GCU heads to St. George for 2nd WAC series


Grand Canyon Lopes (19-9, 2-1 WAC)	at	Dixie State Trailblazers (11-16, 2-1 WAC)
		Friday-Saturday, March 18-19 Friday: 1 & 3 p.m. (Phoenix time) Saturday: 11 a.m. (Phoenix time)
Game notes		Live video Live stats

The Grand Canyon softball team hits the road for the second time this season and for its second WAC series when the Lopes take on Dixie State this weekend in St. George, Utah. The Lopes and Trailblazers are both 2-1 in WAC play and are looking to create distance from the rest of the conference.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

IN THE RANKINGS: The Lopes are 19th in the nation for batting average (.325), second in stolen bases per game (2.64), first in stolen bases (74) and 33rd in runs per game (6.07).
PLAYERS IN THE RANKINGS: Senior left fielder Gianna Nicoletti is second in the nation in stolen bases with 27, just four behind Alexis Johns of South Florida. Sophomore shortstop Katelyn Dunckel is 36th for batting average (.443) and 46th in hits (35). First baseman Denae Chatman is 15th with 33 RBIs and 25th in home runs with nine. Junior right fielder Kristin Fifield is 24th with 30 RBIs.
VS. DIXIE STATE: The Lopes have historically struggled against the Trailblazers as Dixie State has won 25 of 30 all-time meetings, mostly before each program moved to Division I. In St. George, the Lopes are 2-12.

SCOUTING

Dixie State comes into the second WAC series with an 11-16 record and 2-1 in WAC play. The Trailblazers won their home-opening WAC series over Utah Valley last weekend. Dixie State was picked to finish fourth in the WAC West Division just behind the Lopes. Junior outfielder and first baseman Hannah Hughbanks was the lone Trailblazer to earn a spot on the Preseason All-WAC team. Hughbanks has 23 starts and is hitting .381 with a team-nine doubles.

Dixie State is hitting .314 with a .464 slugging percentage and .389 on-base percentage. The Trailblazers totaled 137 runs and 226 hits with 39 doubles, three triples and 21 home runs in 27 games. In the circle, the Trailblazers have posted a 5.32 ERA. The five-person staff has tossed 165.2 innings with five complete games, one shutout and three saves. They have fanned 138 batters with a .334 opponent batting average.

The Trailblazers top pitcher is a familiar name to the Lopes. Tyler Denhart, the younger sister of Lopes senior righthander Ryan Denhart., has a team-best 3.99 ERA with a 4-3 record. The sophomore has made six starts and appeared in 10 games. In 40.1 innings pitched, she has allowed 52 hits while striking out 35. Senior Kate Dolinski has logged the most innings with 43.1, going 3-4 record in 14 appearances with eight starts. She has an ERA of 4.20 and has all three saves for Dixie.

Freshman Lauren Almeida has started 27 games and hit a team-best batting average of .411 with an on-base percentage of .500. She also has a team-best 21 RBIs and is second in hits with 30. The infielder has five doubles and three home runs. Catcher and outfielder Shea Clements leads the team in slugging percentage (.655), home runs (seven) and hits (33). She has made 27 starts and hit .379 with 20 runs, three doubles and 20 RBIs.

LAST TIME OUT

The Lopes fell to Oregon State on Monday 6-5 in extra innings at GCU Softball Stadium.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes will host their first WAC series on April 1-2 against California Baptist at GCU Softball Stadium.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

LAST TIME OUT

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Denae Chatman

Ryan Denhart

Katelyn Dunckel

Kristin Fifield

Gianna Nicoletti

Grand Canyon University Athletics