No. 1 seed rolls in WAC Tournament opener

Thursday, May 12

Huntsville, Texas

8 a.m.

Grand Canyon

37-13

Utah Valley

24-26

Utah Valley

Grand Canyon

5/12/2022 11:18:00 AM | Softball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Thompson's 1-hitter backed by Nicoletti's 3 RBIs, Tourville's home run

By: Paul Coro

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Grand Canyon softball team earned a bye through Wednesday's WAC Tournament play as the No. 1 seed, but it felt like torture when the Lopes watched Utah Valley having fun during its win to advance to Thursday's game against GCU.

That pent-up energy overwhelmed Utah Valley in a six-run first inning Thursday, and the Lopes rolled from there because of junior pitcher Ariel Thompson's one-hitter. GCU claimed an 8-0, run-rule victory in five innings to set the Division I-era program record for wins with a 37-13 mark.

The Lopes advanced to a Friday game at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time) against No. 2 seed Stephen F. Austin (29-23, 18-6 WAC) in the double-elimination tournament.

Ariel Thompson

Thompson became the nation's 30th 20-game winner this season by subtly dominating the Wolverines, just as she did when the Claremore, Oklahoma, native threw a no-hitter at Seattle U last month.

"Stepping out here with my team, I was like, 'Let's go get it; if we're going to go get one game, we're going to go get them all,' " Thompson said. "I was a little bit nervous, but I like to let the nervousness fuel me. It fires me up.

"With that team behind me, I feel like nothing can stop us."

Thompson gave up her only hit to the game's second batter, but junior catcher Kinsey Koeltzow wiped that way by throwing the Wolverine out trying to steal. The Lopes defense played an error-less game behind Thompson with multiple gems from senior third baseman Savannah Tourville, who ended the game early with a solo home run that provided the run-rule margin in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Because of the in-season familiarity, the Lopes tweaked Thompson's pitch mix with more change-ups to counter the Wolverines' aggressive bats.

"She pitched well and we made plays," said GCU head coach Shanon Hays, the WAC Coach of the Year. "She and Koeltzow work so well together and have such a good relationship. I think Koeltzow is one of the best in the country behind the plate."

Thompson's riseball felt extra "snappy" to the pitcher who transferred from North Texas last summer, when Hays was hired after the Lopes went 19-30 last season.

"Coming from what I came from, being with this team is like a dream," Thompson said. "I can't describe it any way other than that. They are such a blessing to me, on and off the field. I feel like a little 8-year-old who has dreamed of this her whole life. I'm so happy to be with those girls."

No. 5 seed Utah Valley (24-26), which had won four its past five games, only put one runner in scoring position on Thursday. Thompson kept UVU leadoff batter Madison Carr, the nation's seventh-leading hitter, off the bases and only threw 67 pitches.

GCU opened the game with consecutive singles by senior left fielder Gianna Nicoletti and sophomore shortstop Katelyn Dunckel but nearly let the threat escape them. Two outs did not move the runners, but a season-long push for aggressive base-running paid off. Nicoletti and Dunckel were ready for a wild pitch that scored both and rolled into more.

Lopes junior right fielder Hannah Burnett drew a bases-loaded, two-out walk to take the first-inning lead to 3-0 and junior second baseman Macee Barnes added an infield single for a 4-0 advantage. Nicoletti returned for her second hit of the first inning, a two-run single to center field to race ahead 6-0.

Nicoletti added a perfect RBI bunt single with two outs in the third to make it 7-0. The leadoff hitter with a .416 average, which ranks second in the conference, and 50 stolen bases, a WAC record, claimed the team high in a different category Thursday with three of her season's 11 RBIs.

"We saw Utah Valley out there having a good time yesterday and we were like, 'Yeah, we want to play now,' " Nicoletti said. "We came out and definitely showed that.

"We're here to get a job done. We don't want to take anyone lightly because everybody here has an opportunity to beat us, but we have the opportunity to beat everybody too. We're here to work, but we're here to have fun too. If you don't have fun, it's going to be a long week."