Completed Event: Softball versus San José State on March 22, 2026 , Win , 10, to, 4
Softball
vs San José State
W 10-4
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 19
Las Vegas, Nev.
10 a.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
Brigham Young
GCU travels to Las Vegas for the DeMarini Desert Classic
2/18/2016 7:57:00 AM | Softball
PHOENIX- The GCU softball team will take on a challenging field of competitors in Las Vegas this weekend, as it opens play at the DeMarini Desert Classic on Friday hosted by UNLV. The Lopes will take on six opponents in their first road trip of 2016.
GCU will play on two fields, Eller Media Stadium on the campus at UNLV and at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park (SLC). The Lopes will play BYU at Eller Media Stadium, while taking on Utah State, Hawaii, Colorado State, Weber State and UTEP at SLC Park. GCU will be the designated home team against BYU, Weber State and UTEP.
Lopes start 6-0 at Stapleton-Pierson Stadium
The Lopes went undefeated in the first week of play. With three shutout contests and two no-hitters, GCU soared above its opponents outscoring them 68-19. The Lopes totaled seven home runs with 86 hits. They will look to continue their winning ways as they hit the road this weekend.
On offense, freshman Shea Smith leads GCU at the plate, with a team-high 11 runs scored with 12 hits and eight RBI. Junior Camree Wartman homered twice and posted 13 hits with 10 runs. Freshman Jamilia Cosay posted two homers in four games, including a grand slam in Game 3 against Idaho State. Fellow freshman Nikki Gonzalez garnered her first two-run walk-off homer of her career when the Lopes stunned Idaho State in the seventh inning to beat it 15-12.
In the circle, Taylor Nowlin not only pitched her first solo no-hitter in Sunday's shutout victory over Loyola Marymount, but combined for a no-hitter with teammate Bailey Bergman in the 18-0 rout of UMBC in the season opener. Keiley Register went 3-0 on the weekend posting 11 strikeouts and four walks.
Lopes hit the road
GCU will receive numerous tests at the Demarini Desert Classic. Out of the field of six, the Lopes will open against BYU, which appeared the NCAA tournament in 2015. After taking on the Cougars, GCU will then face Utah State to finalize the first day of competition. Saturday morning the Lopes take on Hawaii, which is perennially one of the top power-hitting teams in the nation and will wrap up the tournament against Colorado State.
The Lopes meet up with Utah State for the second time in two seasons. The team's first meeting came in 2014 at the Red Dirt Classic. In a 5-3 decision, the Lopes scored first in the second inning. They were most productive in the third when two players rounded the bases off a homer to go up by four. The Lopes added runs in the fourth and then mounted a defensive stand to edge out the Aggies.
GCU will see Weber State for the third-straight year. Weber State leads the all-time series 3-1. The two teams last met in a three series set in 2015. The Lopes went 1-2 in the series falling to the Wildcats 10-9 and 10-6. GCU defeated WSU 6-5 in the second game of the series.
New to the fold
GCU will meet BYU, Colorado State, Hawaii and UTEP for the first time in program history. BYU, which saw action in the NCAA tournament last season, sits a 3-2 on the year. The Cougars shut out San Jose State and Creighton at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend as junior pitcher NcKenna Bull pitched her first solo no-hitter against San Jose State.
Hawaii started 2016 with four wins and two losses. Its pitching performances were outstanding as tandem Kanani Cabrales and Brittany Hitchcock pitched shutouts. For the year, UH is led by five seniors and 12 letterwinners.
In 2015, on opening weekend, UTEP (2-3), overcome its first loss of the season against Incarnate Word with a rout over UIW 13-3. It totaled 11 runs on 10 hits in the second inning of the contest.
Colorado State started 2016 winless at 0-5 and looks to bounce back in Las Vegas. In 2015, the Rams finished with a 27-29 record and finished seventh in the Mountain West Conference. They were led by standout infielder Hailey Hutten who set team highs with 65 hits and 44 runs.
