GCU clinches 4th regular-season title

Saturday, April 27

Nacogdoches, Texas

10 a.m.

Grand Canyon

42-10, 20-3

Stephen F. Austin

15-37, 8-15

Grand Canyon

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: Adrianna Candelaria

4/27/2024 1:00:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Lopes post 1st 3-game shutout series in program history

By: Adrianna Candelaria

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Grand Canyon clinched its fourth regular-season WAC championship with a 2-0 victory at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, concluding GCU's first three-game shutout series in program history.

The Lopes are the WAC's first repeat champions since New Mexico State (2017-18) and the first program to repeat as outright champions since the Aggies in 2015-16. GCU is the first WAC team to win 20 conference games since Fresno State in 2004.

Junior pitcher Emily Darwin picked up her eighth win of the season for the Lopes (42-10, 20-3 WAC) and was relieved by graduate pitcher Megan Schumacher and senior pitcher Ariel Thompson for a combined six-hitter. The Lopes pitchers did not allow a walk and struck out eight batters.

In Friday's doubleheader, Lopes' senior pitcher Hailey Hudson threw her third complete-game shutout of the season with a nine-inning three-hitter that earned her 13th win with six strikeouts. GCU junior pitcher Meghan Golden, now 11-3, kept the scoreless string going with her fifth shutout of the season, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out five.

The Lopes tallied two runs on two hits Saturday with RBIs from senior left fielder Kayla Rodgers' third-inning sacrifice fly and junior center fielder Makaiya Gomez's sixth-inning grounder, respectively. GCU is now 3-6 when it records fewer hits than its opponent, as SFA tallied six hits in the series finale.

The Lopes travel to Tucson to take on No. 22 Arizona on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) before finishing the regular season with a Friday-Saturday series against Abilene Christian at GCU Softball Stadium.