Opening wins show off new talent

Friday, February 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0

Wisconsin

1-1

Wisconsin

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Rachel Sollazzo

2/9/2024 9:20:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

Groshong-Kirk, Lucas go combined 6 for 7 in GCU freshmen debuts

By: Paul Coro

Playing with "2023" added to each outfield corner for the program's latest WAC championship and NCAA regional, Grand Canyon cut no corners in starting the 2024 season with the success that will build toward repeating those feats.

The Lopes treated a GCU Softball Stadium crowd of 1,212 fans to a season-opening, 5-2 win against Wisconsin before finishing Friday night with a 10-1, run-rule victory against Maine.

"The pitching looked like we hoped it would," Lopes head coach Shanon Hays said. "We didn't hit great, but we produced runs, used our speed and executed some things. All together, a good day."

Nine players made Lopes debuts with the most touted newcomer, graduate transfer Ashley Trierweiler, going 2 for 5 with two walks. A pair of GCU freshmen, second baseman Savannah Groshong-Kirk (3 for 4 with a double and a triple) and catcher Tinley Lucas (3 for 3 with a double), got the collegiate nerves out in a hurry.

"We've been working so hard since the fall, and it felt good to see it pay off in the games," said Groshong-Kirk, who went to high school 20 miles west of GCU at Canyon View. "I love everything about the program. I've learned so much from the coaches since I've been here in such little time."

Lucas, who is from Washington, Oklahoma, said she could barely sleep the night before Opening Day.

"This has been the dream since I was 8 years old," Lucas said. "The fact that it's finally here, let's go. Getting to play with those girls beside me is everything I could dream of. The community here, the great relationships we have with coaches and teammates and the positive Christian environment has really made it easy to do so good here."

GCU 5, Wisconsin 2

After finishing just behind Wisconsin (No. 58) in NCAA Rating Percentage Index last season, GCU shook off a 2-1, second-inning hole with four unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings to win.

Seven Lopes players picked up a hit and GCU pitchers Hailey Hudson and Meghan Golden shut out the Badgers over the final five innings to win.

In her Lopes debut, graduate center fielder Ashley Trierweiler reached base in each plate appearance with a single and two walks. In the third inning, the West Coast Conference career batting average record-holder scored the tying run on senior shortstop Katelyn Dunckel's single.

After a bunt single by graduate first baseman Kristin Fifield, GCU added two more runs off senior left fielder Kayla Rodgers' RBI grounder and an ensuing double-steal attempt that scored Dunckel before the third out for a 4-2 lead.

The Lopes tacked on the final run in the fourth when sophomore right fielder Brynn-Jordan Smythe delivered a two-out double the opposite way to left-center field. Smythe, whose freshman season was shortened by injury, went 1 for 2 with three walks on the two-game night.

With GCU deepening its pitching staff in the offseason, the Lopes showed how they will often use multiple pitchers in games with Golden throwing 2 1/3 perfect innings.

Hudson picked up the win, striking out five in 4 2/3 innings and limiting the Wisconsin damage to a two-run home run in the second inning.

"When something bad happens, Hailey's right back on her horse," Hays said. "It's amazing how much she's matured from last year and become a leader."

GCU 10, Maine 1

After leading the nation in RBIs last season, graduate first baseman Kristin Fifield offered a one-game break before getting back to bringing Lopes across the plate in the Friday nightcap.

Fifield smashed a first-inning, three-run home run to left-center field for her 45th career round-tripper.

"Fifield got us off to a good start," Hays said. "She just got a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it. She missed a couple others that she usually hits but got under them."

The Lopes kept piling on runs to shorten the game to five innings by run-rule victory, but Fifield's home run was all graduate pitcher Ariel Thompson needed to move to 34-9 in her third GCU season.

Thompson kept the Black Bears off-balance for six strikeouts in four innings, allowing only a leadoff solo home run in the second inning. Graduate Megan Schumacher, a Missouri transfer, made her Lopes debut by fanning the first two batters she faced in a perfect inning.

GCU scored in each of its four offensive innings against Maine, stretching the lead to 5-1 in the second when Smythe's walk and Trierweiler's bunt single set up Groshong-Kirk's two-run double to left field.

A four-run third inning was sparked by senior left fielder Kayla Rodgers ripping a one-out double right right-center field and scoring on Lucas' RBI single into left field.

The Lopes will play another two-opponent doubleheader on Saturday, facing Weber State at 4 p.m. and St. Thomas at 6:30 p.m. at GCU Softball Stadium. GCU will unveil more of its six-pitcher arsenal with junior Emily Darwin and freshman Alina Satcher.