Battle staged for WAC West lead in Seattle


Grand Canyon Lopes (27-10, 10-2 WAC)	at	Seattle U Redhawks (23-15, 9-3 WAC)
		Friday-Saturday, April 14-15 Friday: 3 and 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) Saturday: 1 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Game notes		Live video Live stats

The Grand Canyon softball team heads to Seattle U for a battle of the top teams in the WAC West Division as the Lopes are one game up on the Redhawks.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

NCAA RANKINGS: GCU comes in at ninth in the nation for team batting average and first in the WAC at .332. The Lopes are also 18th in scoring, averaging 6.43 runs per game. With a .513 slugging percentage, they rank 32nd. They are 50th in home runs per game at 1.03.
TOP OF THE WAC WEST: GCU has a one-game lead on the Redhawks as it visits Seattle U. The Lopes are four games ahead of CBU, which is in third place.
ONLY ONE MEETING: The Lopes and Redhawks will only square off once in the regular season this year, bringing big stakes to the standings this weekend.

SCOUTING

Seattle U comes into the fifth week of WAC play with a 23-15 record and 9-3 conference record while being just one game behind the Lopes in the standings. Most recently, the Redhawks took on the Aggies of New Mexico State in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where they took two of three games. After dropping the first game of the series 8-1, Seattle U took the final two games of the series.

The Redhawks have dropped one game in three WAC series thus far in the season. They lost the final game of the series to CBU (12-0) and the second game of the series to Utah Valley (9-1). Seattle U was picked to win the WAC West Division. collecting five of six first-place votes. They had three players named to the Preseason All-WAC team: Carly Nance, Stefanie Madrigal and Olivia Viggiano.

The Redhawks are hitting .286 with a slugging percentage of .417 and on-base percentage of .356. They have totaled 42 doubles, 25 home runs and eight triples. Seattle has a five-person pitching staff with a 3.34 ERA. They have tossed 18 complete games and three shutouts with four saves. In 249.2 innings, the staff has allowed 278 hits, 151 runs, 119 earned runs, 37 doubles and 16 home runs. They have also struck out 192 and walked 105.

Viggiano is the Redhawks' top hitter at .339. She has totaled a team-best 30 runs and 43 hits on the season. The senior outfielder has only hit one extra-base hit. She is a team-best 9 for 14 in stolen bases. With an impressive 52 RBIs, Nance is leading Seattle with 13 home runs and a .757 slugging percentage. The pitcher has totaled 35 hits this season with seven doubles and scored 20 runs. In the circle, she has logged 47.1 innings with a 3.11 ERA. She has made six starts and appeared in 11 games, tossing three complete games with one shutout and one save. Freshman outfielder Tai Wilson has started all 38 games and is second in batting average (.331) for the Redhawks. Wilson has totaled 39 hits, including two doubles and three triples. She has scored 29 runs and collected five RBIs.

Madrigal is the Redhawks ace with 115.1 innings and a 14-5 record. She has made 18 starts and appeared in 21 games with 11 complete games, one shutout and one save. The junior has retired 65 batters and allowed 21 doubles and four home runs on the season.

LAST TIME OUT
GCU took two of three from Utah Valley in Phoenix with two Friday wins in run-rule fashion and a Saturday loss despite two rallies.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lopes will host New Mexico State on April 22-3 in their sixth WAC series of the season.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Next Event

Related Videos