GCU hosts Dixie State for 3rd WAC series


Grand Canyon Lopes (15-19, 4-2 WAC)	vs	Dixie State Trailblazers (15-18, 3-3 WAC)
		Friday 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. Saturday 1 p.m.
Game Notes		Live Video Live Stats

GCU hosts Dixie State at the GCU Softball Stadium in the Lopes' third WAC series and thier only home series in April. GCU and Dixie State come into the series with similar records at 15 wins apiece. Both teams are coming off of losses to Pac-12 opponents, with GCU falling to Arizona State on Tuesday and Dixie State dropping two mid-week games with Utah.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

NO. 1 IN THE WAC: The Lopes are in first place in the WAC at 4-2 in conference play. Seattle U is a half-game behind GCU and there is a three-way tie between New Mexico State, California Baptist and Dixie State, who are all a game behind.
FARMILIAR FOE: GCU and Dixie State have met 27 times, but all 27 games were during the Lopes and Trailblazers' Division II eras. In those 27 meetings, DSU is leading the series 23-4.
SEVEN HOME RUNS: The Lopes totaled seven home runs in their last WAC doubleheader. The seven homers came from six different Lopes. Sophomore center fielder Kristin Fifield hit two in the same game. Freshmen Izzabela Goerke and Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage hit their first career home runs and seniors Lilly Bishop, Kaylee Dietrich and Kaileigh Holland had one apiece.

SCOUTING

Dixie State enters the WAC and Division I after participating in the DII Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In their first DI season, the Trailblazers have won 15 games and are 3-3 in WAC play. DSU dropped its first two WAC games to California Baptist before beating the Lancers 7-5 for its first conference win. The Trailblazers picked up the series win over Tarleton on April 2-3. In 33 games, the Trailblazers have a .303 batting average and .380 on-base percentage. DSU has totaled 81 extra-base hits with 55 doubles and 24 home runs. The DSU pitching staff has a 5.39 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 217 innings. Sophomore Hannah Hughbanks has made all 33 starts and has a team-best .382 batting average with 12 doubles. Senior first baseman Mikaela Thompson is a huge offensive threat with the team lead in home runs (10), RBI (34) and slugging percentage (.731). Junior pitcher Carissa Burgess has logged the most innings with 108, as well as having 10 of the Trailblazers' 15 wins. Burgess has a team-best ERA of 4.60 and a high of 80 strikeouts. GCU and Dixie State have squared off 27 times, starting in 2008 and most recently in 2013, when the Trailblazers won 8-7 for a 23-4 lead in the series.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU traveled to Tempe for the first time ever and fell to the No. 13 Sun Devils. The Lopes were in Las Cruces, New Mexico, for their second WAC series on Apr. 1-2, when they went 1-2 and hit seven home runs in Friday's doubleheader.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes travel to Tucsonto take on another Pac-12 opponent, No. 8 Arizona, on Wednesday.

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Players Mentioned

Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage

Lilly Bishop

Kaylee Dietrich

Kristin Fifield

Izzabela Goerke

Kaileigh Holland

Grand Canyon University Athletics