Lopes pick up 6-1 victory at CSUB

Friday, April 29

Bakersfield, Calif.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

33-15, 8-5

CSU Bakersfield

13-30, 5-8

Grand Canyon

CSU Bakersfield

4/29/2016 3:03:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Imani Suber

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Grand Canyon softball team took care of business and claimed the series opener 6-1 over Cal State Bakersfield Friday afternoon. GCU finished the day with six runs from 10 hits with a pair of doubles and a two-run homer. The Lopes improve to 33-15 on the year and 8-5 in WAC play .

Shea Smith put on a show at the plate and was 3-for-2 with a double, two RBI and a walk. Laynee Gomez also had a great day at the plate and was 3-for-2 with two runs and extended her hit streak to five. Madelyn Dowdle smashed out a two-run homer in the third inning to put the Lopes up 4-0 and tallied her sixth home run of the year in the process.

In the circle, Taylor Nowlin pitched a complete game and allowed seven hits with just one run through 32 batters faced.

While the defenses went toe-to-toe for three straight innings, the Lopes finally got things going offensively in the third. To open the home half of the third, Dowdle drew a leadoff walk to land on base and was advanced by Kendsey Hill's perfect sacrifice bunt. Shea Smith then blasted the ball to the left center field fence for an RBI double and scored Dowdle to take the lead 1-0. Nicole Newbury beat out a ball to the pitcher to snatch first and Camree Wartman flew out to center field for a sacrifice fly that brought Smith home and improved the score to 2-0.

The Lopes continued their offensive productivity in the fourth. Laynee Gomez landed on base after hitting a chopper through the infield. Dowdle added to the run total with a two-run homer to improve the score to 4-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, CSUB threatened on second as a result of a Lopes error. The Roadrunners benefited yet again off a GCU miscue to cut the run total to 4-1.

The Lopes continued to work on defense. For the first out of the fifth, the Roadrunners grounded out to third and Wartman had a diving catch to snatch the second out. The Lopes were able to get themselves out of a jam and prevented the Roadrunners from scoring off a ground out leaving the two in scoring position stranded.

To start the sixth, the Lopes kept the pressure on with back-to-back hits by Sierra Smith and Gomez. Both Shea Smith and Newbury recorded RBI singles to add a pair of runs to the scoreboard with a 6-1 advantage.

In the seventh, the Roadrunners held the Lopes from plating any runs and mounted a rally in the final frame. With a pair in scoring position off a base hit and a walk, the Lopes claimed the game after taking care of a trio of groundouts with a 6-1 victory.

Up Next: The Lopes finish out the 2016 season in their final doubleheader of the season. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. MST and 3:30.