Completed Event: Baseball versus Arizona on April 28, 2026 , Win , 9, to, 8
Baseball
vs Arizona
W 9-8
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, May 2
Excite Ballpark • San José, Calif.
2 p.m.
Grand Canyon
17-27, 0
5
at
4
San José State
19-25, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| San Jose State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
Photo by: Josh Hauser
Lopes outlast Spartans in 14-inning must-have win
5/2/2026 7:04:00 PM | Baseball
Chacon’s 14th-inning hit, Cunnings’ extended relief effort help GCU even key MW series
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Grand Canyon needed a response in the Mountain West standings and found one through four hours, 14 innings and a game that tested the depth of the roster.
GCU outlasted San José State 5-4 on Saturday at Excite Ballpark, tying the series and keeping the Lopes (17-27, 7-10 MW) in position to chase a much-needed road series win entering Sunday's finale.
With the top six teams qualifying for the Mountain West Championship, GCU entered the weekend sixth in the league standings with UNLV holding the tiebreaker and San José State (19-25, 6-11 MW) lurking just behind, making Saturday's win one of the Lopes' most significant of conference play.
"We knew today was a big game based on standings and what's going on," GCU interim head coach Nathan Bannister said, who evened his record at 9-9 leading the Lopes. "So to get today was huge. We need to regroup and figure it out tomorrow and strike first."
The game matched the urgency. GCU led 4-1 entering the eighth inning and 4-2 entering the ninth before San José State tied it on Neil Jansen's two-run homer. The Lopes then went scoreless in the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th innings before finally breaking through in the 14th.
Sophomore second baseman Jake Sanko, who had three hits and two doubles, opened the decisive rally with a one-out double to right-center. Graduate catcher Mito Perez walked, bringing senior designated hitter Dominic Chacon to the plate after he had entered earlier as a pinch runner for junior designated hitter Trevor Schmidt. Chacon delivered the swing GCU had been waiting for, lining a single through the right side to score Sanko and put the Lopes back in front 5-4.
"Chacon pinch ran for Schmidtty and had the opportunity to help us win a game," Bannister said. "He was ready for his opportunity and put a nice swing on the ball and found the hole."
The 14-inning win tied for GCU's second-longest game by innings since returning to Division I in 2014 and marked the program's longest game since an 18-inning win at Stanford on Feb. 28, 2020.
GCU built its early lead in the middle innings. Perez singled and scored on junior first baseman Cannon Peery's RBI single in the fourth to tie the game at 1-1. In the sixth, Sanko doubled, moved to third on Schmidt's single and scored on Peery's sacrifice fly to give the Lopes their first lead.
The Lopes added two more in the seventh. Junior left fielder Carson Ohland singled to right, junior shortstop Camden Bates drove him in with a double to left center, and junior right fielder Billy Scaldeferri followed with an RBI single up the middle to stretch the lead to 4-1.
Junior left-hander Chase Frey gave GCU another strong start, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts over seven innings. Frey exited with the lead after throwing 102 pitches, continuing a stretch of high-level outings that has helped stabilize the front of the Lopes' rotation. The lefty holds a 2.20 ERA over his last four starts with 33 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.
Senior Cam Cunnings then carried a heavy load out of the bullpen, throwing six innings and 76 pitches to earn the win. The right-hander allowed San José State to trim the deficit in the eighth and tie the game in the ninth, but he recovered with three scoreless extra innings. His most stressful moment came in the 13th, when three walks loaded the bases with two outs. Cunnings pushed through the jam, getting Rohne Klein to ground out to second and preserve the tie.
"He gave us everything that he had," Bannister said. "You could tell there maybe a little squeeze but also some fatigue. He left it out on the field."
After Chacon gave GCU the lead in the 14th, junior righty Nicholas Robb closed it cleanly with a 1-2-3 inning for his first save.
The win evened the series and gave GCU a chance Sunday to claim the road series with first pitch set for 12 p.m.
GCU outlasted San José State 5-4 on Saturday at Excite Ballpark, tying the series and keeping the Lopes (17-27, 7-10 MW) in position to chase a much-needed road series win entering Sunday's finale.
