GCU splits day with New Mexico State

Friday, April 15

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

29-13, 0

New Mexico State

26-19, 0

NMST

Grand Canyon

4/15/2016 10:05:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Jake Hernandez

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon softball team split the doubleheader against New Mexico State on Friday night at Stapelton-Pierson Stadium. It was a tale of two games as the Lopes 6-5 victory was clinched from a walk-off in the seventh, but the Lopes fell short in Game 2 and suffered an 8-0 outcome by run-rule. On the day GCU combined for 12 hits with three doubles and a home run. The Lopes improve 29-14 and 4-4 in WAC play.

Nicole Newbury and Brittany Medina combined for six of the Lopes 12 hits on Friday night. Newbury went 3-for-6 with a double and a run scored and Medina was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.

Game 1: In a high-scoring game, the Lopes defeated the Aggies 6-5 in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh. Out hitting the Aggies 10-5, the Lopes put up 10 or more hits in their fourth straight contest. Medina went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI, including the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh. Sierra Smith was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer.

Taylor Nowlin picked up her 15th victory of the season, tossing her sixth complete game. The lefty allowed five runs on five hits with five strikeouts.

The Aggies got things started early in the opening frame after a couple of singles led to the first run of the game. New Mexico State continued to score as an RBI double to deep-center field by Victoria Castro gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead. In the top of the third, New Mexico State's Kelsey Horton added a home run to extend the Aggies lead to 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Medina got things started for the Lopes with a double to right field. After a couple of GCU groundouts to move the runner to third, Madelyn Dowdle singled up the middle to get the Lopes on the board, cutting the Aggies lead to 3-1.

Leading off for the Lopes in the bottom of the fifth, a single to center by Shea Smith and a double by Camree Wartman put two Lopes in scoring position. The Lopes cut the lead to 3-2 when Medina hit a long fly ball, almost clearing the fence, to deep-center. The Lopes were not done scoring as Sierra Smith hit a three-run homer to left, giving the Lopes a 5-3 lead, and their first lead of the game.

After five unanswered runs by the Lopes, the Aggies decided to fight back. With a walk to put a runner on for New Mexico State, Fiana Finau hit a two-run homer to deep-left field, tying the game 5-5.

The Lopes won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh when Newbury got things started with a double to center field to put the winning run in scoring position. After Wartman singled to put Newbury a few feet from home, Medina came up big once again with a single to bring in the winning run, taking Game 1 from the Aggies, 6-5.

Game 2: The Lopes suffered their third run-rule loss of the season to New Mexico State Friday night in an 8-0 outcome. GCU struggled to get their offense going and only mustered two hits in the contest. Pitching woes plagued the Lopes as they failed to contain the Aggie offense.

Much like Game 1, the Aggies took a lead early in the opening frame, putting up three runs from consecutive singles and a Lope errant throw.

In the home half of the first, the Lopes put up their only pair of hits as a result of a Newbury bunt and a Medina single. While Wartman landed on base as a result of a fielders choice, GCU couldn't drive in runs. The Lopes were shutout the rest of the contest.

The Aggies went on to homer in the third and put up four more runs in the fifth. With no answer in the home half of the fifth inning, the Lopes suffered their first lost of the day and fourth in the WAC.

Up Next: GCU softball will also honor its two seniors, Nicole Newbury and Kailey Regester when the Lopes close out the last home series of the season with New Mexico State on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. MST.