Lopes look to defend home win streak in GCU Invitational

GCU INVITATIONAL
Feb. 26-28 || Phoenix, Ariz. || Stapelton-Pierson Stadium
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PHOENIX – The GCU softball team returns to the field looking to remain undefeated at home and extended its home win streak to 10 games as it hosts its second tournament of the season. The GCU Invitational will feature Northern Illinois, Montana and Texas State alongside the Lopes this weekend. The Lopes will face Northern Illinois and Montana on Friday before facing Texas State and Northern Illinois on Saturday. GCU will wrap up tourney play on Sunday against Montana. All live stats will be online at gculopes.com.

A Glance Back
The Lopes split their first road trip 3-3 in the DeMarini Desert Classic hosted by UNLV. Grand Canyon recorded 26 runs from 56 hits on the weekend and posted a .313 batting average. In the circle, the Lopes garnered three successful outings. Taylor Nowlin pitched a no-hitter for the second time this season and tallied 20 strikeouts through 25.0 innings pitched to earn WAC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors.

Sizing Up the Opponents
Texas State finished its second weekend with only one loss in the Louisiana Tech Invitational and now sits at 8-2. Saturday's victories marked the best start in program history after shutting out both Abilene Christian 2-0 and Belmont 3-0. On the year, the Wildcats have 51 runs off of 70 hits. Sophomore pitcher Randy Rubb (7-2), is ranked fifth in the nation with 55 strikeouts through 41.2 innings pitched. She also leads the Sun Belt Conference in strikeouts and ranks second with a 0.84 ERA. Rubb has held opponents to a .162 batting average this year to date. The Lopes meet Texas State for the second straight year. Texas State lead the all-time series 1-0 after Grand Canyon dropped a 4-3 decision last year at the Century Link Classic in San Marcus, Texas.

Northern Illinois recorded three wins and three losses at the FAU "Strike-Out" Cancer Tournament. Now at 3-2, the Huskies finished the weekend shutting out Florida A&M 8-0 as they opened with five runs in the first inning and three runs in the fourth to defeat the Rattlers by run rule. Senior catcher Emily Naegele garnered Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors on opening weekend. She went 8-of-14 with five RBI and three runs scored in five games. Naegele had two home runs, a triple and three doubles to finish out the tournament. On the season, the Huskies have 22 hits with 17 runs. GCU will meet Northern Illinois for the first time in program history.

The Montana Grizzlies finished the Arizona State Littlewood Classic 2-3 and are now 5-5 on the season. Montana garnered two program records with 17 runs and 21 hits on Friday in its 17-6 rout over Illinois State. The Griz have 52 runs from 89 hits. In the circle, they have 41 strikeouts over 66.0 innings pitched.

First-Inning Fire
The Lopes have made runs rain in the first inning this season. With a combined .544 batting average in the opening frame which includes 35 runs and 43 hits and an astounding slugging percentage of .861, GCU has seen its best productivity early in contests. The Lopes have outscored their opponents a staggering 36-5 in the first inning alone and sit at 8-1 in first inning scoring and 7-0 in runs scored first.

The Lopes have had impressive outings in the runs scored category this season and are now tied in the No. 10 spot with conference foe New Mexico State with 7.58 runs per game. They also lead the country in hits this season with 140 to date.

Trending
The Lopes have shown confidence and consistency at Stapleton-Pierson Stadium so far this year. They currently own a six-game winning streak and nationally sit in the 16th spot in active home win streaks with nine wins dating back to the 2015 season.

Team Doubles	2B	Team Batting	Avg.	Hits
GCU	31	Georgia	.433	88
Auburn	29	New Mexico State	.426	110
Oregon State	28	USC Upstate	.416	94
Oregon	25	Oregon State	.407	124
Tennessee	25	Auburn	.404	131
Evansville	25	Southern	.402	70
Washington	25	GCU	.392	140
Pittsburgh	22	Arizona	.397	112

The Lopes' bats have become an offensive juggernaut with top-20 positions in slugging percentages (.594) and sit in the seventh spot in batting average (.395) among its Division I counterparts. The Lopes also lead the country in hits (140) and doubles (31).

