push the advantage to nine.
GCU's best scoring chance came in the fourth inning when Peery doubled, but Utah starter Colter McAnelly escaped the threat and went on to throw six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.
The Lopes finished with four hits — singles from junior center fielder Griffin Cameron, graduate second baseman Vince Bianchina and junior right fielder Billy Scaldeferri, along with Peery's double.
Utah totaled 12 hits and five walks in the win while limiting the Lopes to four hits and striking out 11.
The Lopes will look to bounce back in the series as the teams continue their weekend matchup on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McAnelly, Colter (2-2)
L: Ahern, Garrett (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Peery, Cannon 1
SH: Bates, Camden 1
Batting:
2B: Gurney, Cameron 1 ; Jacobs, Luke 1 ; Miller, Cal 1
HR: Smith, Derek 1
RBI: Long, Jake 1 ; Smith, Derek 2 ; Gurney, Cameron 1 ; Flaharty, Matt 2 ; Noonan, Nevan 1 ; Miller, Cal 2
SH: Gilliam, Jet 1
SF: Noonan, Nevan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Long, Jake 1 ; Smith, Derek 1 ; Gurney, Cameron 1 ; Arambula, Daniel 2 ; Jacobs, Luke 1 ; Miller, Cal 1 ; Gilliam, Jet 2
SB: Flaharty, Matt 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
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