GCU TODAY • 1 1
seven games during a challenging stretch at Tennessee, Oklahoma State
and UNLV. Last year, the Lopes upset Arizona and UC Irvine, which
have a combined six national tournament appearances since 2010.
Stankiewicz, ever focused on his team’s collective character, said he
wants his players to leave GCU with a degree and with memories of key
victories like those.
“It’s about understanding that we can play with anyone in the
country,” said Stankiewicz, who last year was named Coach of the Year
for leading the 18-and-under U.S. national team to a gold medal in the
Pan American Games in Mexico.
“I’m not ashamed to say that, and I’m not trying to be bragging or
boastful. If you have a guy on the mound throwing strikes and you have
a competitive lineup that knows what do with bats in their hands, you
can sneak up on some people.”
This year’s offensive standouts include junior shortstop Paul
Panaccione and senior second baseman Chad De La Guerra — solid
defenders who provide run production in the heart of the Lopes’ lineup
from traditionally light-hitting positions.
Also getting off to a good start this season was the entire starting
outfield, which included junior transfer Brandon Smith, a cleanup hitter
drafted by the Washington Nationals at his previous university, senior
base-stealer David Walker and freshman Garrison Schwartz.
WAC conference play began this spring with the Lopes sweeping a
three-game home series from North Dakota, preparing them for eight
weeks of conference play. It will be capped by a May 14-16 road trip to
Sacramento State, which won the 2014 WAC title and beat ASU in the
CWS regionals last spring.
Stankiewicz and his assistants, each of whom has CWS experience as
a player or coach, often remind their players that if Sac State can do it,
so can the Lopes.
“Stank is that kind of guy,” said De La Guerra, a junior college
transfer from California. “He’s always pushing us.”
Shaping a national program
Andrew Naderer, GCU’s No. 1 starter this season, said the coaching
staff helps keep him and other players focused more on team wins than
impressing scouts.
When senior ace Jorge Perez, a New York Yankees draft pick who
returned to GCU rather than sign a professional contract, suffered an
injury early in the season, Naderer and other pitchers stepped up.
Naderer also turned a temporary assignment in the prestigious
collegiate wood-bat Cape Cod Baseball League into a full-time summer
gig, earning a spot in the league’s all-star game among the NCAA’s
top talent. He was the first GCU player ever placed on a Cape League
roster. Stankiewicz wants to get more Lopes in similar national summer
leagues to expose them to the best players in the country, bolster their
confidence and expand recognition of GCU’s program.
Stankiewicz’s staff recruited Naderer from Arcadia High in Phoenix,
and the junior left-hander said, “The biggest draw for me was the
coaching staff. The relationship I had with them right when they walked
into my house and talked to me, I just knew they had me and my best
interests in mind, not just for baseball, but in life.”
Mike Vaught, GCU’s vice president of athletics, credited University staff
for creating more buzz around Brazell this season. By the end of March,
the stadium already had exceeded last year’s total attendance. Promotional
giveaways such as free hot dogs and black T-shirts for a “Black Out Night”
have helped build the student fan base to a crowd that for years included
more parents and girlfriends of players than casual fans.
The 35th Avenue parking garage that looms beyond Brazell’s right-
field wall has become something of a symbol for the program, too.
Fans tailgate on the top floor and drape signs off the facade, which the
athletic department took note of and duplicated with a huge “Game
Day” baseball banner.
“When you’re trying to get that program image up to where you want
it, the marketing and customer service factors into helping Andy build
that championship program,” said Vaught, who believes the baseball
program is among the most likely to claim GCU’s first D-I title. “With
the recruiting class they have coming in, with the way they manage the
program, I think they’re off to a good start.”
As the old baseball adage suggests, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. But
with the right perspective, Omaha really isn’t that far away, after all.
FULL COUNT
Lopes
baseball by
the numbers:
2,283
CombinedMLB games
played by alumni Tim
Salmon (Los Angeles
Angels), John Patterson
(San Francisco Giants)
and Cody Ransom (eight
teams, including the
Arizona Diamondbacks)
78
14
4
Baseball alumni
drafted by
Major League
Baseball clubs
Alumni who’ve
played at least one
game in “The Show”
Lopes’ national championships
(1980-82 and 1986) under
the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics
SOURCES: BASEBALL-REFERENCE.COM, BASEBALL-ALMANAC.COM AND GCULOPES.COM
Lopes players gather along one of the baselines
at Brazell during a recent game.
