GCU finishes 2016 campaign at CSUB

GCU vs. CSUB
April 29-30|| Bakersfield, Calif. || Roadrunner Softball Complex

PHOENIX - The GCU softball team embarks on its final road trip to meet Cal State Bakersfield in their final series of the 2016 season. GCU looks to end the season on a high note and continue to extend their win streak.

A Glance Back
The Lopes completed a three-game sweep over the Utah Valley Wolverines this past weekend and improved their record to 32-15 and 7-5 in WAC play. The Lopes combined for 24 runs on 17 hits, including seven doubles and 16 RBI, in the series. GCU has swept UVU for the third straight year, improving to a perfect 9-0 all-time against the Wolverines.

In the circle, Taylor Nowlin earned her third Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week honor, marking her fifth career honor. In three appearances, the junior went 2-0 with a save, improving her record to 17-5 on the season. Nowlin finished the weekend tossing 14.0 innings with a 1.00 ERA, yielding five runs (two earned) on 11 hits and 12 strikeouts. In Game 1 on Friday, Nolwin was most impressive while tossing a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts, allowing five hits as she led GCU to a 4-0 victory against UVU. In Game 2, the junior threw 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, earning her fourth save on the season to lead the WAC.

At the plate, Briielle Breland led the squad, hitting .625 (5-for-8) with two doubles, three RBI and five runs scored. In Game 3, the sophomore went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs as she led the Lopes to a 10-6 victory over the Wolverines.

Sizing Up the Opponent
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The Roadrunners (13-29, 5-7 WAC) are 3-3 in their last six contests. CSU Bakersfield was swept in a three-game series last weekend against New Mexico State. The Roadrunners sit in fourth place in the WAC, six games out of first. In the conference, the Roadrunners rank third in team ERA (3.77) and fielding (.951), and fifth in batting average (.252).
Leading the Roadrunners at the plate, Julea Cavazos is hitting .380 (52-for-137) with seven doubles, 12 RBI and 19 runs scored. The sophomore ranks third in the WAC in batting average, seventh in hits and ninth in at bats. Senior Sydney Raeber is batting .323 (42-for-130) with nine doubles and a team-high 18 RBI. In the circle, Amber Mills (6-12) yields a 2.89 ERA with 111.1 innings pitched in 28 appearances and 18 starts, including three complete games. Mills ranks third in the conference in ERA and opponent batting average (.255), and fifth in innings. Raeber owns a 3.44 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. The senior's three saves only trails GCU's Taylor Nowlin (4).

Facing CSUB

Since 2004, Grand Canyon holds an 8-10 all-time record against CSU Bakersfield and a 3-3 record since 2014 when GCU joined the Western Athletic Conference. Since 2014, the Lopes have outscored the Roadrunners 37-35, scoring at least four runs in all six contests.

In 2014, GCU went 2-1 against CSU Bakersfield in their first series match up since 2007. In the series, the Lopes outscored the Roadrunners 16-6 by the scores of 8-0, 4-5 and 4-1. In Game 1, the Lopes ended the contest in five innings due to run-rule. In the game, Camree Wartman went 2-for-3 with a double, homer run, three RBI and two runs scored. Former GCU pitcher Stephanie Pesqueira tossed a complete-game shutout in five innings, yielding four hits with two strikeouts.

In 2015, the Roadrunners outscored the Lopes 29-21, taking two games out of three. In Game 2, Brittany Medina was 2-for-3 with a double, three RBI and a run scored in the Lopes 9-8 victory. In the circle, Taylor Nowlin picked up the win, tossing 4.0 innings of relief.

WAC-tastic Antelopes

GCU continues to command the leader boards in the Western Athletic Conference in hits (456), doubles (88), hits per game (9.70), sacrifice bunts (37). The Lopes remain a top the conference in batting average (.344). In the circle, GCU leads the conference in both batters struck out (210), opposing batting average (.259) and wins (32).

Individually, GCU's Shea Smith, Sierra Smith, Taylor Nowlin, Camree Wartman and Nicole Newbury are among the current slate of category leaders in the conference to date. In WAC batting average, Wartman (.416) continues to lead the conference in the category. She remains the leader with 17 doubles category, while Shea Smith is now No. 4 with 13. Wartman continues to lead the conference in hits (67). Newbury continues to lead the category with .13 strikeouts per game through 159 at bats. Sierra Smith remains tied for first with four triples on the season. In the slugging percentage categories three Lopes sit in the top 10 (Camree Wartman, Shea Smith and Sierra Smith). Shea Smith also leads the WAC with the longest hit streak for her 14-game stint (Feb. 12 to Feb. 26) achieved earlier this season. In the hits category, Wartman (67), Newbury, (60) and Shea Smith (59) continue to occupy the top three spots.

In the circle, Nowlin currently leads the WAC in six different categories. She continues to dominate the strikeout category (130) with a comfortable 32-strikeout lead. She also leads in opposing batting average (.200), ERA (2.29), wins (17) and saves (4). Nowlin also has a WAC leading 149.2 innings pitched.

