With only three Mountain West matchups left on the schedule, Grand Canyon baseball understands that keeping its season alive requires leapfrogging UNLV and surging past San José State.
What the Lopes could control on Tuesday was using the first of three nonconference games against a strong opponent as a tune-up for when they resume league play from May 1-3 at San José State.
In Phoenix on April 20, 2026, GCU dropped an 8-3 decision to Kansas State a Big 12 team with a No. 56 RPI ranking at Brazell Field. Despite the loss, the Lopes got five relief outings that could bolster their pitching staff down the stretch and keep postseason hopes alive.
GCU squandered a 3-1 lead and later a 3-3 tie after Kansas State erupted for five runs in the sixth inning. In that frame, the Wildcats managed just one ball out of the infield, instead capitalizing on four walks issued by senior reliever Jace Smith.
The next three GCU relievers seniors Elijah Higginbottom, Luke Moeller, and Brock Toney shut out Kansas State over the final four innings, allowing four hits and no walks.
“We had a plan knowing we have a bye week and two midweek games coming up (Monday vs. BYU and Tuesday vs. Arizona),” said GCU interim head coach Nathan Bannister. “After using only seven pitchers all weekend, we wanted to throw guys into the fire and see what they’ve got.
If we’re thinking about a tournament, we need to trust our competitors in big spots. This was great experience for those guys to fight for weekend innings.”
Sophomore right-hander Billy Gregory started for the Lopes and made one costly mistake a slider left over the middle that turned into a home run for Kansas State center fielder Cadyn Karl. Gregory battled through a 3-1 count for a strikeout in the third before handing off to graduate right-hander Jacob Limas, whose stuff can be electric. Limas recorded eight outs, four via strikeout, on Tuesday.
“That might be one of Limas’ best outings of the year,” Bannister said. “Everything was sharp. The way he competed. He made one bad pitch to an All-American (Dee Kennedy for a homer). When he’s commanding all three pitches, it’s fun to watch.”
Higginbottom, a right-hander from Sumner, Washington, was especially impressive with two scoreless innings, continuing his midseason turnaround.
After posting a 10.38 ERA over his first six appearances, Higginbottom has a 1.80 ERA across his last seven outings, looking more like the pitcher who went 6-0 for GCU last season.
“We started mixing in a lot more sweepers,” Higginbottom said of his slider, which complements his cutter and fastball. “I spam the sweeper now, then use the fastball late or to get ahead early. That change has helped me get weak contact and opens up the at-bat because I can throw heaters up in the zone, and they haven’t seen it yet. It wasn’t a formal meeting. Banni just started calling games that way, and it’s working.
I knew eventually it would turn around. I had so much success last year pitching in big games.”
GCU jumped out to an early lead when junior first baseman Cannon Peery homered in consecutive games for the first time in his career. The 6-foot-3 slugger did it in emphatic fashion, crushing a 423-foot, two-run shot over the center-field batter’s eye after working a full count.
It was Peery’s seventh home run of the season in 143 at-bats, after hitting only three in 167 at-bats last year.
“The key for Cannon is he’s ready to hit,” Bannister said. “In previous weeks, he was getting tied up. Now he’s ready for the fastball and able to damage it. As a pitcher, when a guy is ready for the fastball, you start to nibble more. That puts Cannon in better counts. Everything is clicking for him.”
GCU’s other run came in the second inning, helped by junior right fielder Dillon Anderson’s first career hit as a Lope. Anderson singled in his first appearance since making his GCU debut in the second game of the season on Feb. 14. His single moved freshman third baseman Jose Lopez III (who had doubled) to third, allowing him to score on a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Marcus Galvan.
That lead held until Kennedy’s tying home run in the fifth, which sparked six straight runs for Kansas State—a team coming off a weekend series win at Arizona.
The week off between games comes at a good time for GCU players, many of whom have final exams or commencement ceremonies this week.
“We’ll have some good practices, but it’s also a chance to get our bodies right,” Higginbottom said. “That San José State series is huge because they’re in the middle of the pack. We’ll use the week to prepare but not let off the gas.”
