'Lopes Drop Two on First Day of Desert Stinger

Friday, February 10

Las Vegas, NV

3 p.m.

Grand Canyon

CSU Monterey Bay

Lauren Regester, left, and Brittany Manzoline

2/10/2012 4:19:00 PM | Softball

Grand Canyon dropped both games on the opening day of the Third Annual Desert Stinger in Las Vegas, Nev. Friday.

GCU (3-3) lost 6-3 to CSU Monterey Bay (5-1) and 11-10 to Montana State-Billings at Majestic Park.

Grand Canyon led 7-3 in the third inning before MSU-Billings rallied to win. The game was tied in the sixth when the Yellowjackets scored the go-ahead run. GCU failed to score in the seventh.

In the loss, freshman first baseman Lauren Regester hit two home runs.

"Our offense is there," said GCU coach Ann Pierson. "We made some adjustments after leaving people on (against Monterey Bay) and really capitalized on that. We need to continue to work on our command in the circle. We did a good job battling and we're going to keep working hard to get better."

Regester and Lisa Tarnowski each had three hits. Regester drove in five runs and Tarnowski knocked in three, giving her 12 RBI on the season. Senior designated player Vanessa Chavez had two hits. In her first start, freshman third baseman Nicole Upshaw went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Down 10-8, GCU tied it with two runs in the sixth. Claire Zampini reached on an error and Kelsey Barak and Tarnowski each followed with singles. Zampini and Barak scored on a two-run single by Regester.

Against Monterey Bay, all six of the Otters runs came with two outs.

The Otters got out to a 4-0 lead with the aid of back-to-back first-inning home runs. In the second, GCU cut the lead in half.

Regester, Kara Holtorf and Haley Walker each had singles. Regester and Holtorf scored on back-to-back walks to Kayla Henry and Stephanie Smith.

With the score 6-2, GCU cut into the lead with a run in the fifth. Zampini was hit by a pitch and moved to second on an illegal pitch. She scored on consecutive ground outs from Barak and Tarnowski.

Grand Canyon’s seventh-inning rally fell short. With one out, Smith, Zampini and Barak each had singles, but all were left on base.

"We had our chances, offensively," said Pierson. "We had the bases loaded a few times and chipped away here and there, but weren't able to get the big inning."

Sophomore pitcher Kiki Sepulveda (1-1) suffered the loss. Senior reliever Brittany Manzoline threw four and two-thirds innings without giving up an earned run.

GCU will play five games in the tournament. On Saturday, it takes on Western Washington at 12:30 p.m. and No. 8 Augustana at 8 p.m. On Sunday, GCU plays Simon Fraser at 3 p.m.

Fans can follow the Western Washington game with live stats. A link will be available at www.GCULopes.com.

CSUMB 6, GCU 3
MSUB 11, GCU 10