Lopes travel down the road to face No. 5 Arizona

MAR. 29 \| HILLENBRAND MEMORIAL STADIUM \| Tucson, Ariz.
GRAND CANYON LOPES 25-9 (0-0 WAC) Stats .pdf Link GAME NOTES	vs.	No.5 ARIZONA WILDCATS 32-1 (6-0 PAC 12) Stats .pdf Link GAME NOTES
HOW TO FOLLOW Live Stats Game 1 , Game 2 \| Live Stream PAC 12 Network \| @GCUSoftball
Schedule vs. Arizona \| 3:00 p.m. / 5:00 p.m.

GCU heads to Tucson, Ariz.to meet No.5 Pac-12 foe Arizona on Wednesday, Mar. 29. The Lopes will play a doubleheader with first pitch set for 3 p.m. MST. and 5:00.

The Lopes look to bounce back after suffering a pair of tough losses to No. 6 Washington last week.

LEADING OFF

The Lopes will meet their third ranked team this season in Arizona. GCU will conclude non-conference play against the Wildcats.GCU will meet Arizona for the second time in three seasons. The squads last met in 2014 as GCU played the Wildcats in Tucson. The Lopes fell in both games with the outcomes at 5-0.

The Lopes debuted at No. 60 in the Ratings Percentage Index last week. GCU moved up three spots and now sit at No. 57 after suffering losses to Washington who is No.1 in the NCAA in the RPI category. The Lopes now sit at 25-9 on the year. GCU debuted in the top 75 in the RPI rankings for the second straight season. GCU's RPI ranks first in the Western Athletic Conference.

GCU has continued to impress on offense and defense which has garnered national attention. The Lopes currently sit in the No. 8 spot in the NCAA with .56 double plays per game. With 10 triples on the season, GCU is tied for the 20th spot in the nation with .29 triples per game. Camree Wartman accounts for half of the squads tally.

GCU assistant coach Kelsey Rodriguez will return to her Alma Mater Arizona on Wednesday. Rodriguez transferred to Arizona for her junior and senior seasons. In her senior year, Rodriguez was named to the First-Team All Pac-2 team after hitting a .419 clip at the plate, the third-best tally in the Pac-12, while leading the league in doubles. In addition, she also became the first softball player in Wildcat history to receive the prestigious Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year award for the sport of softball.

Camree Wartman is currently hitting .370 on the season, she tallied her fifth triple of the year against Santa Clara and is tied for fifth in the NCAA with the tally.

After finishing last Wednesday with a 13-4 record, Taylor Nowlin remains in the top 25 in victories. She is tied for No. 24 in the NCAA with the record.

For the first time in the softball program's Division I history, GCU received Top 25 votes in the ESPN.COM/USA Softball national poll. In Week 5, the Lopes received two votes after improving to 23-4 in the Stanford Easton Classic.

Last time out

GCU fell to Washington in both games last Wednesday. They suffered a pair of tough losses, but produced eight hits in Game 1 against the No.10 ranked P Taran Alvelo. GCU took the lead in the second inning of the first game, but weren't able to keep up with the Huskies. In Game 2 the Lopes couldn't find the spark they needed and suffered a 7-0 shutout.

Loriann Olson led on offense hitting .600 (3-for-5). Brianna Aguilar-Beaucage led in the circle, finishing with a 2.21 ERA, allowing 2 ER through 6.1 IP.

Sizing up the Opponents

Scouting Arizona

Grand Canyon will meet Arizona for the third time in program history. The Lopes last played the Wildcats in Tucson, Ariz. in 2014. GCU fell in both contests.
The Wildcats are currently 32-1 on the year and a perfect 6-0 in Pac-12 action.
Mo Mercado leads the team with a .444 batting average (40-of-90). She has tallied seven doubles, four home runs, with 26 RBI
In the circle, Danielle O'Toole (16-1) is third in the nation in wins and fifth in the country with .64 ERA. She has tossed 119 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .153 b/avg.
The Wildcats appeared in the 2016 NCAA Super Regional. Their last national championship came in 2007. They have eight total NCAA National Championships in program history.
Head coach Mike Candrea is in his 31st season as Arizona's head coach.

Up Next
The Lopes return to GCU Softball Stadium for their WAC opener against Seattle U. The Lopes will begin the series on Friday, Mar. 31 in a doubleheader battle with first pitch set for 5 p.m. MST. GCU will close out the series on Saturday, April 1 with game time set for 5 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brianna Aguilar

Niki Gonzalez

Kendsey Hill

Taylor Nowlin

Loriann Olson

Shea Smith

Camree Wartman

Grand Canyon University Athletics