Seeing Doubles
GCU leads the nation with 31 doubles and nine of those belong to freshman shortstop Shea Smith. She has distinguished herself as a versatile hitting force and has soared above expectations as the team's leadoff hitter.

"Shea has just taken the leadoff spot and just run with it," head coach Ann Pierson said. "It's fun to have a triple threat lead off; she can bunt, she can slap, she can hit for power and then she can really run. She's a really aggressive hitter and has a really good understanding of what her role is as a leadoff batter. But then also she can come up in an RBI position, leadoff an inning at any time."

Name	School	2B	2B/Gm
Shea Smith	GCU	9	.75
Missy Taukeiaho	Cal St. Fullerton	7	.70
Shaliyah Geathers	Tennessee	7	.64
Victoria Williams	South Carolina	6	.67
Sam Macken	Minnesota	6	.67

Smith currently has a team leading 17 runs off 21 hits with nine RBI and nine doubles. Her explosive hits have landed her on top of the nation's best list in both doubles (9) and slugging percentage (.750). Smith's productivity in the batter's box has also placed her in the top 13 nationally with 17 runs.

"Some of it's just she's a natural athlete, but every opportunity for every rep is making the most of it," Pierson explained. "She doesn't take reps off, she doesn't take pitches off. She's constantly trying to outwork her teammates and that's the quality you've got to have. That's what makes your teammates get better and she is exactly that kid."

Matching Up Among the Field
Fellow Lopes Camree Wartman and Jamilia Cosay have also garnered impressive national accolades this year. Wartman sits among the nation's top 20 in runs, while Cosay leads the team with 14 RBI and with two grand slams. She is currently tied for eighth in the country for runs batted in.

Nowlin Keeps Rollin'
Taylor Nowlin has been in a class of her own. She picked up her fourth career Western Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Week accolade for Week 2 of action. She tallied her second no-hitter of the season in the team's shutout victory over Utah State Friday. On the weekend, she finished with a 0.84 era, with 20 strikeouts through 25.0 innings pitched. She allowed just four runs in Las Vegas. Domination has been her game this season. With two-no hitters in the first two weeks of play in addition to a combined no-hitter in the season opener, she is pitching her way into the Lopes' record books. Nowlin currently leads the WAC in strikeouts (29) and owns the second spot in the earned run average category with 1.36 ERA through with seven earned runs in 36.0 innings pitched.

WAC 'tastic" Antelopes
GCU commands the leaderboards in the Western Athletic Conference in hits (141), RBI (87), doubles (31) and hits per game (11.75). With a .395 average GCU currently sits in the second spot in team batting.

Individually, GCU's Shea Smith, Taylor Nowlin, Camree Wartman and Nicole Newbury are among the current slate of category leaders in the conference to date. Smith leads the WAC in runs and runs per game along with doubles and is tied for first in the triples category. Wartman leads the conference in hits (23) and hits per game (1.33) while Newbury comes in tied for first with zero strikeouts to date. Nowlin commands the strikeout category (29) leading conference pitchers by a nine-run differential on the year.

The Lopes dominate the hits and at-bats categories and occupy the top three spots. Wartman (23), Smith (21) and Newbury (18) round out the top competitors. In home runs and homers per game, Madelyn Dowdle and Cosay sit tied at second with three a piece. Cosay also ranks third in with 14 RBI.

Lope to Watch

Freshman third baseman Madelyn Dowdle has been busy in the batter's box. On Saturday against Utah State, she blasted two home runs out of the park in the team's 8-0 shutout victory. On the weekend Dowdle tallied three home runs. Her productivity in the homer category has her among the top in the nation. She is currently tied for first in the home run per game category. In the fifth lineup spot, Dowdle has accumulated eight runs from 11 hits with 11 RBI and three home runs. She is tied for second in the WAC with three home runs and 0.30 homers per game.

Lopes look to defend home win streak in GCU Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Maddie Dowdle

Nicole Newbury

Taylor Nowlin

Shea Smith

Camree Wartman

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Lopes look to defend home win streak in GCU Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Maddie Dowdle

Nicole Newbury

Taylor Nowlin

Shea Smith

Camree Wartman

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