Lopes kick off 2019 season at home

The Grand Canyon softball team kicks off the 2019 season at GCU Softball Stadium with a four-day, 12-game tournament that begins Thursday. The Lopes welcome Charlotte, No. 4 Oklahoma, San Diego State and Syracuse to their Phoenix campus and will meet each team at least once.

The Lopes open the GCU Kickoff Tournament with a doubleheader against Charlotte on Thursday night before returning on Friday at 5 p.m. to face the fourth-ranked Sooners. The Lopes will hold a Faith and Family Night following the Oklahoma game on Friday.

GCU ends tournament play on Saturday with back-to-back games against San Diego State and Syracuse, while the Sooners and the Aztecs square off Sunday in the tournament finale. The Lopes meet Charlotte and SDSU for the first time in program history but faced Syracuse and Oklahoma last season. GCU lost to both opponents in tournament play.

GCU vs Charlotte
Game Details	Thursday, Feb. 7 \| 5 p.m. (MST) \| Phoenix, Ariz. \| GCU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| G CU.tv
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
Charlotte Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs Charlotte
Game Details	Thursday, Feb. 7 \| 7 p.m. (MST) \| Phoenix, Ariz. \| GCU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| G CU.tv
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
Charlotte Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs #4 Oklahoma
Game Details	Friday, Feb. 8 \| 5 p.m. (MST) \| Phoenix, Ariz. \| GCU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| GCU.tv
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
#4 Oklahoma Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs San Diego State
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 9 \| 4:30 p.m. (MST) \| Phoenix, Ariz. \| GCU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| G CU.tv
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
San Diego State Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

GCU vs Syracuse
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 9 \| 6:30 p.m. (MST) \| Phoenix, Ariz. \| GCU Softball Stadium
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| G CU.tv
GCU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Notes
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

2018 NOTABLES

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.
GCU's longest winning streak in 2018 was six games, when it swept the GCU Purple Classic by defeating Niagara and Houston Baptist three times each.
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 50 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

Ryan Denhart

Sierra Smith

Grand Canyon University Athletics