GCU comes up short vs. No. 3 Florida

Saturday, February 22

Phoenix, Ariz.

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

12-3

#3 Florida

17-1

Florida

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Nate Cochran

2/22/2025 10:14:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Lopes outhit Gators 8-6 with Satcher homering in consecutive games

By: Braden Dohrmann

Grand Canyon lost an uber-competitive 6-4 game to No. 3 Florida on Saturday night at GCU Softball Stadium.

After trailing 6-0, the Lopes (12-3) shut out the Gators (17-1) over the final three innings in front of 1,159 fans and came within two runs of the 2024 College World Series semifinalists.

GCU sophomore starting pitcher Maggie Place began the game with two shutout innings, escaping a first-and-third, one-out jam in the first by striking out the next two batters. After a 1-2-3 second inning, the Gators struck gold in the third.

A pair of Place walks and an error scored a run for Florida and loaded the bases up for Florida's Kenleigh Cahalan. Senior pitcher Emily Darwin entered the game for the Lopes, and Cahalan and pounded a grand slam to right field to give Florida a 5-0 lead.

Darwin worked her way through the end of the inning and handed the reins off to junior Taryn Batterton, who tossed a clean fourth. After Batterton allowed a leadoff solo home run in the fifth, GCU senior Meghan Golden carried the pitching staff the rest of the way.

On the offensive end, the Lopes outhit Florida 8-6 with walks and home runs carrying the difference for the Gators in the end. GCU scored all four of their runs in the fifth inning, which began with sophomore catcher Tinley Lucas sending one off the wall in right center for a long single.

With one out, graduate outfielder Mia Weckel singled to prompt GCU head coach Shanon Hays to pinch-hit sophomore two-way player Alina Satcher with two outs.

Satcher had homered the night before in the Lopes run-rule win over Iowa State for her first collegiate hit in four at bats. Her second hit was just as memorable when she hammered the first pitch she saw Saturday into the night sky and over the wall in left-center field. The three-run shot cut the deficit in half to 6-3.

Lopes sophomore second baseman Savannah Kirk followed with a single, a steal and a run off junior center fielder Sydney McCray's second hit of the night.

GCU had something rolling in the sixth inning when junior first baseman Emily Gonzalez sprayed a leadoff double into right-center field. However, she was stranded by a pair of Lopes strikeouts to end the inning.

Golden kept the Lopes in the game by only allowing one hit and striking out three. However, the Lopes could not muster another run in the late innings.

"We showed some guts tonight," Hays said. "After that one tough inning, we were playing from behind, but we had great at bats and got into a rhythm and built some momentum late. I am proud of the resiliency we showed."

GCU will have five days off before returning to GCU Softball Stadium for the GCU/ASU Invite next weekend. The Lopes will play four games over three days.