GCU pumped for tough road tests

San Diego Classic I
March 4-6 || San Diego, Calif. || SDSU Softball Stadium
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PHOENIX - The GCU softball team returns to the field Wednesday looking to bounce back off a pair of losses. With an action packed week ahead, the Lopes welcome St. Francis for a mid-week contest, then head to San Diego, for their first of three straight tournament appearances in the state this year.

In the San Diego Classic hosted by San Diego State, the Lopes are looking to continue their winning ways on the road. GCU will face Boston University and Saint Joseph's on Friday before meeting Pitt and finishing the day against their first ranked opponent No. 15 Texas A&M. The Lopes will wrap up tourney play on Sunday against Portland State.

In the neutral sight contest, GCU will be the home team against Saint Joseph's, Pitt and Portland State. They will meet Boston University, Saint Joseph's and Portland State at SDSU Stadium and play Texas A&M and Pittsburg at San Diego Softball Complex. All live stats will be online at gculopes.com.

A Glance Back
The Lopes went 3-2 in the GCU Invitational. Grand Canyon recorded 40 runs from 55 hits on the weekend and posted a .415 batting average. Nicole Newbury had a fantastic weekend and led the Lopes with a.588 batting average and was 10-of-17 with 10 hits, seven runs, two doubles, three RBI and a .706 slugging percentage. The Lopes outscored (40-19) and outhit (56-36) their opponents as they continue to be a productive power-hitting team.

Sizing Up the Opponents

?The Red Flash (7-8) went 1-3 during the Arizona State Diamond Devil Invitational this past weekend. Leading SFU at the plate, sophomore Jordan Seneca is hitting .404 (19-for-47) with four doubles, six homers, 24 RBI and 15 runs scored through 15 games. In the circle, junior Blaire Lauthers (3-2) leads the Red Flash with a 2.63 ERA in eight appearances (three starts).

? The Terriers are 3-6 on the season, losing four one-loss contests. Leading BU at the plate, junior Brittany Younan is hitting .414 (12-for-29) with a double, three RBI and four runs scored through nine games. In the circle, senior Lauren Hynes (2-2) leads the pack with two complete games in seven games (three starts). The senior yields a 1.69 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 29.0 innings pitched.

?The Hawks (4-6) have won three of their last five contests. Leading SJU with four home runs, junior Kaylyn Zierke is batting .379 (11-for-29) with two doubles, eight RBI and nine runs scored through 10 contests. Leading the Hawks in the circle, sophomore Madison Clarke (2-2) has a 1.53 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched.

? The No. 15 Aggies (17-1), currently on a 14-game win streak, suffered their only loss to the season against No. 7 UCLA, 7-3, on Feb. 13. With three Aggies hitting above the .400 mark on the season, freshman Keeli Milligan leads the pack, batting .433 (26-for-60) with a home run, three RBI and 16 runs scored. Not far behind, sophomore Tori Vidales is hitting .413 (19-for-46) with four doubles, five homers, 17 RBI and 19 runs scored. In the circle, freshman Samantha Show (10-1) has a 1.88 ERA (18 earned runs in 67.0 IP) with 58 strikeouts in 10 starts (13 games).

?The Panthers (11-4) went a perfect 5-0 record in the Stetson Invitation last weekend. Leading the Panthers at the plate, senior Maggie Sevilla is hitting .478 (22-for-46) with four doubles, four homers, 18 RBI and 24 runs scored. The senior was named Stetson Invitational all-tournament team with fellow teammate freshman Sarah Dawson. In the circle, sophomore Kayla Harris (5-4) has three shutouts through nine appearances (seven starts), yielding a 1.53 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched. Pitt pitcher, Sarah Dawson (4-0) was named ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week, tossing the Panthers' first perfect game in program history.

?The Vikings (4-11) have won three straight, including a 4-1 record during the Hawaii Invitational last weekend. Leading PSU at the plate, sophomore Kortney Craker is batting .415 (17-for-41) with three doubles, three homers, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored. In the circle for the Vikings, freshman Alyssa Burk (2-1) has two complete games, yielding a 3.17 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched.

First-Inning Fire
The Lopes have made runs rain in the first inning this season. With a combined .509 batting average in the opening frame which includes 48 runs and 55 hits and an astounding slugging percentage of .824, GCU has seen its best productivity early in contests. The Lopes have outscored their opponents 49-11 in the first inning alone and sit at 11-3 in first inning scoring and 9-1 in runs scored first. They also have a solid 10-1 record when leading after the opening frame.

