GCU hosts ASU, opens 10-game homestand

Tuesday, April 7

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Arizona State

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Photo by: David Kadlubowski

4/6/2026 12:00:00 PM | Baseball

Lopes, #20 Sun Devils continue 3-game season series that went extras on March 17

By: Josh Hauser

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Tuesday at 6 p.m.	LHP Easton Barrett (1-0, 5.19)	LHP Cody Kiemele (0-2, 5.40)

Grand Canyon and No. 20 Arizona State meet Tuesday night for the second of a three-game season series. The Lopes and Sun Devils are scheduled to play three times in a season for the first time since 1997. In the last five seasons, GCU and Arizona State have played twice per season with the teams splitting the series in four of the last five years. GCU will also host the third meeting on May 12 at GCU Ballpark.

Tuesday's 6 p.m. game at GCU Ballpark will be televised on 3TV and Arizona's Family Sports and stream on the Mountain West Network.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

SERIES WINNER: GCU enters Tuesday's matchup coming off its first Mountain West series win. The Lopes took the final two games of a three-game set at Fresno State last week, highlighted by a Game 2 pitching masterpiece from junior lefty Chase Frey who tossed a complete game shutout.

STATE 48: The Lopes are playing both Arizona and Arizona State three times this season. GCU has split its first two against Arizona, hosting the season finale on April 28. The Lopes dropped the series opener to Arizona State in an extra-inning road affair on March 17. GCU will host the Sun Devils one more time on May 12.

CAN'T K MITO: GCU graduate catcher Mito Perez is dynamic behind the plate, but his best asset nationally has been his ability to put the ball in play with the bat. Perez is the 16th toughest batter to strike out in the nation, doing so just six times in 97 at bats. That rate of once every 15.3 at bats leads the Mountain West.

SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE

Since GCU's extra-inning loss at Arizona State on March 17, the Sun Devils have gone 8-3 to run their season record to 23-9 and 7-5 in Big 12 play. They won a road series at Kansas State, survived a one-run midweek at UNLV before splitting their next four games by beating New Mexico State and No. 17 West Virginia but dropping the final two games of that West Virginia series at home. Arizona State followed that by beating San Diego State in a midweek matchup before taking two of three at Arizona over the weekend.

The numbers still point to a team built around offense. Arizona State ranks in the national top 50 in batting average (5th, .330), slugging percentage (9th, .568), scoring (18th), on-base percentage (23rd) and fielding percentage (43rd). The pitching staff's clearest top-end category is strikeouts per nine innings, where the Sun Devils sit 12th nationally at 11.1.