Pressure propels GCU to WAC tourney comeback win

Thursday, May 8

Riverside, Calif.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

44-6

(4) Seattle U

27-24

Seattle U

Lopes

Photo by: Bryce Wheeler

5/8/2025 4:03:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Vickers' 6 shutout innings allows Lopes to rally from 3-0, 1st-inning hole

By: Paul Coro

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – With a 44-6 record, Grand Canyon softball has proven to be incredibly hard to beat.

The task of defeating the Lopes is not much easier when given a lead to hold for six innings.

In its first postseason test, WAC regular-season champion GCU shook off a 3-0, first-inning deficit Thursday to beat third-seeded Seattle U 5-3 at California Baptist.

Now with the nation's best winning percentage (.880), the Lopes advance to a 1 p.m. Friday game vs. second-seeded Tarleton State at CBU in the double-elimination WAC Tournament.

GCU is 13-0 in games that it has trailed in the first inning this season. The Lopes rallied from an early 3-0 deficit for four of their 21 consecutive victories, which is the nation's longest active winning streak.

"Honestly, I always feel like we have complete control of our games, even when we do go down," said GCU sophomore catcher Tinley Lucas, who hit the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning Thursday. "There's something about it that just feels like we're in control no matter what. I believe that we'll come back and score, and we'll take care of our pitchers."

Lopes freshman left-handed pitcher Oakley Vickers did not need much help in her collegiate postseason debut.

Relieving junior starter Taryn Batterton, Vickers allowed GCU to rally by shutting out Seattle U for six innings. She allowed three hits and no walks while striking out five batters.

"I just kept that mindset of going in and hitting my spots," said Vickers, who is from Tuttle, Oklahoma. "I had to make sure my spin was working for my curve and my back door.

"I had to make sure they didn't score anymore. I just had to hold them."

Vickers' role expanded during an April 11-12 home sweep of Seattle U, when the southpaw appeared in each game against a lineup of strong left-handed hitters. Since then, she has a 0.54 ERA (two runs allowed in 26 innings with 24 strikeouts and only four walks).

"We tried to protect her and let her grow up and not let her get drowned," GCU head coach Shanon Hays said of Vickers' expanding role. "We knew how talented she is. She's got good movement. Her stuff kind of explodes at the end. We don't look at her as a freshman anymore with what she's done in conference."

But with GCU facing Seattle U ace Nicola Simpson for the first time this season, the Lopes remained down 3-0 through three innings. Lopes sophomore second baseman Savannah Kirk, who went 3 for 4, led off the first with a single and stayed perfect on stolen base attempts (44 for 44) but was left stranded at third base.

Graduate left fielder Mia Weckel provided a similar spark for GCU in the fourth with a first-pitch, leadoff single. Graduate right fielder Makaiya Gomez walked on four pitchers to set up Lopes junior designated player Emily Gonzalez.

Just 24 miles from her hometown of Yucaipa, Gonzalez scored Weckel and Gomez with her 10th double of the season – a shot to the right-center field gap that reduced Seattle U's lead to 3-2.

"(Simpson) throws up in the zone, so I knew I had to get on top of the ball to get a hit," said Gonzalez, who has a career-high 37 RBIs this season.

After three GCU consecutive outs kept GCU from bringing home that tying run, Vickers disposed of the Redhawks on 10 pitches in the fifth inning to quickly put the Lopes back in attack mode.

GCU sophomore shortstop Mackenzie Nolan and Kirk each hit first-pitch, one-out singles to left field and moved up a base on a wild pitch. That allowed Gomez's infield hit to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth.

After a sixth-inning Nolan web gem averted a potential two-on, one-out situation, GCU's offense stayed relentless in the bottom half of the inning.

Lopes freshman first baseman Jada Cooper hit a leadoff single on a 1-2 pitch. Freshman third baseman Willa Ford's infield single and junior center fielder Sydney McCray's bunt single loaded the bases for Lucas' sacrifice fly to score freshman pinch-runner Briah Williams. Ford, who became an everyday starter in the second game of the 21-game winning streak, is batting .538 over the past 10 games.

"We had more energy," Gonzalez said of the comeback. "I think pressure makes us better as a team. It always does, so we were able to pull through. Maybe we got nerves in the first couple innings out of the way, and we were able to lock in."

Top seed GCU will play No. 2 seed Tarleton State in a 1 p.m. game on Friday, with the loser going to a 7 p.m. elimination game and the winner advancing to the Saturday championship round with two chances to win the title. Tarleton State, which beat host California Baptist 5-0 on Thursday, won a home series against GCU in March for two of the Lopes' six losses this season.