GCU welcomes Seattle U on Senior Weekend


Grand Canyon Lopes (18-26, 7-7 WAC)	vs	Seattle Redhawks (24-18, 10-4 WAC)
	Friday: 2 p.m. & 4:30 p.m. Saturday: 1 p.m.
Game notes (PDF)		Live video Live stats

Grand Canyon returns home for its final regular-season series when it hosts Seattle U this weekend. The Lopes are in third place in the WAC, trailing leader New Mexico State by 4 1/2 games. Seattle U is in second with a 3 1/2-game advantage on GCU.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SENIOR WEEKEND: The Lopes will honor five seniors after their final game Saturday at GCU Softball Stadium. The honorees are Christine Bellavia, Lilly Bishop, Lexy Coons, Kaylee Dietrich and Kaileigh Holland.
SECOND IN THE WAC: The Lopes have a 3.46 team ERA in WAC play to rank second. They also have 64 strikeouts in 91 innings. Freshman right-handed pitcher Jacie Hambrick ranks fifth in ERA in WAC play with a 2.78. Lexy Coons is sixth in the WAC with a 2.85 and Ryan Denhart is seventh with a 2.90.
PITCHERS DUEL: The Seattle U pitchers are the top three pitchers statistically in the WAC. Carley Nance has the lowest conference ERA (1.67) with Shi Smith in second (2.22) and Stefanie Madrigal in third (2.46).

SCOUTING
The Redhawks come into the final regular-season series in second place in the WAC, just one game behind New Mexico State. Seattle U has the opportunity to take first with two wins over the Lopes and and at least one Aggies loss at California Baptist. Seattle has taken two games from every team in the conference besides Dixie State, which the Redhawks swept last weekend. The Redhawks have the best all-around pitching staff in WAC play. Their pitchers rank first in ERA with a 2.09 and have a WAC-high 78 strikeouts. Seattle U ranks second in WAC play for batting average at .316 (.296 overall). Redhawks pitchers take the top three spots for ERA in WAC play. Carley Nance is first (1.67), Shi Smith is second (2.22) and Stefanie Madrigal is third (2.46). Smith, a senior, has totaled the most innings with 98 2/3 and sophomore Stefanie Madrigal is close with 95 1/3 innings. Senior Ally Choate also ranks second in WAC batting average (.449) and total hits (22). She leads the Redhawks in batting average for the season (.385) and hits (50). Catcher Bailey Thompson is second at .350 with team highs for home runs (eight), RBIs (41) and slugging percentage (.642). Outfielders Cherise Silvan and Oliva Viggiano are the RedHawks biggest threats on the basepaths. Silvan is 1 for 15 on steal attempts while Viggiano is 11 for 14.

LAST TIME OUT
GCU took on Tarleton for the first time in school history on May 1. The Lopes and Texans were only able to get in two of their scheduled three games because of rain. Tarleton took the first-ever meeting with an 11-1 victory over the Lopes. GCU won the second game in an 8-0, five-inning run rule. Pitcher Ryan Denhart threw four shutout innings and freshman Jacie Hambrick closed the door in the fifth inning.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes head to Seattle for the WAC Tournament, beginning on May 13.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Christine Bellavia

Lilly Bishop

Lexy Coons

Ryan Denhart

Kaylee Dietrich

Jacie Hambrick

Kaileigh Holland

Grand Canyon University Athletics