IRVINE, Calif. (Interstat) — The Grand Canyon Antelopes erupted for five runs in the top of the 10th inning, powered by a shutdown relief performance from Cam Cunnings, to stun the UC Irvine Anteaters 9-4 in a nonconference baseball game Wednesday afternoon at Anteater Ballpark.

The victory snapped a four-game losing skid for Grand Canyon and avenged a 3-0 shutout loss to the Anteaters just 24 hours earlier. It also defied the projections, as Interstat’s game simulator had forecast a 6-3 UC Irvine win, giving the Anteaters a 69.1% probability of victory based on its ELO system.

The game’s defining sequence began in the top of the 10th with the score locked at 4-4. Grand Canyon’s Tyler Johns and Diego Chacon led off with singles. A sacrifice bunt moved them into scoring position before a parade of free passes and timely hitting broke the game open. Cam G. was hit by a pitch to force in the go-ahead run, Jake Sanko drew a bases-loaded walk, and a wild pitch allowed two more to score. Billy Scaldeferri capped the rally with a sacrifice fly, plating Sanko.

The offensive outburst made a winner of Cunnings, who was the game’s top star. The right-hander entered with two outs in the seventh and was dominant, firing four hitless innings. He struck out five and walked none, single-handedly stifling any UC Irvine momentum after the Anteaters had clawed back from a 4-0 deficit. This performance was a bright spot for Cunnings, who had worked just 1 1/3 innings over two appearances in a weekend series against Oklahoma State.

Grand Canyon (3-6) built its early lead with single runs in the first, fourth and seventh innings. Scaldeferri drove in the first run with an RBI double in the first, finishing 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Chacon hit a solo home run in the fourth, and Sanko, who went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, added an RBI single later in the frame. Scaldeferri’s second RBI double in the seventh made it 4-0.

UC Irvine (6-3) chipped away against the Antelope bullpen in the fifth and sixth. Tommy Farmer IV drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, followed by a sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Dylan Hillman. In the sixth, shortstop Zach Fjelstad delivered the biggest blow for the Anteaters, a two-run double to center that tied the game at 4-4. Fjelstad went 2 for 5 with two RBIs.

The Anteaters’ offense was hampered by grounding into two double plays. Grand Canyon pitchers Cody Kiemele and Cunnings combined for six scoreless innings of one-hit relief, striking out seven. UC Irvine used seven pitchers, with starters Jack Ross and Tyler Foster each allowing one earned run over three innings. Dane Grant provided three strong innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out three.

Grand Canyon next hosts Pacific for a three-game series starting Friday. UC Irvine travels to Las Vegas for the Tony Gwynn Legacy event, facing Vanderbilt on Friday.