Upcoming Event: Softball versus Pima CC on September 30, 2025 at 6 p.m.
Softball
6 p.m.
vs Pima CC
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 17
Phoenix, Ariz.
4 p.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
DePaul
Photo by: Adrianna Candelaria
5-0 Lopes to host home opener
2/14/2023 11:58:00 AM | Softball
GCU invites DePaul, Illinois State, Portland State, Weber State, Oregon State
Littlewood Classic  | February 17-19, 2023 | GCU Softball Stadium | Phoenix, Ariz. |
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GRAND CANYON
LOPES (5-0)
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DEPAUL
BLUE DEMONS (4-0)
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ILLINOIS STATE
REDBIRDS (1-3)
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PORTLAND STATE
VIKINGS (2-3)
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| WEBER STATE WILDCATS (1-4) |
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| OREGON STATE BEAVERS (2-3) |
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THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- The Lopes are offering FREE tickets to Friday's home opener against DePaul. Â
- All six of GCU's pitchers made appearances at last weekend's UIW Cardinal Classic, with five still holding a 0.00 ERA, including sophomore, Yavapai College transfer, Emily Darwin who threw the first perfect game in program history during her GCU debut, and senior, ace, Ariel Thompson.Â
- GCU outscored its opponents 39-1 last weekend, with 12 runs stemming from two grand slams (senior right fielder Kristin Fifield, redshirt junior Kaitlyn Brannstrom), a two-run homer (junior shortstop Katelyn Dunckel), and two solo home runs (Fifield, senior second baseman Macee Barnes).  Â
SCOUTING DEPAUL
- The Blue Demons enter the Littlewood Classic 4-0 after opening their season last weekend at the DePaul Dome Tournament, featuring Valparaiso (7-1), Bowling Green (2-1), Saint Louis (8-7) and Evansville (2-1).
- In 10 at-bats, senior outfielder Grace Frazier led the Blue Demons with a .500 avg. and runs (5) and doubles (2), but senior outfielder Tori Meyer led the team in slug percentage (.846), hits (6), and RBIs (5). Meyer also hit one homerun and one triple, tying sophomore infielder Baylee Cosgrove and sophomore catcher Anna Wohlers respectively this weekend.Â
- In the circle, senior right-handed pitcher Brenna Smith posted a 0.00 ERA, two strikeouts, and a 1-0 record across eight innings. freshman right-handed pitcher Abbie Pochie (1-0) showed the next lowest ERA (1.31) in 5.1 innings pitched, but freshman right-handed pitcher Bella Nigey finished 2-1 with nine strikeouts through 10 innings pitched for a 2.80 ERA.
- The Lopes have faced DePaul twice in program history, with a GCU 3-1 victory in 2016, and GCU 3-6 loss in 2018, both in neutral settings.Â
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
- The Redbirds enter the Littlewood Classic 1-3 after opening their season last weekend at the University of South Florida Tournament, featuring Boston (1-2), Boston College (0-4), Saint Joseph's (8-2), and Florida (0-21).
- In their win over Saint Joseph's catcher Bella Wilkerson posted the most runs (2) and infielder Jayden Standish led the team in RBIs (3) in four at-bats.
- Illinois State and Grand Canyon have never met.
- The Redbirds finished last season with a overall record of 24-28, a conference record of 12-13, an away record of 5-15 and a neutral site record of 10-9; they return 14 athletes from the 2022 roster.Â
SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE
- The Vikings enter the Littlewood Classic 2-3 after opening their season last weekend at the The Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla., featuring Colgate (8-0), Marshall (1-8), Minnesota (1-8), Butler (6-4) and Michigan (1-9).
- Senior Olivia Grey pitched a one-hit, six strikeout game in Portland State's 8-0 shut out win over Colgate on Feb. 2.Â
- Junior outfielder Logan Riggenbach led the Vikings offensively with a .333 avg., five hits, five RBIs, one home run and one double with a .600 slug percentage in 15 at-bats.
- The Lopes have faced the Vikings twice in program history, with a GCU win (2-0) in 2017 and a GCU loss (4-5) in 2021.
SCOUTING WEBER STATE
- The Wildcats come to Phoenix 1-4, after falling to Baylor (4-8), Arkansas (0-8, 0-11), and a UNLV split (4-0, 4-12) last weekend at the UNLV Tournament.
- In their win over UNLV, graduate infielder McKell McCuistion led the Wildcats with two hits, two RBIs and one run.Â
- McCuistion also posted the highest batting average (.357) and number of hits (5) on the team during the UNLV Tournament, while Lauren Hoe had two home runs and a slugging percentage of .714.
- GCU historically carries a 6-7 record with Weber State, most recently winning their 2022 home matchup 4-3.
SCOUTING OREGON STATE
- The Beavers enter the Littlewood Classic 2-3 after a win over Nicholls (6-3), a split against New Mexico (2-0, 0-8), and losses to LSU (0-12, 0-3) at the LSU Invitational last weekend.Â
- Freshman infielder Kaiea Higa posted the highest batting avg. (.444), slug percentage (.778), RBIs (3) and tied senior infielder Frankie Hammoude for most home runs with one apeice over the weekend.Â
- pitcher Sarah Haendiges had the lowest ERA (4.10), and the most strikeouts (14) in 13.2 innings pitched. The Beavers bullpen, consisting of Haendiges, Tarnie Steptp, and Ellie Garcia pulled together an average ERA of 4.75, 1.89 WHIP, 33 hits, 29 strikeouts, 26 runs, 20 walks, and three home runs.Â
- GCU is historically 1-3 against Oregon State, with the most recent matchup at home in 2022 (5-6).
LAST TIME OUT
GCU at the Cardinal Classic
- GCU completed the Bobcat Classic at 5-0 after two Green Bay shutouts (9-0, 9-0), two victories over Eastern Illinois (6-0, 9-1), and a dominant win over Incarnate Word (6-0).
- Yavapai transfer, sophomore pitcher Emily Darwin threw the first perfect game in program history; the Lopes downed Green Bay 9-0 in Darwin's GCU debut.
WHAT'S NEXT?
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GCU hosts Utah State, Montana, and South Dakota at the Purple Classic on Feb. 24-26. Â
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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