GCU heads to Fullerton tourney


Grand Canyon Lopes (3-12)	vs	Colorado State Rams (8-6)	Cal Poly Mustangs (9-5)	Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-5)
		Friday, Feb. 28 2:30 p.m.	Friday, Feb. 28 8:15 p.m.	Saturday, Feb. 29 8:00 p.m
Game Notes Tickets		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

The Grand Canyon softball team travels to Fullerton, California, for five games in this weekend's Judi Garman Classic. GCU will kick off the tournament on Friday against Colorado State at 2:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) and against Cal Poly at 8:15 p.m. (Phoenix time). The Lopes also will take on Texas Tech, California and Boise State throughout the weekend.

Video will be provided through FloSoftball.com

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

FRESHMEN STANDOUT: Currently, the Lopes have four freshmen consistently starting. Mickey Covarrubio and Jaiden Reid have been GCU's everyday center and right fielders. Kristin Fifield has bounced between second base and shortstop while Olivia Zufelt has been the Lopes' designed player regularly. Covarrubio has shown she deserves a spot in the lineup as she leads the Lopes in almost every offensive category. She is hitting .362 with a slugging percentage of .532 and an on-base percentage of .423.
PITCHING RETURNS: The Lopes return all four of their pitchers from the 2019 season, as well as adding a freshman into the mix. Junior Ryan Denhart was named the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE: GCU will be playing 10 NCAA tournament teams, including one Women's College World Series participant. Along with multiple teams that are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. On Saturday, the Lopes take on the No. 25 Red Raiders in their first test with a top-25 team.

SCOUTING

Colorado State is off to a good start this season as the Rams are just over .500. Most recently, Colorado State went to the Silicon Valley Classic and went 4-1, only falling to Cal Poly. In 2019, the Rams won the Mountain West Conference and were awarded a birth to the Tucson Regional, where they went 1-2 by defeating Harvard and dropping two games to Auburn. Senior Ashley Ruiz leads the Rams in almost every offensive category. She is hitting .326 with 14 hits and nine RBIs. In the circle, Jessica Jarecki has thrown the most innings for CSU with 36.1 and holds a 1.93 ERA. Jarecki is 2-3 on the season with 20 strikeouts and opponents are hitting .241 against her. GCU and CSU have met once in 2016, when the Lopes won 3-1.

Cal Poly is off to a much better start than in 2019, taking a 9-5 record into the tournament. The Mustangs most recently participated in the Silicon Valley Classic, where they went 4-1 with their only loss coming to San Jose State. Hitting a team-high .382, Lily Armos has hit four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. Krystyna Allman has carried most of the weight for the Mustangs in the circle with 53.1 innings, a 6-1 record and a 2.10 ERA.

Texas Tech comes into the Judi Garman Classic ranked 25th, according to the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Red Raiders are 10-5 after a 2-2 weekend at the Houston Classic, where they fell to Houston and Syracuse. Texas Tech went to the Baton Rouge Regional in 2019, when they were one game away from upsetting LSU. This season, Brianna Russell is the Red Raiders' biggest threat in the batter's box as she leads them in almost every offensive category. Russell is hitting .357 with four home runs, three doubles and one triple, along with 13 RBIs and a .413 slugging percentage. In 46.1 innings pitched, Erin Edmoundson holds a 1.06 ERA and a 6-1 record. She has a team-high 56 strikeouts and three complete games.

California enters the Judi Garman Classic with a 9-6 record after going 2-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Bears took down Auburn and New Mexico but fell to No. 18 Missouri and Nebraska while in Palm Springs, California. Sophomore Makena Smith is hitting a team-high .460 with five doubles and one home run. In the circle, Chloe Romero and Alexandria Perez have almost identical numbers. Romero has a 3.43 ERA while Perez is at 3.45. Between the two, they have 54 strikeouts.

Boise State is picking up where it left off in 2019, going 9-6 thus far this season. The Broncos have been on the road to start their campaign, participating in the NorCal Kickoff, Littlewood Classic and Silicon Valley Classic. Junior Alison Seng is one of Boise State's biggest threats in the box, hitting .400 with an on-base percentage of .520. Seng has hit two doubles, one triple and one home run. In the circle, Kelsey Broadus has thrown the most innings for the Broncos with 41.2 and holds a 2.35 ERA. Broadus is 6-1 with 49 strikeouts and has given up 30 hits.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU went 1-3 in its Purple Classic last weekend, defeating Drake 6-1 with a complete game by Denhart.

WHAT'S NEXT

GCU will host the Lopes Up Classic on March 6-8 with UNLV, Montana and Saint Joseph's also competing at GCU Softball Stadium.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mickey Covarrubio

Ryan Denhart

Kristin Fifield

Jaiden Reid

Olivia Zufelt

Grand Canyon University Athletics