Lopes host final tournament before WAC play


Grand Canyon Lopes (9-13)	vs.	Idaho State Bengals (5-6)	Southern Utah Thunderbirds (4-13)
		Friday, March 19 4 p.m.	Friday, March 19 6 p.m.
Game Notes		Live Video Live Stats	Live Video Live Stats

GCU welcomes Idaho State and Southern Utah for its final tournament of the season before WAC play begins. The Lopes come into the GCU Invitational with a tournament-best nine wins and the most games played with 22. The Lopes open the tournament against Idaho State on Friday at 4 p.m. and Southern Utah at 6 p.m. GCU will take on the Thunderbirds two more times and the Bengals one more time throughout the weekend.

Video will be streamed on gculopes.com

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

MARCH LEADERS: In March, Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage, Kristin Fifield and Gianna Nicoletti have all had outstanding performances. All three have totaled 10 hits in seven games. Aguilar-Beaucage, a freshman shortstop, leads the team in most offensive categories for March -- batting average (.526), slugging percentage (.737) and on-base percentage (.571). Fifield, a sophomore center fielder, is second in March in slugging percentage (.636) and tied for second in batting average (.455). Fifield has hit a home run and a double, as well as scoring five runs and brining in four. Nicoletti, a junior left fielder, is second in on-base percentage (.520) and tied for second in batting average (.455). She broke the single-season stolen base record after grabbing five bases in March for a total of 15 on the season.
500 WINS: Head coach Ann Pierson is one win away from 500 career victories. The GCU skipper has guided seven 30-plus win seasons and two 40-plus win seasons.
FOUR EVERYDAY STARTERS: Four Lopes have started in all 22 games this season: Gianna Nicoletti, Savannah Tourville, Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage, and Kristin Fifield. Nicoletti has continued her offensive success from last season by leading the Lopes in batting average (.420) and on-base percentage (.518) this season. Tourville has made starts at four positions this year (third base, second base, first base and designated player). Aguilar-Beaucage has continued to be an offensive threat. In 64 at bats, the freshman has 24 hits and tied for a team-best 14 RBIs. Despite being new to the outfield, Fifield has taken command in center for the Lopes. She is tied with Aguilar-Beaucage with 14 RBIs for a team best and has scored 17 runs this season.

SCOUTING

IDAHO STATE comes into the GCU Invitational with a 5-6 record. Six of its 11 games have been against WAC opponents. ISU lost both meetings with Seattle U and took three of four games from Utah Valley. ISU's most recent games were a doubleheader with Utah Valley in Orem, Utah, in which it split with the Wolverines. The Bengals are hitting .298 with 53 runs scored. They have totaled 16 extra-base hits, 11 of them being doubles and five home runs. In the circle, they are posting a 5.17 ERA. Opposing teams are hitting .290. Sophomore outfielder Isabel Cargill leads the team in batting average, hitting .423. She has eight RBIs, seven runs scored and one home run. Infielder Emma Bordenkescher is second in batting average (.387) but leads in every other offensive category: slugging percentage (.613), on-base percentage (.472), RBIs (13) and home runs (2). Junior pitcher Mailee Newman has a team-low ERA of 3.15 in seven appearances and one start. In 26 2/3 innings, she has earned a 3-2 record with 13 strikeouts.

SOUTHERN UTAH comes into the weekend with a 4-13 record. Three of SUU's wins have come against WAC opponents and nine of its 17 games have been played against WAC schools Utah Valley, Dixie State and Seattle U. SUU most recently had a doubleheader with Dixie State in which it dropped both (9-11 and 7-8). The Thunderbirds are hitting .296 with 96 runs, 25 doubles and 24 home runs. On the rubber, SUU is posting a 9.27 ERA in 99 2/3 innings. Redshirt sophomore Josey White is the biggest offensive threat for the Thunderbirds, leading them in almost every offensive category: batting average (.473), slugging (1.036), RBI (28), hits (26), home runs (eight) and doubles (seven). Outfielder Makall Whetten is also a threat at the plate, hitting .362 with an on-base percentage of .524 and a slugging of .787. She is tied for second on the team in RBIs with 13 and is second in doubles with five and home runs with 5. Senior infielder Dayna Hokanson is having an outstanding senior year with a .351 batting average and .491 slugging percentage. She is tied in second on the team with 13 RBIs and is in second with 20 hits, two of them being doubles and two being home runs. In the circle, Grace Owens has a team-low ERA of 5.37 in 30 innings and a 2-1 record in 16 appearances.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU hosted Northern Illinois and Baylor for the Lopes Up Classic on Mar. 12-13. The Lopes went winless, falling to 3-4 in March after a 3-1 start.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes will host Utah Valley in their first WAC series on March 26-27 at GCU Softball Stadium. GCU and UVU will play a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage

Kristin Fifield

Gianna Nicoletti

Savannah Tourville

Grand Canyon University Athletics