Offensive Confidence

The Lopes offense has been on fire since Day 1. GCU sits among the nation's elite in batting average, doubles, doubles per game, win percentage and runs scored. The Lopes' bats have become an offensive juggernaut and are now in the seventh spot in batting average (.344) among their Division I counterparts. GCU now sits in the No. 4 spot with 456 hits behind No. 2 Auburn and are No. 26 in scoring (6.34). The Lopes continue to occupy the second spot with 88 doubles and are now third with 1.87 doubles per game. Lopes remain in the Top 50 in win percentage at top out at No. 46.

RPI on Watch

The Lopes rose to No. 53 in the Ratings Percentage Index released Monday, April 25 by the NCAA. After picking up a series sweep against Utah Valley this weekend, the Lopes moved up a spot. GCU has secured 32 victories to date. This season, they've had the best RPI rankings by far in program history. GCU debuted at No.45 on opening week of the RPI standings. In Week 7, the Lopes rose three places to No. 43 after sweeping Loyola Marymount. In Week 8, they came in at No. 47. In week 9, the Lopes fell to No. 51. In Week 10, they came in at No. 54.Their quality opponents have been a significant factor in how it matches up on the national scale. GCU has faced four ranked opponents this season and a total of six from the power five conferences.

Nowlin Becomes GCU All-Time Strikeout Leader
Junior Taylor Nowlin has now surpassed the GCU all-time strikeout record. Nowlin achieved the feat against Saint Francis, Wednesday, March 2 when she tossed nine strikeouts on the day to claim the record, previously held by Stephanie Pesqueira. The junior has now amassed 300 career strikeouts with 130 strikeouts on the season thus far.

Nowlin Keeps Rollin'
Taylor Nowlin has been in a class of her own. Nowlin now 17-5 has continued to shut down opponents in the circle. Last weekend against Utah Valley, Nowlin collected two wins and a save through three appearances and finished the weekend with a 1.00 ERA.She allowed 11 hits with 12 strikeouts and five runs (2ER) through 14.0 innings of work. She collected her fourth save on the year and tallied her sixth shutout of the season.

On the year, she has put in work through 149.2 innings pitched with a 2.29 ERA from 49 earned runs. She has held her opponents to a .200 batting average and now has 130 strikeouts on the season.

First-Inning Fire
The Lopes have made runs rain in the first inning this season. With a combined .407 batting average in the opening frame which includes 80 runs and 98 hits and a solid slugging percentage of .606, GCU has seen its best productivity early in contests. In the first inning, the Lopes have outscored opponents 81-40. GCU is 22-5 in scoring in the opening frame and is 20-3 after leading in the first. In the hits category, the Lopes have out-hit opponents 27-7. On the year, GCU has also run-ruled 11 opponents.

Through 47 games this season, the Lopes have outscored their opponents 298 to 192. GCU's largest margin of victory was 18 runs, with one 10-run victory, one nine-run win and eight victories by eight runs. The Lopes have also amassed nine shutouts. The Lopes have had 24 contests where they've posted 10 or more hits in a contest. In the series finale against Utah Valley, the Lopes collected 14 hits for the fifth time this season.

Young Guns

The freshmen Lopes have been phenomenal at the plate this year. On the year, they have been responsible for 50 percent of the team's 34 home runs to date. With 17 home runs between the young talent, they have now amassed 10 home runs with one or more on base, with six three-run home runs, four two-run homers and two grand slams. On the season, the freshmen have combined for 114 runs from 163 hits with 111 RBI and 23 doubles. Shea Smith, Sierra Smith and Taylor Kaye account for seven of the eight triples on the team. Sierra Smith is now tied for first with Camree Wartman with six home runs this season.

Both Shea Smith and Dowdle have been perfect at the plate in multiple contests. Dowdle was perfect in two contests against DePaul (3-of-3) and UNLV (4-of-4) and became the first Lope this season to produce two perfect outings during the same weekend during the Easton Tourney in Fullerton, Calif. Smith also had a perfect day at the plate against Arkansas while in Fullerton. She was perfect from the field in the team's victory over UNLV (4-of-4) for the second time this season. She collected her first perfect outing in Week 1 against UMBC (2-of-2).

WAC Player of the Week honors
The Lopes have garnered seven WAC Player-of-the-Week accolades this season. Most recently, Taylor Nowlin was rewarded for her performance in Week 11of play. It was her third honor of the year and fifth career. She finished the series against Utah Valley with a 1.0 ERA with a pair of wins and a save. She picked up her sixth shutout in game one and fourth save of the year in Game 2. Throughout March GCU had four consecutive weeks with either a conference hitter- or pitcher-of-the-week honor. On the pitching end, Taylor Nowlin has been awarded three times, Kailey Regester earned her third career in Week 9 and Bailey Bergman earned her first-career in Week 4. On the hitting side, Shea Smith and Brittany Medina have taken home the award for their performances at the plate.

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Players Mentioned

Bailey Bergman

Briielle Breland

Taylor Kaye

Brittany Medina

Nicole Newbury

Taylor Nowlin

Kailey Regester

Shea Smith

Sierra Smith

Haley Walker

Camree Wartman

Grand Canyon University Athletics