Lopes close regular season with in-state foe

PHOENIX - The Grand Canyon softball team closes its 2018 regular season competition this weekend, as the Lopes (27-23, 8-6 WAC) head south on I-10 for a three-game series with #10 Arizona (35-13, 11-10 Pac-12) at Hillenbrand Stadium. The pair face off in a double header on Saturday afternoon before closing the series with a 1 p.m. (MST) game on Sunday afternoon.

The No. 4 seeded Lopes square off with #5 CSU Bakersfield in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament, beginning Wednesday, May 9 at New Mexico State. GCU and CSUB open the tournament with a 3:00 p.m. (MST) game.

GCU at Arizona
Game Details	Saturday, May 5 \| 4:00 p.m. (MST) \| Tucson, Ariz. \| Hillenbrand Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Pac-12 Network
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
Arizona Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU at Arizona
Game Details	Saturday, May 5 \| 6:00 p.m. (MST) \| Tucson, Ariz. \| Hillenbrand Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Pac-12 Network
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
Arizona Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU at Arizona
Game Details	Sunday, May 6 \| 1:00 p.m. (MST) \| Tucson, Ariz. \| Hillenbrand Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Pac-12 Network
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
Arizona Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

NOTABLES

Grand Canyon begins its first season as a fully eligible Division I program in 2018, as the Lopes look to secure the first berth to an NCAA competition in GCU softball history. GCU claimed the regular-season WAC title last year and look to do the same this season.
The Lopes return 15 players from last year's conference champion squad, including seven position starters and one starting pitcher in sophomore Brianna Aguilar-Beaucage. Aguilar-Beaucage spent time over the summer competing with Team Canada at both the Canada Cup and the 2017 WBSC Junior Women's Softball World Championship. She looks to bea threat for the Lopes on the mound.
GCU also returns the pair of Shea and Sierra Smith, who led the Lopes in hitting with averages of .364 and .349, respectively. The duo will be a strong asset to GCU on both offense and defense this season, as Shea held a fielding percentage of .942 and Sierra was at .967 in 2017.
GCU opened the season with a 3-3 record in the brand new GCU Softball Stadium, as the Lopes welcomed 1,249 fans on opening day and a record-high 1,403 fans the next day vs. #1 Oklahoma. Sierra Smith hit a grand slam and the first home run inside the GCU Softball Stadium on Thursday night versus Montana, while Niki Gonzalez added her own yard ball on Sunday afternoon against Weber State.
Freshman right-hander Yesenia Morrison (8-4) earned her second WAC Pitcher of the Week honor after claiming her third complete game shutout of the season over UMKC.
Junior Sierra Smith held a 20-game hit streak starting from her two-hit game against Houston Baptist on February 25 and ending with her 1-3 outing in the second game against Utah on March 20. She had a season-high four-hit performance against Syracuse at the Mary Nutter tournament earlier this season.

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Players Mentioned

Brianna Aguilar

Niki Gonzalez

Yessie Morrison

Sierra Smith

Grand Canyon University Athletics