GCU completes CBU sweep in Riverside

Saturday, March 29

Riverside, Calif.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

27-6, 6-2

California Baptist

15-20, 3-6

Lopes

California Baptist

Photo by: Braden Dohrmann

3/29/2025 6:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Lopes respond to early 2-0 deficit with 10 unanswered runs

By: Braden Dohrmann

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Grand Canyon completed a sweep of California Baptist with an 11-4 victory on Saturday, capping off a 4-0 road trip to Riverside.

After facing a 2-0 deficit in the first inning, the Lopes (27-6, 6-2 WAC) rattled off 10 unanswered runs to separate themselves and glide to a comfortable victory over the Lancers (15-20, 3-6 WAC).

GCU was led by five batters with multi-hit days and a full pitching staff effort in the series finale.

The top of the lineup continued to produce in the third game of the series, with sophomore second baseman Savannah Kirk and graduate right fielder Makaiya Gomez going for three hits apiece.

Kirk has five-straight multi-hit games, racking up 10 hits in four games this week. Her average is a sizzling .518, which is near the national lead. Her 58 hits and 29 stolen bases also compare to the best in the nation. The WAC Preseason Player of the Year is proving worthy of the regular-season award early in conference play.

Gomez's three hits were all big ones, as she homered on the first pitch of the third inning to tie the game at 2-2. The opposite-field homer was her eighth, second-most on the team this season. Gomez also logged an RBI single in the fourth, a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a bunt single in the seventh to finish the week with seven RBIs.

In the fourth, the Lopes tacked on four more runs to take a 7-2 lead. The inning began with a Kirk hit and stolen base, followed by a Gomez RBI single to score her. However, it was highlighted by sophomore catcher Tinley Lucas' two-run blast to right field.

Lucas homered in back-to-back games for the first time in her collegiate career and raised her on-base percentage to .356 while starting behind the dish in all four of the trip's games. Her six homers and 24 RBIs both rank third on the team.

The fifth inning brought three more runs home, beginning with freshman third baseman Willa Ford's walk and ending with junior first baseman Emily Gonzalez's RBI single. Ford and Gonzalez joined Kirk, Gomez and Lucas as the five players to have multi-hit games.

Ford took full advantage of her opportunity to start at third base over the weekend. She reached base eight times in the three-game series, playing stellar defense in the process. Her on-base percentage sits at .528, second best on the team behind Kirk.

In the circle, sophomore Maggie Place made the start for GCU and just went an inning, giving up two runs on four hits through eight batters.

Lopes junior Taryn Batterton took the reins in the second inning and pitched four innings of one-run ball. Batterton did not strike out a batter, but her work was enough to allow the offense to take care of business and put the right-hander in line for the win.

Batterton moves to 11-1 on the season, extending her lead for most wins in the WAC.

The Lopes moved to 6-2 in WAC play with the sweep of the Lancers, putting them in second place behind 7-2 Seattle U. The Lopes and Redhawks will meet on April 11 and 12 in Phoenix, the back half of the upcoming six-game homestand.

GCU returns to action next weekend with a home series against Southern Utah (9-19, 4-5 WAC) on Friday and Saturday at GCU Softball Stadium.