WAC play opens with Utah Valley visiting


Grand Canyon Lopes (11-16)	vs.	Utah Valley Wolverines (11-13)
		Friday, March 26 (2 p.m./4:30 p.m.); Saturday, March 27 (1 p.m.)
Game Notes	UVU Game Notes	Live Video Live Stats

GCU welcomes Utah Valley this weekend for its first WAC series since 2019. The Wolverines and the Lopes each have won 11 games this season and have played five of the same opponents in the preseason.

Video will be streamed on gculopes.com

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

No. 1 in WAC: In the WAC, Gianna Nicoletti ranks first in batting average (.435) and stolen bases (17). The Lopes are ranked first in the WAC in three categories: runs (130), hits (211) and stolen bases (35).
FIRST CONFERENCE SERIES SINCE 2019: No team in the WAC conference has competed in a conference series since 2019. On top of that, Utah Valley and GCU have not competed against each other since the Wolverines hired Stacy May-Johnson as head coach. In 2019, GCU hosted UVU and won the series.
FOUR EVERYDAY STARTERS: Only four Lopes have started in all 27 games this season: Nicoletti, Savannah Tourville, Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage and Kristin Fifield.

SCOUTING

UTAH VALLEY travels to GCU for the first time under new head coach Stacy May-Johnson. The Wolverines enter WAC play with an 11-13 record. UVU and GCU have played five of the same opponents in the preseason (Montana, Southern Utah, Idaho State, Weber State and Utah). Against these similar opponents, the Wolverines are 8-8 and the Lopes are 4-6. As a team, the Wolverines are hitting .274 with a slugging percentage of .455 and an on-base percentage of .347. They have hit 23 home runs, coming off the bat of seven players. UVU has a seven-pitcher staff with a 4.89 ERA and .311 opponent batting average. The staff has struck out 109 batters and walked 72. Left-hander Katie Zuniga has a team-best ERA at 2.97 with 12 appearances and five starts. In the freshman's 33 innings, she has struck out 12 batters and walked two. Senior right-handed pitcher Devyn Cretz has logged the most innings in the circle with 59 1/3 and has a team-best record of 5-6. She struck out 50 batters and has a .280 opponent batting average. Junior utility player Linnah Rebolledo is one of the Wolverines' biggest offense threats with a team high of 21 RBIs. Rebolledo has started all 24 games and has a .382 average. She also has team high of six doubles and 29 runs. Rien Milliken, a junior infielder, has a team-best .396 batting average and .688 slugging percentage. She is tied with three other Wolverines for more most home runs with four. Milliken has 14 starts in 21 appearances.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU hosted its last tournament, GCU Invitational, and went 2-3 with wins over Idaho State and losses to Southern Utah.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes travel for just the second time this season as they head to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to take on New Mexico State on April 2-3.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage

Kristin Fifield

Gianna Nicoletti

Savannah Tourville

Grand Canyon University Athletics