Lopes head west to San Diego

After hosting a four-day tournament to open the 2019 season, the Grand Canyon softball team takes to the road for the first time this weekend. The Lopes (2-3) are headed to San Diego for the Campbell/Cartier Classic, hosted by San Diego State at SDSU Softball Stadium.

GCU will face UC Santa Barbara twice, starting on Friday at 10 a.m. (Phoenix time) and closing the tournament with the Gauchos on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (Phoenix time). The Lopes face Middle Tennessee on Friday at 12:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) for the first time in program history and Northern Illinois on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) for the first time since 2016.

In the second meeting this season, GCU will play host team San Diego State on Saturday night at 8 p.m. (Phoenix time). The Lopes downed the Aztecs in the kickoff tournament 9-0 per the run-rule.

GCU vs UC Santa Barbara
Game Details	Friday, Feb. 15 \| 10 a.m. (MST) \| San Diego, Calif. \| SDSU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
UCSB Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs Middle Tennessee
Game Details	Friday, Feb. 15 \| 12:30 p.m. (MST) \| San Diego, Calif. \| SDSU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
MT Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs Northern Illinois
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 16 \| 5:30 p.m. (MST) \| San Diego, Calif. \| SDSU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
NIU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs San Diego State
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 16 \| 8 p.m. (MST) \| San Diego, Calif. \| SDSU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
San Diego State Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs UC Santa Barbara
Game Details	Sunday, Feb. 17 \| 12:30 p.m. (MST) \| San Diego, Calif. \| SDSU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
UCSB Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

2019 NOTABLES

Sierra Smith became the first player to hit a home run in a season opener for GCU since Kelsey Barak in 2015.
Savannah Tourville became the first freshman to homer in her GCU debut since Kelsey Barak in 2012.
Lexy Coons ranks t-1st in the WAC in ERA (0.00), and second in strikeouts (13).
GCU's game vs. No. 4 Oklahoma drew the second most fans in program history with 1,312 fans in attendance.
GCU finished second at the WAC Tournament in New Mexico, falling to host New Mexico State in the final.
The Lopes ended the season with the No. 12 batting average in the country at .316, led by Sierra Smith's .392 mark. GCU turned the fifth-most double plays per game in Division I in 2018 with 0.58 per game.
The Lopes won 30 games or more for the third consecutive season in 2018 with 31 wins, and won 20 home games for the second consecutive year.
Sierra Smith ranked 20th and 24th in the country in hits and triples, respectively, in 2018. The infielder slapped 76 hits and five triples in her junior season.
Brianna Aguilar ranked first in the WAC in walks allowed per seven innings in 2018 with just 1.70 walks per seven.
The Lopes added two transfers from the ACC and Big 10 in Lilly Bishop (North Carolina State) and Ryan Denhart (Maryland). Bishop made 42 starts for the Wolfpack, including 34 behind the plate, and recorded 22 hits and five home runs. Denhart recorded the most strikeouts for a freshman since 2006 at Maryland in 2018.
GCU head coach Ann Pierson is 48 wins away from 500 career wins. The GCU skipper has seven 30-plus win seasons and two 40-plus win seasons.
The WAC expanded in 2019 with the addition of California Baptist. The Lopes are 5-7 against the Lancers all-time, but have won the last three meetings between the two schools.

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Players Mentioned

Brianna Aguilar

Lilly Bishop

Lexy Coons

Ryan Denhart

Sierra Smith

Savannah Tourville

Grand Canyon University Athletics