Utah Valley visits 1st-place GCU


Grand Canyon Lopes (25-9, 8-1 WAC)	vs	Utah Valley Wolverines (12-15, 3-6 WAC)
		Friday-Saturday, April 8-9 Friday: 2 and 4 p.m. (Phoenix time) Saturday: 1 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Game notes		Live video Live stats

The Grand Canyon softball team hosts Utah Valley for its second home WAC series before hitting the road next weekend. The Lopes are in first place in the WAC West Division with a one-game lead on Seattle U.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

TOP RPI: The Lopes have the highest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index ranking in the WAC. GCU is 71st with the next being Seattle U at No. 95. The Lopes' best RPI came in the week of March 7, when they came in at No. 67.
LEADING THE WAC: GCU is first in the WAC West Division after sweeping its last two opponents. The Lopes also lead the conference in batting average (.325), runs (207), ERA (2.51) and stolen bases (89). They are tied for first in doubles (45) and second in home runs (33).
VS. UTAH VALLEY: The Lopes are 13-0 at home against the Wolverines. GCU has only dropped one game in 22 meetings with Utah Valley.

SCOUTING

Utah Valley comes into the fourth week of WAC play with a 12-15 record and a 3-6 conference mark. The Wolverines opened WAC play at Dixie State, where they took one of three games from the Trailblazers. UVU took on Seattle U at home, dropping two of three to the Redhawks. Most recently, they took on NMSU and put up 18 runs to defeat the Aggies in the second game.

Utah Valley is five games behind the Lopes, who are first in the WAC West Division. UVU was picked to finish last in the West in the preseason coaches poll. The Wolverines had two players on the Preseason All-WAC team: junior catcher Kalena Shepherd and senior outfielder infield/outfielder Linnah Rebolledo.

The Wolverines are hitting .321, which is second in the WAC to the Lopes. They are third in slugging percentage (.472) and first in on-base percentage (.396). UVU has totaled 245 hits, including 41 doubles, 23 home runs and two triples. On the rubber, the Wolverines staff is posting a 6.58 ERA. The six-person staff has tossed 173.1 innings, allowing 277 hits, 195 runs, 163 earned runs, 50 doubles, 11 triples and 39 home runs. They have thrown eight complete games, recorded one save and one shutout. Runners are 41 for 52 in stolen base attempts on the Wolverines.

Madison Carr leads the Wolverines and the WAC in batting average at .440. Carr has collected 44 hits, none of which have been an extra-base hit. The senior is 11 for 11 in stolen bases. Shepherd leads UVU in on-base percentage at .489 and is second in batting average (.392), slugging percentage (.635), RBIs (25), and doubles (six). She has totaled four home runs and 29 hits in 25 games. Rebolledo is third in average for the Wolverines (.386). She has started all 27 games for UVU and collected 34 hits, including seven doubles and two home runs. She has scored a team-high 27 runs.

In the circle, Brooke Carter and Katie Zuniga have thrown the most innings with 60.2 and 61.1, respectively. Carter has a 5.65 ERA while Zuniga has a 5.93. A junior, Carter has a team-best 6-5 record while making 11 starts and appearing in 16 games. She has thrown three complete game and has the only shutout on the staff. Zuniga is a sophomore with a 5-5 record while making nine starts and 18 appearances. She has thrown four complete games and has the only save on staff.

LAST TIME OUT
GCU swept CBU at home last weekend to complete its second WAC series sweep of the season.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lopes will head to second-place Seattle U on April 15-16 for their fifth WAC series of the season.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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