Grand Canyon baseball weekend rewind: How the Lopes went 4-0 against Ohio State, Gonzaga

Grand Canyon's baseball team went 4-0 over the weekend, beating Ohio State twice and Gonzaga twice, in three days, taking a step towards a Top 25 ranking in the nation.

They did it with clutch play in a marathon Saturday from star shortstop Jacob Wilson and second baseman Zack Gregory in comeback wins over Gonzaga (17-16) and Ohio State (7-5) to improve to 6-2 on the season.

Here's what we learned from the Lopes in a resilient weekend:

Battle tested

Trailing 16-11 to Gonzaga in a Saturday afternoon game after giving up five runs in the eighth inning. The Lopes bounced back with six runs that included Wilson's two-out, game-tying single, and Cade Verdusco's go-ahead RBI sing. Wilson went 4 for 6 and drove in five runs in the game, and ended up being the Western Athletic Conference's Hitter of the Week. Wilson went 7 for 18 with nine RBIs during the week. He also had 10 assists and no errors in 17 chances on the field. He figures to be a top-10 pick in the Major League Draft and he displayed why in the 4-0 weekend.

Gregory, a grad-student transfer from Arkansas, drilled a two-run, walk-off home run to beat Ohio State in the night game. In the 17-16 win over Gonzaga, he homered and was 3 for 5 with with three RBIs. Gregory was a team captain on last year's Arkansas team that reached the College World Series and had a two-hit game against Stanford to open the CWS in Omaha. He's another veteran presence who is used to big moments.

"We've got a veteran group," coach Gregg Wallis said. "And they showed their experience. I thought it was a great weekend. Back-and-forth games. Great atmosphere. I was pleased with the way we showed we're an experienced club."

Gregory was a key addition coming out of the transfer portal.

"He's got a track record," Wallis said. "The guy gets on base. We knew he had power. He showed it this weekend. He hit two home runs. I think there is more of that to come."

Another great start

Junior left-hander Zach Thornton, a transfer from Barton Community College in Kansas, has solidified his role as a weekend starter. For the second start in a row, he pitched six scoreless innings. This time, he did it against Ohio State, a 1-0 win on Thursday at GCU. Wallis said he was impressed with how well Thornton pitched in a junior college conference know for its hitting. He was 16-1 with a 3.23 ERA in his two seasons pitching at Barton.

"We were impressed with his season at Barton," Wallis said. "It's an offensive conference. The numbers he put up were amazing. He came into the fall. We knew he would be one of our weekend starters pretty quickly. Each week, it looks like he's getting more confident. He has performed amazingly."

Avitia building back

Starting pitcher Daniel Avitia, the WAC's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, is coming back from a preseason ankle injury, gradually building himself up after two outings. In GCU's 13-4 win over Gonzaga, he worked 3 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs, walking two and striking out five, throwing 71 pitches. He got the save against then No. 2 Tennessee in the opening weekend of the season.

"We'll see how he comes out this week (when GCU hosts Texas State)," Wallis said. "I think he's getting past the point where the ankle should be bugging him. The short outing he had before the season kind of set him back in terms of stamina. It's early and we're still trying to build him up. I don't think we've seen Danny's best yet."

Closing time

GCU is looking for a closer, after Vince Reilly went to the Oakland A's in the summer MLB draft. He was 7-1 out of the bullpen with 14 saves last season, helping the Antelopes reach the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year.

"We feel good about a lot of the guys," Wallis said. "We feel good about Tyson Heaton back there. We've had to use him in some tie games late, because we felt like he gave us a chance to win it. I'm looking at him and a couple other guys as more of a stopper who will end up being a closer. I think we're going to use whoever our best option is when we feel like it's going to help us win the game."

But, for now, it appears Heaton and Cody Tucker will be the guys to close games, depending on the matchups.

Tucker pitched the final three innings of one-hit ball and got the win in the 1-0 decision against Ohio State.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Grand Canyon baseball went 4-0 against Ohio State, Gonzaga