Lopes host 3rd consecutive tournament


Grand Canyon Lopes (8-3)	vs.	Incarnate Word Cardinals (3-8)	Colorado State Rams (2-8)
		Friday, Feb. 25 5 p.m.	Friday, Feb. 25 7:30 p.m.
Game notes		Live video Live stats	Live video Live stats

The Grand Canyon softball team hosts its third weekend tournament in a row when it welcomes Incarnate Word, Colorado State, Pacific and Colgate to the Lopes Up Classic. GCU will open the tournament with future WAC member Incanarate Word at 5 p.m. on Friday with a nightcap against Colorado State to follow.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

BIG BATS: The Lopes have hit 13 home runs this season That is three more than they hit in all of 2021. GCU hit a game high of five against Minnesota and added three more against Long Island on the same day. Four Lopes have hit home runs: Denae Chatman (five), Kinsey Koeltzow (four), Kristin Fifield (three) and Macee Barnes (one).
WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Junior pitcher Ariel Thompson earned her first WAC Pitcher of the Week award after posting a 2-0 record over the weekend with a save. She threw 13.2 innings with a 2-0 record and a save. Thompson struck out 11 batters. She started the week with a relief appearance against Minnesota, grabbing the victoryafter throwing two innings. In her lone start, she tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts in a 7-3 win against Idaho State. Thompson finished the week with a two-inning save as the Lopes beat Idaho State 2-1.
FOUR GAMES: The Lopes will only play four games in the Lopes Up Classic with two on Friday and two on Saturday. On both days, the Lopes' first game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. with the second game to follow 30 minutes later.

SCOUTING
Incarnate Word comes into the Lopes Up Classic with a 3-8 record with all three of its wins coming on opening weekend at its home tournament. The Cardinals defeated Green Bay twice and Prairie View A&M in San Antonio. In their most recent tournament, Incarnate Word dropped five straight games to make its losing streak six games long.

The Cardinals are hitting .291 with 50 runs, 83 hits and 48 RBIs. They have belted eight home runs, 13 doubles and three triples. In the circle, the staff has a 6.21 ERA, allowing 104 hits, 77 runs (including 63 earned runs) and opposing hitters have a .320 batting average.

Ryleigh Mata is the Cardinals top hitter at .484 in 10 starts. The sophomore utility player has 15 hits, including a double and a triple, as well as scoring seven runs. Mata is also from Santa Fe (Texas) High School, where Lopes center fielder Stephanie Reed attended. Freshman catcher Avalon Sanchez has a team-best 13 RBIs on the season with a slugging percentage of .656. In 32 at bats, she has totaled 10 hits, including two doubles and three home runs. Junior pitcher Ashley Trapp has logged the most innings in the circle for the Cardinals with 22.1. She has a team best ERA of 2.19 with a 1-3 record while making two starts and eight appearaces. The Texas native has given up 18 hits, 17 runs (seven earned) and struck out 32 batters. Aaliyah Garcia has totaled 14 innings and has a 0-1 record with two starts and four appearances. The junior has given up 19 hits and 10 runs (seven earned) while fanning 15 batters.

Colorado State enters the third weekend of play with a 2-8 record. The Rams have won one game in each of their tournaments. Their first win came against Dixie State on opening weekend at the Easton Classic in Fullerton, California. Colorado State defeated the Trailblazers 12-0 in five innings. The Rams' second win came against Montana at the Tracy Beard Classic in Denton, Texas.

The Rams are hitting .263 with a slugging percentage of .382 and an on-base percentage of .321. They have totaled 40 runs and 75 hits, including 12 doubles and six home runs. They are posting a 3.34 ERA with 68 hits and 40 runs allowed (32 earned) in 67 innings. Julia Cabral has thrown 22.2 innings with four starts and five appearances. The junior has a 4.94 ERA and an 0-3 record. She has given up 26 hits and 17 runs and struck out a team best of 21. Sophomore pitcher and utility player Sydney Hornbuckle has a team-best ERA at 0.71 in 19.2 innings pitched. She has made one start and four appearances. She has allowed 17 hits and seven runs, two of which were earned.

At the plate, Danielle Serna has a team-best batting average at .364 and on base at .400. The junior has started in all 10 games and totaled 12 hits, including a double and a home run. Peyton Allen has a team-best slugging percentage (.600). In 10 games, she has hit three home runs and two doubles with eight RBIs.

Pacific comes to the Lopes Up Classic with a 2-6 record. The Tigers' first win came in the opening weekend at the Lynn Russell Miller Classic in Riverside, California, where they defeated Portland State in eight innings. Their second win came against CSU Bakersfield in a three-game series at Bakersfield.

The Tigers are hitting .293 with a slugging percentage of .410 and an on-base percentage of .336. In the circle, the staff has a 4.91 ERA in 51.1 innings of play. They have allowed 73 hits and 48 runs (36 earned). Opponents are hitting .338 against them and have allowed 10 doubles, four triples, and three home runs.

Rian Dirmeyer has made eight starts for the Tigers and is hitting a team-best .393 and slugging .786 with an on-base of .393. The Phoenix native has totaled 11 hits, including two doubles and three home runs with nine RBIs. Junior outfielder Marissa Fabian is second in average for Pacific with a .333 and slugging percentage of .444 and an on-base percentage of .368. Redshirt junior Vanessa Strong has logged the most innings in the circle for the Tigers with 21.0. Strong has thrown two complete games with a 2-1 record. She has allowed 26 hits and nine runs (seven earned). She has allowed .302 hitting with four extra-base hits: two doubles, one triple and a home run.

Colgate enters with the best record of any tournament team at 6-4. In their opening weekend, the Raiders went 4-1 in North Carolina, only losing their opening game. In their second weekend, Colgate picked up two more wins against Wagner and East Carolina while dropping two to Rutgers.

The Raiders are hitting .232 in 10 games with a slugging percentage of .380 and an on-base percentage of .331. Colgate has totaled five home runs and 18 doubles. The Raiders' three-pticher staff has collected a 2.23 ERA in 69.0 innings. It has allowed 57 hits, 26 runs (22 earned runs) and only two home runs. Opponents are hitting .229 against them.

Junior pitcher Bailey Misken has logged the most innings with 33.1 and a 2-2 record with five starts and seven appearances. Misken has thrown three complete games and notched two saves. She has a team-best 25 strikeouts and has only walked nine batters. She has given up 34 hits and 16 runs (13 earned). Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Borruso has a 0.43 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched and a 2-0 record. Borruso has made one start and appeared in five games for the Raiders. She has allowed eight hits and only one run.

Jillian Herbst has a team-best batting average (.400). The freshman has started in all 10 games, collecting 14 hits with four doubles and a triple. She has also scored five runs and totaled one RBI.

Taylor Ludwick has a team-best slugging percentage (.793) as she has hit three home runs and two doubles for the Raiders. The junior is hitting .345 with 10 hits and 10 runs scored with four RBIs.

LAST TIME OUT
The Lopes went 4-2 on the weekend, when they welcomed Minnesota and Long Island before hosting the GCU Purple Classic. GCU defeated Minnesota, Long Island and Idaho State twice while dropping games to Santa Clara and Cal State Fullerton.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lopes will host the GCU Invitational March 4-6 with Binghamton, Montana and San Jose State.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Macee Barnes

Denae Chatman

Kristin Fifield

Kinsey Koeltzow

Stephanie Reed

Ariel Thompson

Grand Canyon University Athletics