Upcoming Event: Softball versus Pima CC on September 30, 2025 at 6 p.m.
Softball
6 p.m.
vs Pima CC
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, April 13
Phoenix, Ariz.
1 p.m.
Grand Canyon
26-17
1
vs
8
Arizona
35-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Arizona
0
0
1
0
3
2
2
8
15
1
Grand Canyon
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
0
Tourville homers in GCU loss
4/13/2019 3:42:00 PM | Softball
Lopes fall to Wildcats 8-1
Grand Canyon freshman Savannah Tourville picked up her sixth home run of the season against No. 8 Arizona on Saturday, as the Lopes (26-17) fell to the Wildcats (35-7) in the series finale at GCU Softball Stadium.
The game was broadcast live on FOX Sports Arizona as a part of the first-ever Baseball Day Arizona, which was 24 hours of in-state baseball and softball programming.
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Tourville's solo home run in the bottom of the first inning made her the only Lopes player to earn a hit in all three games of the series.
"We had really good battles on Friday night," GCU head coach Ann Pierson said. "I was really pleased with the pitching staff holding such an offensive powerhouse at bay. All three of them threw really well, kept them off balance and then they started to get a hit here and a hit there in the first game.
"Ryan (Denhart) went in and shut them down for seven innings in the second game. I was really pleased with that. Our defense was solid. We had some good swings at the plate and then we had some at bats that just got away from us a little bit. We just need to tighten some of those things up. We realize we're facing a very strong pitching staff from the University of Arizona. Again, this was a weekend for us to get out and compete and learn. We definitely had a lot of opportunities and a lot of different lessons to be able to take into next weekend as we get back to the WAC competition."
The Lopes came out strong on defense in the top of the first with a double play from junior pitcher Brianna Aguilar to freshman first baseman Taylor Olsen.
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Tourville, the second baseman, put the first run on the board in the bottom of the first, sending a solo shot over the center-field fence to put GCU up 1-0 over the Wildcats.
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GCU put baserunners on in the second and third innings but were unable to capitalize. Arizona earned its first run in the top of the third off an RBI double to right center.
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The Lopes put three runners on base in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore designated player Lilly Bishop was hit by a pitch and senior left fielder Maddie Dowdle reached on a fielder's choice. Sophomore catcher Kaylee Dietrich earned GCU's second hit of the game with a single to center field, advancing Dowdle to second. Both runners were left on base when two Lopes struck out.
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Arizona brought in three more runs in the top of the fifth on back-to-back home runs, followed by a two-run double in the top of the sixth to take a 6-1 lead.
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Senior third baseman Sierra Smith brought in the Lopes' third hit with a lead-off single to third base to start the bottom of the sixth. Olsen tallied the final hit of the game for GCU in the bottom of the seventh with a single to center field.
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Aguilar started the game for the Lopes in the circle, her 51st start in a GCU uniform. Sophomore Lexy Coons (4-4) came in as relief in the top of the third, taking the loss for the Lopes in the game. Denhart also made an appearance in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before Aguilar re-entered to finish the game.
GCU continues WAC play next week at New Mexico State, as the Lopes and the Aggies square off for a three-game conference series starting on Friday.Â
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The game was broadcast live on FOX Sports Arizona as a part of the first-ever Baseball Day Arizona, which was 24 hours of in-state baseball and softball programming.
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Tourville's solo home run in the bottom of the first inning made her the only Lopes player to earn a hit in all three games of the series.
"We had really good battles on Friday night," GCU head coach Ann Pierson said. "I was really pleased with the pitching staff holding such an offensive powerhouse at bay. All three of them threw really well, kept them off balance and then they started to get a hit here and a hit there in the first game.
"Ryan (Denhart) went in and shut them down for seven innings in the second game. I was really pleased with that. Our defense was solid. We had some good swings at the plate and then we had some at bats that just got away from us a little bit. We just need to tighten some of those things up. We realize we're facing a very strong pitching staff from the University of Arizona. Again, this was a weekend for us to get out and compete and learn. We definitely had a lot of opportunities and a lot of different lessons to be able to take into next weekend as we get back to the WAC competition."
The Lopes came out strong on defense in the top of the first with a double play from junior pitcher Brianna Aguilar to freshman first baseman Taylor Olsen.
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Tourville, the second baseman, put the first run on the board in the bottom of the first, sending a solo shot over the center-field fence to put GCU up 1-0 over the Wildcats.
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GCU put baserunners on in the second and third innings but were unable to capitalize. Arizona earned its first run in the top of the third off an RBI double to right center.
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The Lopes put three runners on base in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore designated player Lilly Bishop was hit by a pitch and senior left fielder Maddie Dowdle reached on a fielder's choice. Sophomore catcher Kaylee Dietrich earned GCU's second hit of the game with a single to center field, advancing Dowdle to second. Both runners were left on base when two Lopes struck out.
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Arizona brought in three more runs in the top of the fifth on back-to-back home runs, followed by a two-run double in the top of the sixth to take a 6-1 lead.
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Senior third baseman Sierra Smith brought in the Lopes' third hit with a lead-off single to third base to start the bottom of the sixth. Olsen tallied the final hit of the game for GCU in the bottom of the seventh with a single to center field.
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Aguilar started the game for the Lopes in the circle, her 51st start in a GCU uniform. Sophomore Lexy Coons (4-4) came in as relief in the top of the third, taking the loss for the Lopes in the game. Denhart also made an appearance in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before Aguilar re-entered to finish the game.
GCU continues WAC play next week at New Mexico State, as the Lopes and the Aggies square off for a three-game conference series starting on Friday.Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bowen, Hanah (3-0)
L: Coons, Lexy (4-4)
Batting:
2B: Carranco, Reyna 1 ; Campbell, Carli 1 ; Harper, Jessie 1
HR: Mulipola, Dejah 1 ; Martinez, Malia 1 ; Edior, Hillary 1
RBI: Carranco, Reyna 2 ; Campbell, Carli 1 ; Harper, Jessie 1 ; Mulipola, Dejah 2 ; Martinez, Malia 1 ; Edior, Hillary 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Palomino, Alyssa 1 ; Carranco, Reyna 1 ; Harper, Jessie 1 ; Mulipola, Dejah 1 ; Martinez, Malia 1 ; Edior, Hillary 1 ; Martinez, Hannah 1 ; Kean, Jenna 1
Batting:
HR: Tourville, Savannah 1
RBI: Tourville, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tourville, Savannah 1
HBP: Tourville, Savannah 1 ; Bishop, Lilly 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P/UTL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballUTL
/ SoftballINF
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