Pitching gives Lopes sweep of Saturday competition

Saturday, February 24

Phoenix, Ariz.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

10-3

Seton Hall

2-6

Seton Hall

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Sebastian Molinar

2/24/2024 9:23:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GCU defeats Seton Hall on 2-hit shutout before winning in 8 vs. Ohio State

By: Adrianna Candelaria

Grand Canyon improved to 11-3 on the season with its third consecutive Saturday home sweep, shutting out Seton Hall 3-0 on two hits and overcoming Ohio State 2-1 in the eighth inning at GCU Softball Stadium.

2nd straight shutout comes vs. Seton Hall

The Lopes defeated the Pirates 3-0 with a win in the circle by junior Emily Darwin and a save for graduate Ariel Thompson. Darwin, now 2-0 on the season, only allowed two hits and one walk through 4 2/3 innings, while Thompson, who scored her first save of the season, allowed no hits or walks in 2 2/3 innings. The pair combined for four strikeouts on 62 pitches.

The GCU defense held strong as well, turning two double plays, one in the the third to the courtesy of senior shortstop Katelyn Dunckel and graduate first baseman Ashley Trierweiler, and one in the seventh from junior third baseman Lovey Kepa'a, to Dunckel, to Trierweiler.

GCU scored three runs on four hits by senior left fielder Kayla Rodgers, graduate right fielder Kristin Fifield, graduate designated player Ramsay Lopez and freshman second baseman Mackenzie Nolan.

Dunckel reached on an error in the bottom of the second, and was batted in on a single up the middle by Rodgers to put the Lopes on the board.

GCU's final runs came in the fifth, when Nolan singled, stole second and Trierweiler boarded on a hit by pitch. Redshirt senior Kaitlyn Brannstrom reached on a pinch-hit walk to advance the Lopes runners before junior Makaiya Gomez notched an RBI to second base, and Fifield fielder's choice sent Trierweiler across the plate for the 3-0 final.

Lopes beat Buckeyes in extra innings

The Lopes hit .280 while holding the Buckeyes (7-4) to a team average of .148 at GCU Softball Stadium on Saturday night.

Ohio State took a 1-0 lead on two hits in the top of the first that GCU worked to reach over four innings. In that stretch, the Lopes' five hits and three runners left on base finally amounted to a tie game with a fouth-inning Fifield single up the middle and a Rodgers double to left center for her seventh RBI of the season.

Tied through seven innings, the tournament rule placed each team's last hitter of the previous inning on second base. A Buckeyes sacrifice bunt moved the go-ahead run to third, but the Lopes, led by Thompson in the circle, were calm under pressure, as the next Ohio State hitters went down in order on a pop-up to short left field and a fly out to right field.

Trierweiler started the bottom of the eighth on second base and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Dunckel. An intentional walk to Fifield put Lopes runners at the corners before Lopez stepped up to the plate and singled to second base for the win.

GCU concludes the the weekend with a Sunday matchup against Texas State at 11:30 a.m. (Phoenix time).