The Lopes have had impressive outings in the runs scored category this season and after the weekends contests jumped into the No. 2 spot just under Auburn with 131 runs and a 7.71 runs per game average. GCU has continued its doubling ways and this past weekend was no different. The Lopes garnered 11 doubles in just five contests. Nicole Newbury, Shea Smith and Camree Wartman accounted for seven of the 11 on the weekend.

Lopes' RULE
This season GCU has not only dominated its opponents, but have shut down games in five innings in run-rule fashion. The Lopes have ended seven contests by run-rule this season and swept a doubleheader on the same day for the first time this year. They have yet to be run-ruled by opponents. In contests with just five innings, the Lopes have outscored their foes 74-5 with 90 hits, 20 doubles and nine home runs. On the defensive side, GCU has been nearly perfect in the field and have tallied 105 putouts and a fielding percentage of .962.

Trending
Senior Nicole Newbury had her most productive outings of the season in the GCU Invitational. She led the Lopes with a . 588 batting average from 10 hits off 17 at bats. She crossed the plate seven times and blasted two doubles for three RBI. At first, Newbury commanded the bag garnering 28 putouts through five innings with a .935 fielding percentage.

DOWDLE' POWER
Madelyn Dowdle garnered College Sports Madness Softball Player of the Week honors for her performance in the GCU Invitational. This marks her first collegiate honor. The freshman has been busy in the batter's box. Over the weekend, she blasted her fourth home run out of the park in the team's 10-0 rout of Texas State on Saturday. Along with a homer, Dowdle tallied a .583 batting average with seven hits, three runs and eight RBI. With an impressive slugging percentage of .857 the young talent has soared above expectations and continues to wow at the plate. In the fifth lineup spot, Dowdle has accumulated 11 runs from 17 hits with a team leading 19 RBI and four home runs. She is tied for first in the WAC with 19 RBI. She sits in the No. 2 spot in the conference in slugging percentage (.756) and home runs (4).

Nowlin Keeps Rollin'
Taylor Nowlin has been in a class of her own. On Saturday against Texas State Nowlin dominated the circle allowing only three hits through five innings pitched. 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 is inching closer to the school's career strikeout record. She has 211 entering the week, placing her third all-time. She needs just nine more to break the mark set from 2013 to 2014 by Stephanie Pesqueira. Nowlin currently leads the WAC in strikeouts (41) and owns the second spot in the earned run average category with 1.79 ERA through with 12 earned runs in 47.0 innings pitched. She picked up her fourth career Western Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Week accolade for Week 2 of action.

WAC 'tastic" Antelopes
GCU commands the leader boards in the Western Athletic Conference in hits (196), RBI (121), doubles (42) and hits per game (11.59). Over the weekend, the Lopes snagged the No.1 spot with a .398 team batting average.

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. Wartman now leads the WAC in runs and runs per game while Shea Smith extended her lead in doubles. Sierra Smith is tied for first with the two triples she collected at the Invitational and Wartman now leads the conference conference in hits (29) and hits per game (1.71). This week, Newbury jumped a top the leader board with zero strikeouts to date. Nowlin commands the strikeout category (41) while Kailey Regester now leads the WAC in wins (5).

The Lopes dominate the hits and at-bats categories and occupy the top three spots. Wartman (29), Smith (28) and Newbury (28) round out the top competitors. In home runs (4) and homers per game (.27), Dowdle added to her homer count. Now with four she occupies the No. 2 spot in both categories.

Lope to Watch: Camree Wartman

Junior second baseman Camree Wartman has been amazing in the batter's box. Wartman not only leads the conference in both runs and hits, she is currently tied for second in the nation with 29 hits thus far. This past weekend Wartman boasted a .375 batting average with seven runs from six hits and two RBI. She garnered three doubles in the teams 3-2 record on the weekend. In the third lineup spot, Wartman has accumulated a .483 batting average and a team leading 23 runs from 29 hits along with a .750 slugging percentage.

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Players Mentioned

Maddie Dowdle

Logan Johnston

Nicole Newbury

Taylor Nowlin

Kailey Regester

Shea Smith

Sierra Smith

Camree Wartman

Grand Canyon University Athletics