Grand Canyon beats Dallas Baptist 12-10 in elimination game at Tuscon Regional

Updated Jun. 2, 2024 6:46 p.m. ET

Associated Press

TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) — Eddy Pelc and Eli Paton had two RBIs apiece, Emilio Barreras went 3 for 5 with an RBI and scored twice and Grand Canyon beat Dallas Baptist 12-10 Sunday in an elimination game at the Tuscon Regional.

Grand Canyon (36-24), which ended the season of top-seed and host Arizona with a 7-0 win over the Wildcats in an elimination game Saturday, plays No. 3 seed West Virginia in the finals later in the day but must beat the Mountaineers twice (with a second game on Monday) to advance to the super regionals.

Alton Gyselman drew a two-out walk on four consecutive pitches and Barreras singled before Tyler Wilson, Cade Verdusco and Pelc each reached base on balls to give Grand Canyon a 12-10 lead.

Walter Quinn (3-3) came on in the seventh and allowed a run over three innings, retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced — Jay drew a two-out walk in the ninth — to earn the win.

Tom Poole went 3 for 5 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs for Dallas Baptist (45-15).

Pelc, Zach Yorke and Dustin Crewshaw each hit an RBI double before Crenshaw scored on a single by Paton that gave Grand Canyon a 10-9 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Grant Jay drew a one-out walk in the top of the seventh and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Luke Heefner that made it 10-10 in the top of the seventh.

Poole hit a two-run home run in the top of the first to give Dallas Baptist a 2-0 lead and, after Wilson's RBI double in the bottom of the second put GCU up 3-2, Poole added an RBI double in the Patriots' two-run third and a two-RBI double in the fourth that gave them a 7-3 lead.

Ethan Mann added a solo shot in the fifth that made it a five-run game before two Dallas Baptist errors in the home half of the inning and Gyselman hit a two-out single that drove in Yorke and cut the deficit to 7-6.

Pelc walked to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh before Connor Mackay replaced River Ridings on the mound for Grand Canyon. Ridings struck out Yorke and induced a groundout by Michael Diaz to get out of the jam.

Ridings couldn't do the same in the eighth.

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