Lopes set for final WAC series

FRIDAY, APRIL 28 - SATURDAY, APRIL 29
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES 22-20 (10-2 WAC) SERIES RELEASE	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES 34-14 (9-3 WAC) SERIES RELEASE

GAME ONE	GAME TWO	GAME THREE
Friday, 5 p.m. MST	Saturday, 3 p.m. MST	Saturday, TBD MST
Stats \| Live Stream WAC Digital Network	Stats \| Live Stream Watch	Stats \| Live Stream Watch

GCU will travel for their remaining six regular season games, including their last WAC series of 2017. First stop, the Lopes will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. to meet the New Mexico State Aggies.

The Lopes will play the first game on Friday, Apr. 28 at 5 p.m. MST and a doubleheader on Saturday, April 29 starting at 3:00 p.m. MST. With only three games remaining in WAC play, the Lopes trail the Aggies (10-2) by one game in the standing with a 9-3 conference record.

LEADING OFF

Last season the Lopes went 1-2 against the Aggies falling to an all-time head-to-head record of 4-5 in favor of NMSU.

GCU leads the WAC in several team and individual statistical categories. The Lopes lead in Batting average (3.24), ERA (2.80), Fielding Percentage (.970), Runs Scored (258) and Doubles (78). Niki Gonzalez leads in doubles (15), and Brianna Aguilar-Beaucage leads with a 2.61 ERA, and in Runs (43), Home runs (2) and Triples allowed (0). Taylor Nowlin leads the conference in Wins (19), Strikeouts (145) and Opponent Batting Average (.226), and is second in ERA (2.81).

GCU continues to rank nationally on the NCAA leader boards. Camree Wartman is tied for No. 17 in triples with five and Nowlin is tied for No. 22 in wins. As a team the Lopes are tied for No. 11 in Batting Average at .324 just behind Oregon (.325).

Senior LHP Taylor Nowlin was honored as WAC Pitcher of the week for the ninth time in her career after going 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA and 14 strikeouts against Utah Valley. She tossed five shutout, two-hit innings for the complete game| in her second game. Her 145 strikeouts this season almost double the next closest pitcher in the WAC.

Kendsey Hill was runner-up for WAC Hitter of the Week after her impressive series last weekend. Hill hit .636 with a double, homer and seven RBI. The Lopes are now 7-0 with Hill batting first in the lineup.

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
The Lopes earned their third straight series win against conference opponents last weekend when they swept Utah Valley. The Lopes are now on a seven game winning streak. Grand Canyon would outscore Utah Valley 36-6 in three games, including a 10-0 victory in five innings to conclude the series.

During the series the offense was powered by Kendsey Hill who hit .636 (7-for-11) with a double, homer and seven RBI. Megan Stevens would follow, hitting 6-for-10 with a double and two RBI. Shea Smith continued her dominate conference play with, batting .556 (5-for-9) with three RBI and three runs scored.

Nowlin ended the series with a two-hitter in five shutout innings on Saturday to improve her record to 19-7 on the season. In 12.0 innings pitched, Nowlin struck out 14 Wolverines.

Sizing up the Opponents

Scouting New Mexico State

Grand Canyon will meet New Mexico State for the 10th time in program history. The Aggies hold a slight advantage in the all-time series at 5-4. The Wolverines sit at 22-20 on the season and 10-2 in conference play. The Aggies lead the conference by just one game ahead of the Lopes.
Kelsey Horton leads the Aggies with a .447 batting average in 42 games. She also leads the squad with 14 doubles, 13 homers, 44 RBI and 40 runs.
In the circle, Kayla Green (11-12) owns a team leading 3.59 ERA (80 ER in 156.0 IP). Green has started 28 of the Aggies' 42 games and owns 11 of NMSU's 22 victories on the season. She has accumulated nine complete games, including two shutouts on the season.
Head coach Kathy Rodolph is in his 14th season at the helm of the New Mexico State softball program and is currently NMSU's winningest coach.

Up Next
GCU will travel for the remaining three contests for non-conference play. First stop, the Lopes will meet with the No. 10 University of Utah Utes for their Power-Five doubleheader. The doubleheader is a mid-week action that will begin Tuesday, May 2 at 3 p.m. MST. On the quick turnaround, the Lopes will head down the road to take on No. 21 BYU on Wednesday, May 3 to conclude the 2017 season.

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Players Mentioned

Brianna Aguilar

Niki Gonzalez

Kendsey Hill

Taylor Nowlin

Shea Smith

Sierra Smith

Megan Stevens

Camree Wartman

Grand Canyon University Athletics