Completed Event: Softball versus Southern Utah on February 6, 2026 , Win , 17, to, 2 , (5 inn.)
Softball
vs Southern Utah
W 17-2
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 13
Phoenix, Ariz.
4 p.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
Northern Colorado
Photo by: Brayden Stenner
Lopes take perfect record into GCU Invite
2/12/2026 4:00:00 PM | Softball
GCU's Batterton looks to follow up 2-0 start in the circle
GCU Invite  | February 13-15, 2026 |  GCU Softball Stadium |  Phoenix, Ariz. |
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GRAND CANYON
LOPES (5-0)
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vs. |
NORTHERN COLORADO
BEARS (2-3)
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SACRAMENTO STATE
HORNETS (4-1)
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SOUTH DAKOTAÂ
COYOTES (2-3)
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| HARVARD CRIMSON (0-0) |
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HEADLINES
- GCU went 5-0 in the GCU Kickoff Classic during opening weekend, beating NCAA Regional opponent, Santa Clara, twice.
- Opening night vs. Weber State, marked the 5th-highest attended game in GCU Softball Stadium's history (1,252).
- Junior utility player Alina Satcher homered twice in the season-opening win over Southern Utah. She finished the game with 7 RBI's, a feat that had not been done by a GCU player since 2019.
- Taryn Batterton pitched two complete-game shutouts in her first two starts of the season. The senior struck out 10 vs. Santa Clara (2/8), her career high. She took home First Team All-WAC honors last season, making the NFCA All-Region 2nd Team.Â
- The Lopes enter their first year in the Mountain West. They have gone 24-13 all-time against MW members. Hays is 9-5 with GCU.
- GCU holds the 11th-best ERA in the nation after week one (1.27).
- GCU returns 248 innings pitched from the 2025 season. The staff held the third-best ERA in the nation last season.
- ESPN/USA Softball (27), D1Softball (27), Softball America (27), and NFCA (27) all have the Lopes just outside of their top 25 rankings, receiving votes in each ranking.
- Grand Canyon has won 47 games in three straight seasons.
- GCU clinched their fourth-consecutive WAC Tournament title last season, now winning 10-straight WAC Tournament games.
- Junior 2B Savannah Kirk was named the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year. Kirk has since been ruled out for the year due to injury.
- GCU was second in the country in comeback wins (21) in 2025.
- The Lopes finished 2025 with the best winning percentage in the country (0.855).Â
- Senior RHP Taryn Batterton, senior 1B/DP Emily Gonzalez, and sophomore UTIL Jada Cooper joined Kirk on the Mountain West Preseason Team. GCU had the most players in the league.
- Emily Gonzalez made the All-WAC First Team as the Lopes cleanup hitter in 2025. "Gonzo" was named the WAC Tournament "Most Outstanding Player" after her 11th inning, go-ahead HR in the WAC Championship game. She led the team in HR's (13).
- The Lopes are 1/27 teams in the country to win an NCAA Tournament game in each of the last three years.
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO
- Northern Colorado is 2-3Â after the first weekend in southern California. The Bears started the year with a win over UC Santa Barbara and lost at No. 7 UCLA.
- GCU holds a 7-0 all-time record against Northern Colorado, only ever facing them at home.
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE
- The Hornets enter the weekend with a 4-1 record in the NorCal Kickoff that mostly presided at Sac State's Shea Stadium.Â
- GCU and Sacramento State have split the all-time series at 1-1, only every playing in Sacramento.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA
- The Coyotes enter with a 2-3 record. Starting the year 0-3 at the Bearkat Classic in Huntsville, Texas, South Dakota won their last two games over Sam Houston and Creighton.
- GCU has a 5-2 all-time record over South Dakota, only ever playing at home.
SCOUTING HARVARD
- The Crimson enter with a 0-0 record, not playing any games in the first weekend of play.
- GCU has never played Harvard.
LAST TIME OUT
GCU KICKOFFÂ CLASSIC
- The Lopes launched four home runs on the first day of the tournament in a 17-2 win over Southern Utah and a 3-0 win over Weber State.Â
- GCU walked off both Southern Utah (4-3) and Santa Clara (5-4) in Saturday's wins.
- Grand Canyon's senior hander Taryn Batterton pitched her second complete-game shutout of the short season on Sunday to knock off Santa Clara, 1-0.
WHAT'S NEXT?
- The Lopes host the Purple Classic next weekend, where San Diego, Montana, North Florida and UC Santa Barbara will be next up to challenge GCU.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
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