With the top six teams qualifying for the Mountain West Championship, GCU entered the weekend sixth in the league standings with UNLV holding the tiebreaker and San José State (19-25, 6-11 MW) lurking just behind, making Saturday's win one of the Lopes' most significant of conference play.
"We knew today was a big game based on standings and what's going on," GCU interim head coach Nathan Bannister said, who evened his record at 9-9 leading the Lopes. "So to get today was huge. We need to regroup and figure it out tomorrow and strike first."
The game matched the urgency. GCU led 4-1 entering the eighth inning and 4-2 entering the ninth before San José State tied it on Neil Jansen's two-run homer. The Lopes then went scoreless in the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th innings before finally breaking through in the 14th.
Sophomore second baseman Jake Sanko, who had three hits and two doubles, opened the decisive rally with a one-out double to right-center. Graduate catcher Mito Perez walked, bringing senior designated hitter Dominic Chacon to the plate after he had entered earlier as a pinch runner for junior designated hitter Trevor Schmidt. Chacon delivered the swing GCU had been waiting for, lining a single through the right side to score Sanko and put the Lopes back in front 5-4.
"Chacon pinch ran for Schmidtty and had the opportunity to help us win a game," Bannister said. "He was ready for his opportunity and put a nice swing on the ball and found the hole."
The 14-inning win tied for GCU's second-longest game by innings since returning to Division I in 2014 and marked the program's longest game since an 18-inning win at Stanford on Feb. 28, 2020.
GCU built its early lead in the middle innings. Perez singled and scored on junior first baseman Cannon Peery's RBI single in the fourth to tie the game at 1-1. In the sixth, Sanko doubled, moved to third on Schmidt's single and scored on Peery's sacrifice fly to give the Lopes their first lead.
The Lopes added two more in the seventh. Junior left fielder Carson Ohland singled to right, junior shortstop Camden Bates drove him in with a double to left center, and junior right fielder Billy Scaldeferri followed with an RBI single up the middle to stretch the lead to 4-1.
Junior left-hander Chase Frey gave GCU another strong start, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts over seven innings. Frey exited with the lead after throwing 102 pitches, continuing a stretch of high-level outings that has helped stabilize the front of the Lopes' rotation. The lefty holds a 2.20 ERA over his last four starts with 33 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.
Senior Cam Cunnings then carried a heavy load out of the bullpen, throwing six innings and 76 pitches to earn the win. The right-hander allowed San José State to trim the deficit in the eighth and tie the game in the ninth, but he recovered with three scoreless extra innings. His most stressful moment came in the 13th, when three walks loaded the bases with two outs. Cunnings pushed through the jam, getting Rohne Klein to ground out to second and preserve the tie.
"He gave us everything that he had," Bannister said. "You could tell there maybe a little squeeze but also some fatigue. He left it out on the field."
After Chacon gave GCU the lead in the 14th, junior righty Nicholas Robb closed it cleanly with a 1-2-3 inning for his first save.
The win evened the series and gave GCU a chance Sunday to claim the road series with first pitch set for 12 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cunnings, Cam (3-3)
L: CALZADIAZ, Kyle (1-5)
S: Robb, Nicholas (1)
Batting:
2B: Sanko, Jake 2 ; Bates, Camden 1
RBI: Scaldeferri, Billy 1 ; Chacon, Dominic 1 ; Peery, Cannon 2 ; Bates, Camden 1
SH: Perez, Mito 2
SF: Peery, Cannon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanko, Jake 2 ; Perez, Mito 1 ; Ohland, Carson 1 ; Bates, Camden 1
CS: Lopez III, Jose 1
HBP: Schmidt, Trevor 1 ; Chacon, Dominic 1
Batting:
2B: COTA, Brent 1 ; JANSEN, Neil 1
HR: JANSEN, Neil 1
RBI: ROWLES, Peyton 1 ; MCCOY, Jake 1 ; JANSEN, Neil 2
SF: MCCOY, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FERNANDES, Alex 2 ; COTA, Brent 1 ; JANSEN, Neil 1
SB: ROWLES, Peyton 1
HBP: FERNANDES, Alex 1
Game Leaders
AB
6
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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OF
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RHP
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LHP
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OF
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1B
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RHP
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/ BaseballGCU Baseball at San José State (G2) - Chacon game winner and final out
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Griff walks off Arizona #collegebaseball
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