Completed Event: Baseball at San José State on May 3, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 6
Baseball
at San José State
L 1-6
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, May 16
Don Weir Field at Peccole Park • Reno, Nev.
1 p.m.
Grand Canyon
20-30, 10-13
9
at
3
Nevada
24-25, 13-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCU | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
Photo by: Josh Hauser
Lopes close season with win, fall short of MW field
5/16/2026 4:32:00 PM | Baseball
GCU posts 17 hits, takes back-to-back conference series to end year
RENO, Nev. — Grand Canyon did its part on the final day of the regular season, but the Lopes did not get the help they needed in a drama-filled Mountain West afternoon.
GCU beat Nevada 9-3 on Saturday at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park, putting on an offensive display with 17 hits and closing the year with back-to-back conference series wins. But the Lopes' bid for the sixth and final spot in the MW Championship ended when UNLV hit a 10th-inning walk-off home run against San Diego State. San José State also won after Fresno State charged back to take a late lead, leaving GCU just short despite taking care of its own must-win game. The Lopes finished in a sixth-place tie in the standings but lost tiebreakers.
Grand Canyon finished the season 21-30 overall and 11-13 in its first MW season. After starting 8-18, the Lopes went 13-12 over their final 25 games, won three of their final four conference series and stayed in the postseason chase until the season's final swings around the league.
The Lopes put themselves in position Saturday with one of their most complete offensive games of the season. GCU scored twice in the second inning and three more times in the third to build a 5-1 lead, then pulled away with three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth. The Lopes finished with 17 hits, tied for their most in a conference game this season, and outhit their opponent for the sixth straight game.
GCU's first push came from the bottom of the order. Senior second baseman Vince Bianchina singled, junior shortstop Camden Bates followed with a single and junior center fielder Griffin Cameron brought in the tying run with a groundout. Graduate catcher Mito Perez then singled to center to score Bates and give the Lopes a 2-1 lead.
The Lopes added three more in the third. Junior first baseman Cannon Peery singled to right, freshman right fielder Tanner Johns doubled him home and junior third baseman Jose Lopez III followed with an RBI double to left-center. Bates added another run-scoring single to stretch the lead to 5-1.
Nevada trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the fourth, but senior right-hander Elijah Higginbottom gave GCU a steady start. Higginbottom allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts over four innings, keeping the Lopes in front before turning the game over to the bullpen.
Junior right-hander Nicholas Robb then delivered another strong relief outing, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts. Robb kept Nevada off the board from the fifth into the ninth, giving GCU's offense time to extend the lead.
The Lopes broke the game open in the eighth. Cameron reached on an error, junior designated hitter Trevor Schmidt singled and Peery doubled in a run. Johns followed with a two-run single to push the lead to 8-3, finishing a two-hit, three-RBI day that capped his strong freshman finish.
Senior Dominic Chacon added one final swing in the ninth, launching a solo home run to deep right field for his fourth homer of the season. It was GCU's 17th hit of the day and gave the Lopes a six-run cushion.
Perez went 3 for 6 with an RBI, Lopez went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, Bates went 3 for 5 with an RBI, and Peery and Johns each had two hits. GCU hit .462 with runners in scoring position, going 6 for 13 in those spots.
The final out of the season went to senior right-hander Jace Smith, the only member of GCU's senior class to spend all four seasons with the Lopes. Smith entered with two outs in the ninth and ended the year with a strikeout.
The result closed a season that ended just outside the conference tournament picture but with a strong late push: back-to-back MW series wins, a winning record over the final 25 games and a final-day victory that kept GCU's postseason hopes alive as long as it could control them.
GCU beat Nevada 9-3 on Saturday at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park, putting on an offensive display with 17 hits and closing the year with back-to-back conference series wins. But the Lopes' bid for the sixth and final spot in the MW Championship ended when UNLV hit a 10th-inning walk-off home run against San Diego State. San José State also won after Fresno State charged back to take a late lead, leaving GCU just short despite taking care of its own must-win game. The Lopes finished in a sixth-place tie in the standings but lost tiebreakers.
Grand Canyon finished the season 21-30 overall and 11-13 in its first MW season. After starting 8-18, the Lopes went 13-12 over their final 25 games, won three of their final four conference series and stayed in the postseason chase until the season's final swings around the league.
The Lopes put themselves in position Saturday with one of their most complete offensive games of the season. GCU scored twice in the second inning and three more times in the third to build a 5-1 lead, then pulled away with three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth. The Lopes finished with 17 hits, tied for their most in a conference game this season, and outhit their opponent for the sixth straight game.
GCU's first push came from the bottom of the order. Senior second baseman Vince Bianchina singled, junior shortstop Camden Bates followed with a single and junior center fielder Griffin Cameron brought in the tying run with a groundout. Graduate catcher Mito Perez then singled to center to score Bates and give the Lopes a 2-1 lead.
The Lopes added three more in the third. Junior first baseman Cannon Peery singled to right, freshman right fielder Tanner Johns doubled him home and junior third baseman Jose Lopez III followed with an RBI double to left-center. Bates added another run-scoring single to stretch the lead to 5-1.
Nevada trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the fourth, but senior right-hander Elijah Higginbottom gave GCU a steady start. Higginbottom allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts over four innings, keeping the Lopes in front before turning the game over to the bullpen.
Junior right-hander Nicholas Robb then delivered another strong relief outing, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts. Robb kept Nevada off the board from the fifth into the ninth, giving GCU's offense time to extend the lead.
The Lopes broke the game open in the eighth. Cameron reached on an error, junior designated hitter Trevor Schmidt singled and Peery doubled in a run. Johns followed with a two-run single to push the lead to 8-3, finishing a two-hit, three-RBI day that capped his strong freshman finish.
Senior Dominic Chacon added one final swing in the ninth, launching a solo home run to deep right field for his fourth homer of the season. It was GCU's 17th hit of the day and gave the Lopes a six-run cushion.
Perez went 3 for 6 with an RBI, Lopez went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, Bates went 3 for 5 with an RBI, and Peery and Johns each had two hits. GCU hit .462 with runners in scoring position, going 6 for 13 in those spots.
The final out of the season went to senior right-hander Jace Smith, the only member of GCU's senior class to spend all four seasons with the Lopes. Smith entered with two outs in the ninth and ended the year with a strikeout.
The result closed a season that ended just outside the conference tournament picture but with a strong late push: back-to-back MW series wins, a winning record over the final 25 games and a final-day victory that kept GCU's postseason hopes alive as long as it could control them.
Team Stats
Batting:
2B: Peery, Cannon 1 ; Johns, Tanner 1 ; Lopez III, Jose 1
HR: Chacon, Dominic 1
RBI: Peery, Cannon 1 ; Perez, Mito 1 ; Cameron, Griffin 1 ; Bates, Camden 1 ; Johns, Tanner 3 ; Lopez III, Jose 1 ; Chacon, Dominic 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Peery, Cannon 2 ; Schmidt, Trevor 1 ; Cameron, Griffin 1 ; Bianchina, Vince 1 ; Bates, Camden 1 ; Johns, Tanner 1 ; Lopez III, Jose 1 ; Chacon, Dominic 1
HBP: Johns, Tanner 1
Batting:
2B: Cruz Jr., Mikey 1
HR: Matsuzaki, Lee 1
RBI: Matsuzaki, Lee 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Matsuzaki, Lee 1 ; Cruz Jr., Mikey 1 ; Doyle, Jacob 1
Players Mentioned
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1B
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