GCU sheds unknown tag entering regional vs. Ole Miss

Friday, May 17 \| 7 p.m. \| NCAA Tucson Regional first round Hildenbrand Stadium \| Tucson, Ariz.

	(3) No. 24 GRAND CANYON LOPES (46-6)	vs.	(2) No. 21 OLE MISS REBELS (37-17)

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TUCSON, Ariz. – As great as the Arizona and Mississippi softball teams have been this season, there is one reason that the Tucson Regional is considered the NCAA Tournament's toughest four-team regional – Grand Canyon.

No. 24 GCU was the only top-25 team given a third seed in a regional. The GCU-Ole Miss game, a 7 p.m. Friday game on ESPNU, will be the nation's only regional first-round game between ranked teams.

Half of this year's 16 regionals only include one top-25 team. With No. 13 Arizona, No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 24 GCU and Santa Clara, the three-day, double-elimination Tucson Regional at Hillenbrand Stadium will feature daily top-25 duels.

"We're out here to compete," said Lopes second baseman Savannah Kirk, the WAC Player of the Year with the nation's second-best batting average (.505). "I don't want to just go out here just to say that I went to a regional. I want to keep playing for the older girls and set a good example for the younger girls.

"Last year, we played well. I wasn't as nervous. Now, I'm a little more anxious just because I want to win a lot more than I wanted to last year."

Making its fourth consecutive NCAA regional since head coach Shanon Hays took over the program, the Lopes were an unexpected force – even internally – to build the nation's best record by winning percentage (46-6, .885).

With only three starters back from last year's team that reached the Los Angeles Regional championship round for the first time, GCU quickly went from rebuild to respect.

"GCU is a really tough team in front of us," Ole Miss head coach Jamie Trachsel said. "We will not underestimate them.

"They're a team you have to beat. They don't beat themselves very often. They're very balanced from pitching to good defense. Their offense is dynamic. They have slappers. I feel like they buit a team that can come here and be successful with the field that we're about to play on Arizona with their speed and their power hitters."

A Lopes pitching staff that has accumulated the nation's lowest ERA (1.74) and a lineup with the nation's seventh-best batting average (.349) get a chance to prove how those numbers translate to postseason play.

Shanon Hays in Tucson

"If your pitchers go out and get ahead in the count and get off to a good start, it always lets you work into games like this from my experience," Hays said. "You hate to put that kind of pressure on your pitching, but that's just how it goes. If you go out and get off to a good start, then you've got a chance."

For Friday night's game that follows Arizona-Santa Clara, Ole Miss (37-21) could start left-handed senior pitcher Brianna Lopez, who went 11-4 with a 2.39 ERA this season and has 47 career wins.

"Their lefty's a tough matchup, somebody that throws that many changeups," Hays said. "One of the strengths of our lineup is the lefties and the speed we have in our lineup, so that's going to be a tough matchup for us if that's who we face."

Coming off a 7-6 SEC Tournament quarterfinal loss to No. 5 Texas, the Rebels also feature a program-best three All-SEC honorees in senior catcher Lexie Brady (.321, 15 home runs, 45 RBIs), freshman first baseman Persy Llamas (.369, seven home runs, 47 RBIs) and senior left fielder Jaden Pone (.390 with .427 postseason hitting).

All but one of the SEC's 15 members are playing in the NCAA Tournament. Fourteen of the Rebels' 17 losses came against SEC foes.

Makaiya Gomez practice

"Obviously, we know that these teams are competitive, and our pitching is what's going to keep us in it," GCU graduate right fielder Makaiya Gomez said. "As long as we can continue to have confidence in our pitching and play some really good defense, I think that we can compete with all three of these teams."

Lope tracks

Four GCU players earned all-region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Freshman first baseman/designated player Jada Cooper landed on first team while junior pitcher Taryn Batterton was honored on second team. Kirk and Gomez each made third team. "This one is to me is an all-American," Hays said of Kirk. "You hate seeing politics like that in our sport. Obviously, I see things through a purple lens and know how good Sav is. I'm disappointed."
GCU's one previous meeting with Ole Miss came in the 2022 Los Angeles Regional, when the Lopes took a 5-0, first-inning lead but lost 9-5.
GCU is 0-15 all-time against Arizona, the region's top seed and host. The Lopes lost a 7-3, eight-inning home game to the Wildcats on March 19 and lost their last Tucson visit 3-2 last season. "Just because it's ever been done before doesn't mean that we can't do it," Gomez said. "That's something that our team this season has really stood on. Just because it's never been done, doesn't mean that we can't be the first."
The Lopes went 5-3 this season against other qualifiers in the 64-team NCAA Tournament. "When we play those bigger teams, we show up to that level," GCU junior first baseman/designated player Emily Gonzalez said.
Ole Miss pitching coach Nancy Evans is a former three-time national champion and 1998 National Player of the Year at Arizona. Her 124-8 (.939) career pitching mark remains a national record.

Friday, May 17 | 7 p.m. | NCAA Tucson Regional first round
Hildenbrand Stadium | Tucson, Ariz.

Lope tracks

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Players Mentioned

Taryn Batterton

Makaiya Gomez

Emily Gonzalez

Savannah Kirk

Grand Canyon University Athletics