Completed Event: Softball at Colorado State on May 2, 2026 , Win , 11, to, 2 , (5 inn.)
Softball
at Colorado State
W 11-2
Grand Canyon University Athletics
NCAAs put GCU at UCLA for regional
5/15/2022 6:53:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro
Lopes makes NCAA DI tournament debut in L.A. with LMU, Ole Miss
Dressed in "WAC Softball Champions" shirts that they picked up in Texas on Saturday, Grand Canyon players and coaches gathered on campus Sunday to watch their expected NCAA tournament fate of being placed crosstown in the Arizona State regional.
But when UCLA popped on the screen as the No. 5 seed, the ESPN2 telecast had their attention with a neighboring host.
"And UCLA will be facing a new face in this tournament … Let's hear it for the Lopes!" host Beth Mowins said of the 39-14 WAC regular-season and postseason champions.
The screamed reaction might have been heard from the Bristol, Connecticut, studio with the GCU players' jaws dropping in shock and shifting into smiles for being played in the Los Angeles Regional with UCLA (43-8), Loyola Marymount (36-15) and Ole Miss (39-17). The winner of the double-elimination regional moves on to a 16-team round of NCAA Super Regionals.
GCU will open against UCLA, with its record 13 national championships, at Easton Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time).
"This is bonus softball for us right now and we're happy to be there" first-year Lopes head coach Shanon Hays said. "Hopefully, that's how we'll play – see an opportunity and not have any fear. It's a way to prove what we do.
"I was fairly certain that we'd go to Arizona State. You're going to great programs either way, but it's nice to get that road trip and get that real regionals experience, especially going to a storied program like UCLA. It's going to be fun and we'll try to step up to the challenge."
UCLA, which is 21-1 at home, takes a team ERA of 1.45 with 20 shutouts into its 37th regional appearance with a team batting average of .317.
GCU has won 22 of its last 28 games and ranks seventh nationally with .333 hitting and puts pressure on opponents with 2.5 stolen bases per game, which is second best in the nation.
"UCLA is a small ballpark and they make it smaller," Hays said. "We try to play every game the same way and with the same mindset. Obviously, that's hard to do going into a regional, but we're going to try to go play like we don't have anything to lose."
It will be a Los Angeles-area homecoming for several Lopes, including senior third baseman Savannah Tourville of Whittier, graduate left fielder Gianna Nicoletti of Fullerton and senior pitcher Ryan Denhart of Los Alamitos.
Tourville grew up attending UCLA softball camps and has a brother, Jake, who was on the UCLA football team and an aunt, Monica, who played catcher on a Bruins national championship team.
"People overlook us," Tourville said. "It's our first year going and we're all excited so we're going to come out hard, play to our ability and have fun. Just seeing how we can come from behind and play as a team together, this team has great leadership and bonds so well. It's easy to play together, play for a bigger picture and have fun."
Tourville is part of a veteran group with Nicoletti, Denhart and junior Kristin Fifield who stuck with the programs and relish the program breakthrough. That presence has mixed well with the influx of transfer talent, including ones with NCAA tournament experience such as junior second baseman Macee Barnes and graduate first baseman Denae Chatman and junior catcher Kinsey Koeltzow.
"We've got a team full of winners and I think that's showed this year," Hays said.
GCU punched its NCAA tournament ticket by winning its first WAC Tournament championship on Saturday, when the Lopes rallied from a 3-0 hole to beat Stephen F. Austin 6-4 in the championship game.
Since GCU became eligible for Division I postseason in 2017-18, softball becomes the ninth Lopes sport that has qualified for the NCAAs in team competition.
"We're going to have fun and enjoy it, but when it comes time to work, let's flip the switch and be ready to rock," Hays said in addressing the team after the NCAA Selection Show. "We get to go put our name out there."
But when UCLA popped on the screen as the No. 5 seed, the ESPN2 telecast had their attention with a neighboring host.
"And UCLA will be facing a new face in this tournament … Let's hear it for the Lopes!" host Beth Mowins said of the 39-14 WAC regular-season and postseason champions.The screamed reaction might have been heard from the Bristol, Connecticut, studio with the GCU players' jaws dropping in shock and shifting into smiles for being played in the Los Angeles Regional with UCLA (43-8), Loyola Marymount (36-15) and Ole Miss (39-17). The winner of the double-elimination regional moves on to a 16-team round of NCAA Super Regionals.
GCU will open against UCLA, with its record 13 national championships, at Easton Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time).
"This is bonus softball for us right now and we're happy to be there" first-year Lopes head coach Shanon Hays said. "Hopefully, that's how we'll play – see an opportunity and not have any fear. It's a way to prove what we do.
"I was fairly certain that we'd go to Arizona State. You're going to great programs either way, but it's nice to get that road trip and get that real regionals experience, especially going to a storied program like UCLA. It's going to be fun and we'll try to step up to the challenge."
UCLA, which is 21-1 at home, takes a team ERA of 1.45 with 20 shutouts into its 37th regional appearance with a team batting average of .317.
GCU has won 22 of its last 28 games and ranks seventh nationally with .333 hitting and puts pressure on opponents with 2.5 stolen bases per game, which is second best in the nation.
"UCLA is a small ballpark and they make it smaller," Hays said. "We try to play every game the same way and with the same mindset. Obviously, that's hard to do going into a regional, but we're going to try to go play like we don't have anything to lose."
It will be a Los Angeles-area homecoming for several Lopes, including senior third baseman Savannah Tourville of Whittier, graduate left fielder Gianna Nicoletti of Fullerton and senior pitcher Ryan Denhart of Los Alamitos.Tourville grew up attending UCLA softball camps and has a brother, Jake, who was on the UCLA football team and an aunt, Monica, who played catcher on a Bruins national championship team.
"People overlook us," Tourville said. "It's our first year going and we're all excited so we're going to come out hard, play to our ability and have fun. Just seeing how we can come from behind and play as a team together, this team has great leadership and bonds so well. It's easy to play together, play for a bigger picture and have fun."
Tourville is part of a veteran group with Nicoletti, Denhart and junior Kristin Fifield who stuck with the programs and relish the program breakthrough. That presence has mixed well with the influx of transfer talent, including ones with NCAA tournament experience such as junior second baseman Macee Barnes and graduate first baseman Denae Chatman and junior catcher Kinsey Koeltzow.
"We've got a team full of winners and I think that's showed this year," Hays said.
GCU punched its NCAA tournament ticket by winning its first WAC Tournament championship on Saturday, when the Lopes rallied from a 3-0 hole to beat Stephen F. Austin 6-4 in the championship game.
Since GCU became eligible for Division I postseason in 2017-18, softball becomes the ninth Lopes sport that has qualified for the NCAAs in team competition.
"We're going to have fun and enjoy it, but when it comes time to work, let's flip the switch and be ready to rock," Hays said in addressing the team after the NCAA Selection Show. "We get to go put our name out there."
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
C/INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
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