Lopes Are WAC Regular Season Champions!

Saturday, April 26

Seattle, WA

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

27-18, 12-3

Seattle U

17-32, 6-9

Grand Canyon

Seattle U

4/26/2014 5:07:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

GCU defeated Seattle U in the series finale Saturday to win the WAC title outright

Click here to watch the final out and postgame interviews.
Click here to watch the postgame celebration.

The Grand Canyon University softball team (27-18, 12-3 WAC) became the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season champions on Saturday, defeating host Seattle U (17-32, 6-9 WAC) 6-1 in the series finale at Logan Field in Seattle. The Antelopes become the second GCU team to be crowned conference champion this season, as the women's track and field team won the WAC Indoor Championship in March. Due to the four-year transition period, Grand Canyon is not eligible to compete in the WAC postseason tournament.

After neither team produced a run in the first three innings Saturday, the Lopes used back-to-back doubles in the top of the fourth to get on the board. Lauren Regester drove a pitch to right-center to lead off the inning and Nicole Newbury followed with a two-bagger of her own, scoring Regester. Canyon pitcher Stephanie Pesqueira helped her cause by recording an RBI infield single, plating Newbury and giving the Lopes a 2-0 lead.

The Redhawks cut into the GCU lead in the home half of the fourth, scoring one to make the score 2-1.

The Lopes answered in the top of the fifth when Regester connected on her second double of the day, driving a pitch to the left-center gap, sending Haley Walker across the plate to make the score 3-1.

Grand Canyon added another run in the top of the sixth, as Pesqueira notched a two-out single and then came around to score on a Walker RBI double, extending the lead to 4-1.

Newbury picked up her second RBI of the day in the top of the seventh, pushing Kelsey Barak across the plate to tally a fifth run. Camree Wartman then recorded an RBI single, plating pinch-runner Jenna Coates, making the score, 6-1.

Pesqueira shut the door on Seattle U in the final inning, setting the Redhawks down in order. The senior right-hander was dominant once again, as she hurled all seven innings on her way to picking up her league-best 15^th win of the season. She struck out five and surrendered just one run in Saturday's outing and has not suffered a loss in her last 15 starts.

GCU did not lose a conference series during loop play this season.

The Lopes will wrap up their 2014 season with a three-game non-conference series with Utah in Salt Lake City May 9-10. Fans can check www.gculopes.com to find updates on the remainder of the 2014 softball season.

GCU 6, Seattle U 1