Lopes welcome pair of top-25 programs


Grand Canyon Lopes (5-5)	vs.	Portland State Vikings (0-0)	Iowa State Cyclones (9-1)	New Mexico Lobos (1-5)
		Friday, Feb. 26 1 p.m.	Friday, Feb. 26 3:30 p.m.	Saturday, Feb. 27 1 p.m.
Game Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

Coming off a 3-1 weekend on the road, the Grand Canyon softball team welcomes Portland State, No. 25 Iowa State, New Mexico and No. 2 Oklahoma at the GCU Purple Classic. GCU kicks off the tournament Friday against Portland State at 1:30 p.m. and Iowa State at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Lopes also will play New Mexico at 1 p.m. and Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m.

Video will be streamed on gculopes.com

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Freshman pitcher Jacie Hambrick earned WAC Pitcher of the Week for her performance in San Diego. Hambrick picked up two of the three wins for the Lopes and posted a 2.25 ERA over the weekend, including a complete-game shutout against San Diego on Feb. 20.
500 WINS: Head coach Ann Pierson is five wins away from 500 career victories. The GCU skipper has guided seven 30-plus win seasons and two 40-plus win seasons.
FIVE EVERYDAY STARTERS: Five Lopes have started in all 10 games this season: Gianna Nicoletti, Savannah Tourville, Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage, Kristin Fifield and Kaylee Dietrich. Nicoletti has continued her offensive success from last season by leading the Lopes in batting average (.387) and on-base percentage (.525) this season. Tourville has made starts at four different positions this year (third base, second base, first base and designated player). She also has a team-best six-game hitting streak and an eight-game streak of reaching base. Aguilar-Beaucage has continued to be an offensive threat for the Lopes. In 31 at bats, the freshman has totaled 10 hits and seven RBIs, tying her for first on the team. Despite being new to the outfield, Fifield has taken command in center for the Lopes. Dietrich has been the commander-in-chief behind the plate for the Lopes all season, catching all 10 games and taking pride in controlling the pitching staff.

SCOUTING

Portland State comes into the GCU Purple Classic without playing a game since March 8, 2020. Last season, the Vikings were 6-18 with a 5-3 win coming against WAC opponent Seattle U on March 7. As a team, the Vikings posted a .265 batting average with 166 hits and 92 runs scored. They hit 16 home runs, 33 doubles and 10 triples in 24 games. Against Portland State, teams hit .336 with a .532 slugging percentage. As a pitching staff, the Vikings totaled a 5.75 ERA. Marrisa Bruno returns for her redshirt senior season after hitting a team-high .324 last season. She led the team in hits with 28, eight of them being doubles and total bases with 49. Her .671 slugging percentage and .464 on-base percentage were also team bests. Infielder Emily Johansen had a team high of eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 73 at bats. Johansen also started in all 24 games for the Vikings. Washington native Olivia Grey collected the most innings in the circle for the Vikings with 54 1/3. She made eight starts and appeared in 14 games with a record of 2-6. Grey gave up 53 hits and 41 runs, 28 of which were earned. She also had a team best of 58 strikeouts.

Iowa State is out to a great start this season as it just broke into the NCAA rankings with a 9-1 record. In their opening weekend, the Cyclones were 5-0 in the Doc Halverson UNI Dome Tournament and then went 4-1 at the FAU "Strikeout Cancer" Tournament. Their only loss came against Florida Atlantic on Saturday. The Cyclones are hitting .302 and their pitching staff has a 2.82 ERA. Senior outfielder Syler Ramos has a team-high batting average of .480. She has 12 hits, three of which are doubles and one being a home run. Sami Williams, a senior infielder, leads Iowa State with 10 RBIs, 29 total bases, four home runs and a slugging percentage of .879. Junior catcher Mikayla Ramos has a team-best six doubles and is tied for first with 14 hits. Ramos also has nine RBIs and a slugging percentage of .676. Right-handed pitcher Karlie Charles has logged the most innings with 29, making three starts and appearing in seven games. Charles has a 3-0 record with an ERA of 1.69 and has thrown one complete game and one shutout. Counterpart Ellie Spelhaug has a team-best record of 4-0 and has thrown 21 2/3 innings. Spelhaug has made two starts and appeared in six games on the rubber for the Cyclones. She has a team-best 20 strikeouts. With an ERA of 2.58, she has earned one save and thrown one complete game.

New Mexico comes into the GCU Purple Classic with a 1-5 record. The Lobos' only win came against Southern Utah in an 11-3 run-rule win. The Lobos are hitting .221 and thier pitchers have a combined ERA of 6.87. Albuquerque native Andrea Howard leads the Lobos in practically every offensive category. In six games, she has a batting average of .429 with six hits, three of which are home runs and one being a double. Howard has seven RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.143. Senior Cameryn O'Grady and junior Peyton Robinson are tied for second in batting average at .333. They both have five hits in six games. Emma Guidon has logged the most innings for the Lobos with 15 2/3. The junior has New Mexico's only win and a team-best ERA of 5.81.

Oklahoma is off to a hot start this season. The Sooners broke the NCAA record for home runs in a single game in their first game of the season with 13 against UTEP. In that same game, they tied the NCAA record twice for home runs in a single inning with five in the first and fifth innings. OU outscored opponents 70-2 in its opening weekend. The Sooners most recently beat WAC opponent Tarleton 13-0 on Feb. 22 in Houston. As a team, the Sooners lead the nation with a .512 batting average. The Sooners pitching staff has a 1.29 ERA. Senior Jocelyn Alo has a team-high batting average of .650 and ranks first in the nation with 20 RBIs and second with seven home runs. Junior shortstop Grace Lyons is hitting .615 with 16 hits on a team-high 26 at bats. Lyons ranks second nationally in RBIs with 18 and fourth in home runs with six. Freshman middle infielder Tiare Jennings is off to an impressive start in her career with a .600 batting average. She ranks seventh in the national in RBIs (15) and home runs (five). In the circle, Nicole May has a team-best ERA of 1.70 in 12 1/3 innings pitched and three appearances.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU traveled for the first time this season and the only time before conference play begins. GCU took on San Diego on Saturday and swept the doubleheader. Freshman right-handed pitcher Jacie Hambrick threw a complete-game shutout against the Toreros in the second game. The Lopes traveled to nearby La Jolla to take on UCSD in a doubleheader on Sunday. GCU split the day with the Tritons falling in 11 innings in the first games.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes will host Northern Illinois for a three-game series on Mar. 6-7 at the GCU Softball Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage

Kaylee Dietrich

Kristin Fifield

Jacie Hambrick

Gianna Nicoletti

Savannah Tourville

Grand Canyon University Athletics