Lopes head to Riverside for key WAC series


Grand Canyon Lopes (16-23, 5-4 WAC)	at	California Baptist Lancers (17-25-1, 5-7 WAC)
		Friday: 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Saturday: noon
Game Notes (PDF)		Live Video Live Stats

GCU travels to Riverside, California, to take on California Baptist in the Lopes' fourth WAC series. The Lancers come into the series tied for fourth place while the Lopes are in second. CBU's ace on the rubber, Kerisa Viramontes, leads the WAC in strikeouts and is second in wins. The Lopes left fielder Gianna Nicoletti continues to be consistent with a .393 batting average and a threat on the bases with a WAC high of 23 stolen bases.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

BACK AFTER NINE DAYS: The Lopes are back in action after having nine days off from their last competition. GCU has not played a WAC series in 14 days, when they hosted Dixie State.
SECOND IN WAC: GCU is in sole possession of second place in the WAC. Seattle U and New Mexico State are tied for first place with the Lopes just a game behind.
WAC WINDING DOWN: The Lopes are halfway through their conference season. After their series with California Baptist, they head to Stephenville to take on Tarleton (April 30-May 1). Then, the Lopes will host Seattle U (May 7-8) to close out the regular season.

SCOUTING

CBU is hitting .260 in WAC play and .249 overall. They come into the Lopes series with a 17-25-1 overall record and a 5-7 mark in WAC play. CBU and GCU both faced Utah and Weber State in nonconference play. In WAC play, the Lancers took their opening weekend with Dixie State 2-1 in St. George, Utah. CBU dropped a 2-1 series to Utah Valley but edged the Wolverines in the final game. The Lancers also dropped their last two series 2-1 to Tarleton State and Seattle U. The Lancers are posting a 4.01 ERA overall and a 4.20 ERA in WAC play. Senior outfielder Ashley McBay and freshman middle infielder Mia Alvarez are the only two Lancers who have started all 43 games for CBU. Senior catcher Tiana Patrick leads the Lancers in most offensive categories. She is hitting .319 in 37 games and has a slugging percentage of .462. In WAC play, Patrick also leads CBU in hitting (.379) with seven RBIs and a .483 slugging percentage. McBay has a team-high 13 hits with an average of .317 and one double in conference play. She also has a team high of three stolen bases in WAC competition and is a perfect nine for nine on the year. Graduate student Kerisa Viramontes has logged 146 2/3 innings in the circle for the Lancers. In 25 appearances and 21 starts, she has totaled 122 strikeouts along with a 12-9 record and 16 complete games. Viramontes leads the WAC in strikeouts and innings pitched in conference play with 52 2/3 innings and 43 strikeouts. The Lancers have a 7-6 upper hand in their overall series with the Lopes, dating back to 2013. CBU won the last meeting 10-1 on March 30, 2019, in Riverside.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU traveled to Tucson, Arizona, to take on No. 8 Arizona on April 14 in a doubleheader. The Lopes dropped both games 8-0 in five innings each. In Game 2, the Wildcats outhit the Lopes 7-6.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes travel to Stephenville, Texas, to take on Tarleton for their first meeting in school history on April 30 and May 1.

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Players Mentioned

Gianna Nicoletti

Grand Canyon University Athletics