Live bats and superb fielding fuel Lopes in Day 2 split

Saturday, February 20

Las Vegas, Nev.

4:45 p.m.

Grand Canyon

8-1

Hawaii

6-5

Grand Canyon

Hawaii

Live bats and superb fielding fuel Lopes in Day 2 split

2/20/2016 11:44:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Imani Suber

LAS VEGAS - Grand Canyon's defense held its opponents to just three runs a piece, as pitchers Taylor Nowlin and Kailey Regester showed grit in the circle while helping the Lopes to a 1-1 record on Day 2 of the DeMarini Dessert Classic.

With a two home runs, Grand Canyon's offense lit up the field as it claimed an 8-3 win over Hawaii on Saturday afternoon.

In an eighth inning international tiebreaker, the Lopes fell to the Weber State Wildcats 3-2. The game ended in a close call at third base as their scoring opportunity was snatched when Madelyn Dowdle was called out in a dive for third.

The Lopes totaled 14 hits, 11 runs and 11 RBI Saturday and improved to 8-2.

Game 1: GCU hit back-to-back home runs for the second straight night, with Dowdle's two-run home run followed by Sierra Smith's homer helping the Lopes shut down Hawaii 8-3.

In the second, GCU crossed the plate three times to take the lead. Sierra Smith led off with a base hit. Bianca Boling then advanced to first from a Hawaii error. Shea Smith singled to bring Bianca Boling in for an RBI. Nicole Newbury made the Rainbow Wahine defense miss with a hard hit single to drive both Shea Smith and Kendsey Hill in for two RBI.

The Lopes defense then put in work and shut down Hawaii's powerful offense with athletic catches. They snatched two rocket balls to close out the inning. With a two-run homer in the heart of the fourth, Dowdle posted her third home run of the weekend. Sierra Smith followed with her first collegiate homer.

But the Bows wouldn't lay down quietly, putting together a homer in the bottom of the fourth to claim two runs.

Register and the defense stifled Hawaii from the fifth on. She pitched a solid game, holding Hawaii to just three runs with six hits. She improved to 3-0.

Game 2: In a gritty and scrappy night at the ball park, GCU and Weber State duked it out in eight innings as WSU claimed a 3-2 decision over the Lopes in the final moments.

The Wildcats set the tone early with a home run on the first at-bat of the game. The Lopes happily snagged a free run when WSU pitcher Bailey Seek walked Dowdle with the bases loaded.

Hill slugged in a homer for the Lopes to gain a one-run advantage. Nowlin kept the strikeouts coming, posting seven by the sixth inning. But it came down to the seventh. GCU went scoreless, the Wildcats posted one run to force the extra inning.

With the international tiebreaker in effect, the intensity increased. With WSU's Thompson starting a second, the Wildcats posted a sacrifice bunt to drive her in and gain the lead.

When the Lopes were up, Dowdle went to second to start the eighth. As Sierra Smith hit the ball, Dowdle dove for third, but was called out on a fielder's choice with Smith still on first. The Lopes posted two fly balls on the next plays and solidified WSU's 3-2 win.

Next up: On Sunday the Lopes enter the final day of tournament play. They will meet Colorado State at 12:15 and UTEP at 2:30 p.m. MT.

Lopes Notes:
Taylor Nowlin is just 23 strikeouts away from the all-time record.
Madelyn Dowdle has posted three home runs in four games.
Lopes totaled 14 hits, 11 runs and 11 RBI Saturday.

Lopes Quotes:
Head Coach Ann Pierson
"Our pitching was great today. Both Kailey and Taylor threw tremendous games and I'm proud of them. Kailey held and shut down a very powerful hitting Hawaii team and allowed her defense to work behind her. The kids continue to work on their fundamentals and it's great to see clean games."

"Our hitting exploded once again. Taylor settled in and threw a great game. She kept a very athletic and talented Weber State team off balance and out of their game plan. The defense was solid."

(On the Weber State loss)
"We had our chances to push more across and kept coming up short. We need to continue to work on adjusting to the bullpen immediately to keep our good ABs going. The kids will shake this off and learn from it. It'll make us better."