Quoting coach Ann Pierson:
"We have some crazy tough opponents coming up and I like that because we get to face the best teams, best coaches," Pierson said. "We want to do that every year for the experience, but also so our kids can look at their kids and learn from them. We want to be there where they are, with that reputation and backing, and since that's where we want to go, why not play them now?"
GCU will play on two fields, Eller Media Stadium on the campus at UNLV and at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park (SLC). The Lopes will play BYU at Eller Media Stadium, while taking on Utah State, Hawaii, Colorado State, Weber State and UTEP at SLC Park. GCU will be the designated home team against BYU, Weber State and UTEP.
Lopes start 6-0 at Stapleton-Pierson Stadium
The Lopes went undefeated in the first week of play. With three shutout contests and two no-hitters, GCU soared above its opponents outscoring them 68-19. The Lopes totaled seven home runs with 86 hits. They will look to continue their winning ways as they hit the road this weekend.
On offense, freshman Shea Smith leads GCU at the plate, with a team-high 11 runs scored with 12 hits and eight RBI. Junior Camree Wartman homered twice and posted 13 hits with 10 runs. Freshman Jamilia Cosay posted two homers in four games, including a grand slam in Game 3 against Idaho State. Fellow freshman Nikki Gonzalez garnered her first two-run walk-off homer of her career when the Lopes stunned Idaho State in the seventh inning to beat it 15-12.
In the circle, Taylor Nowlin not only pitched her first solo no-hitter in Sunday's shutout victory over Loyola Marymount, but combined for a no-hitter with teammate Bailey Bergman in the 18-0 rout of UMBC in the season opener. Keiley Register went 3-0 on the weekend posting 11 strikeouts and four walks.
Lopes hit the road
GCU will receive numerous tests at the Demarini Desert Classic. Out of the field of six, the Lopes will open against BYU, which appeared the NCAA tournament in 2015. After taking on the Cougars, GCU will then face Utah State to finalize the first day of competition. Saturday morning the Lopes take on Hawaii, which is perennially one of the top power-hitting teams in the nation and will wrap up the tournament against Colorado State.
The Lopes meet up with Utah State for the second time in two seasons. The team's first meeting came in 2014 at the Red Dirt Classic. In a 5-3 decision, the Lopes scored first in the second inning. They were most productive in the third when two players rounded the bases off a homer to go up by four. The Lopes added runs in the fourth and then mounted a defensive stand to edge out the Aggies.
GCU will see Weber State for the third-straight year. Weber State leads the all-time series 3-1. The two teams last met in a three series set in 2015. The Lopes went 1-2 in the series falling to the Wildcats 10-9 and 10-6. GCU defeated WSU 6-5 in the second game of the series.
New to the fold
GCU will meet BYU, Colorado State, Hawaii and UTEP for the first time in program history. BYU, which saw action in the NCAA tournament last season, sits a 3-2 on the year. The Cougars shut out San Jose State and Creighton at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend as junior pitcher NcKenna Bull pitched her first solo no-hitter against San Jose State.
Hawaii started 2016 with four wins and two losses. Its pitching performances were outstanding as tandem Kanani Cabrales and Brittany Hitchcock pitched shutouts. For the year, UH is led by five seniors and 12 letterwinners.
In 2015, on opening weekend, UTEP (2-3), overcome its first loss of the season against Incarnate Word with a rout over UIW 13-3. It totaled 11 runs on 10 hits in the second inning of the contest.
Colorado State started 2016 winless at 0-5 and looks to bounce back in Las Vegas. In 2015, the Rams finished with a 27-29 record and finished seventh in the Mountain West Conference. They were led by standout infielder Hailey Hutten who set team highs with 65 hits and 44 runs.
Quoting coach Ann Pierson:
"We have some crazy tough opponents coming up and I like that because we get to face the best teams, best coaches," Pierson said. "We want to do that every year for the experience, but also so our kids can look at their kids and learn from them. We want to be there where they are, with that reputation and backing, and since that's where we want to go, why not play them now?"
Players Mentioned
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2B
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