Regional run ends in final loss to UCLA

Sunday, May 19

Los Angeles, Calif.

3 p.m.

Grand Canyon

50-13

UCLA

40-10

UCLA

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Sebastian Molinar

5/19/2024 6:54:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes' 1st 50-win season caps 3-year program growth

By: Paul Coro

LOS ANGELES – The 9-1 win by No. 6 UCLA was decisive in ending Grand Canyon's first NCAA regional final appearance Sunday, but the numbers all around the Lopes program reaching the round of 32 were declarative.

As one of only 30 programs qualifying for an NCAA regional in each of the past three years, GCU's pair of elimination-round wins Saturday made it the nation's third team to notch 50 victories this season and one of two No. 4 seeds to reach Sunday's 16 regional finals.

For the second time in the four-team, double-elimination regional, host UCLA (40-10) walloped GCU from the start in front of a frenzied capacity crowd and ended a two-hitter in five innings.

The Lopes (50-13) could not repeat the upset of the Bruins that they pulled off here last year, but that left GCU third-year head coach Shanon Hays reminding a heart-broken Lopes bunch of how it took another giant program step to reach the final of the nation's most difficult regoinal.

"We've got a great thing going here, and I hope you realize what a great thing we have," Hays said postgame to the encircled team on the right-field line.

Krstin Fifield

The Lopes only have been eligible for the past six NCAA tournaments after a Division I transition period. Since Hays arrived, GCU reached its first regional in his first year, won its first regional game last year and reached its first regional this weekend
with elimination-game wins against Mountain West champion San Diego State and No. 17 Virginia Tech.

"I'm super grateful and super proud of this program and this team," said Lopes graduate right fielder Kristin Fifield, whose five-year career culminated with 244 RBIs, the third most of any active Division I player. "We came out and gave it all we got, especially yesterday. We really fought. Nobody expected us to be here today, so I'm proud to say that we showed everyone that we are the Lopes. We can compete with these type of schools."

GCU trailed 3-0 after the first five pitches of the game, when a hit batsman and bunt single were followed by scorching-hot Bruins catcher Sharlize Palacios' fifth home run in the past five games.

Hays revealed after the game that WAC Pitcher of the Year Hailey Hudson, a senior pitcher, has been dealing with a hip issue that made planting painful on her pitches. She relieved junior starter Meghan Golden to start the third inning and surrendered a home run and RBI double that put UCLA ahead 5-0.

"She was a mainstay for us," Hays said of Hudson. "To not have her innings how we've had it all year long really stretched us."

The Lopes flashed life when freshman catcher Tinley Lucas crushed a low, inside pitch over the center-field wall to open the bottom of the third and cut the lead to 5-1.

On the next at bat, UCLA left fielder Jadelin Allechin made a diving catch on GCU freshman third baseman Mackenzie Nolan's line drive. An inning later, the Lopes were robbed again.

They loaded the bases after freshman second baseman Savannah Kirk's hit, only to have UCLA get another diving stop from third baseman Theresa Malau'ulu on another Lucas rip down the third-base line.

"This experience has just been such a blessing to know all these underclassmen and play in this program as we're building," said Lucas, who was one of five GCU freshmen to play in the Los Angeles Regional. "Being on this stage is amazing. It's been the dream since forever. Getting to experience it with these girls means a whole lot to me."

The season-ending loss caps the career of the seniors, including the program-turning foundations laid by Fifield, pitcher Ariel Thompson and shortstop Katelyn Dunckel and the massive transfer boosts from Ramsay Lopez, Kayla Rodgers and Ashley Trierweiler.

Lopez finished with the fourth-most career home runs (69) among active Division I players, while Trierweiler led all active D-I players with a .446 career batting average on the third-most career hits (296).

"I'm proud of our group and proud of what we've done this year," said Hays, "It's tough for it to end when you're having fun and winning a lot of games, but we've got a good group.

"It's huge to win 50 games. Helps our recruiting. We tried to lay a foundation here two years ago to make a regional and be happy to make a regional and try to build on that. To make it to the last day is big for us, but we want to be able to keep going and keep improving. We've done that every year and hopefully we'll continue to climb the ladder. We've got good players who can do that."

Dunckel, Fifield and Thompson played in each year of the first championship three-peat in WAC Tournament history.

"It's so impressive to see what GCU has done in such a short time," UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. "They're regular contenders in the postseason here. They have all parts of the game. They can pitch. They can hit."

This season, GCU had ranked in the top 10 nationally for batting average and runs per game.

Hays' GCU teams cumulatively went 136-42 (.764) with three of those wins coming as a No. 4 regional seed.

"It's been an honor to be part of this program," Fifield said. "I've loved being able to learn from Coach Hays, from Syd (Sydney Sherrill), from MB (Maribeth Gorsuch), from all the coaches. I just love the girls. I'm always so grateful for them and everything that they've done for me. They put up a fight."