Completed Event: Softball versus Southern Utah on February 7, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 3
Softball
vs Southern Utah
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 13
Phoenix, Ariz.
4 p.m.
Grand Canyon
6-0
12
vs
0
Northern Colorado
3-4
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Northern Colorado
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
Grand Canyon
0
3
4
5
12
12
0
Photo by: Josh Cale
Bats come alive for Friday sweep
2/13/2026 10:35:00 PM | Softball
Lopes start season 7-0 for 1st time since 2023
Grand Canyon moved to 7-0 after a pair of convincing wins Friday night against Northern Colorado and Sacramento State at GCU Softball Stadium.
The Lopes have not started the season 7-0 since 2023. Three of the seven wins have come via shutout, including Friday afternoon's 12-0, five-inning rout of Northern Colorado.
"Overall, I liked the way we hit the ball tonight," GCU head coach Shanon Hays said. "We hit it very well in Game 1 and were able to manufacture runs in Game 2, so that was great to see."
After the bases loaded were left stranded in the first inning, Grand Canyon cashed in for three runs in the second inning. Freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett earned her first collegiate start and delivered a leadoff single.Â
GCU senior center fielder Sydney McCray scored her on a sharply hit double to left-center. Later in the inning, again with the bases loaded, sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper ripped a shot down the left-field line, scoring two more runs and giving the Lopes a 3-0 lead.
The third inning brought in another four runs. With two outs and a runner on third base, McCray got her second hit of the game with an RBI bunt single. She eventually added three more hits in Game 2 for a five-hit day.
Freshman second baseman Raegan Holtorf then reached on an error, and Gonzalez made the Bears pay with her first home run of the season, a no-doubter to left-center field.
"Sometimes, it takes a while to get going," Hays said of Gonzalez. "You go through lulls as a hitter, but she is an experienced and professional hitter that knows it will come back to her if she continues to be herself."
In the fourth inning, GCU scored five with all but one coming on a pinch-hit grand slam from Satcher, who leads the team in home runs (three) and RBIs (11).
Before the slam, Salt Lake Community College transfer Ellie Pond ripped her first home run as a Lope, and Shifflett and freshman catcher Sarah Campbell reached on their second hits of the game.
" 'Shifty' and Sarah took some great swings today and really gave our lineup some life today," Hays said.
In the circle, sophomore left-hander Oakley Vickers moved to 2-0 with four dominant innings, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out three.
Freshman Lilly Camp made her GCU debut in the fifth inning, retiring the side with a game-ending strikeout.
Neither pitcher disappointed as both zoomed to another two scoreless innings to start the game.
The streak ended for Ortiz in the third, when McCray doubled and scored on a Holtorf RBI single. Holtorf, who has started all seven Lopes games this season, moved up to the lineup's two-hole Friday night.
McCray's three-hit nightcap jumped her to a team-high 10 on the season.
"Syd really had a good night," Hays said. "If she can continue to get on base that often, we have too many good hitters behind her to not bring her home to score."
Cooper added her second double of the day to score a second run in the inning, thanks to a miscommunication between the Hornets second baseman and right fielder that let the ball drop between the two and gave GCU a 2-0 lead after three.
Shifflett singled to start the fourth inning, moving to third on a single by redshirt freshman Haley Wilkinson;s single and scoring on Pond's RBI groundout.
Pond moved to third base early in the game, with Wilkinson sliding to shortstop because of junior shortstop Mackenzie Nolan suffering an injury. Pond joined the defensive effort effortlessly, making many plays at the hot corner the rest of the game.
Gonzalez scored the fourth and final run for the Lopes in the fifth inning when she hit a leadoff single and was later brought home on graduate left fielder Trinity Martin's sacrifice fly to center field.
Batterton won the pitcher's duel and held onto her season-long scoreless streak of 20 1/3 innings, throwing 6 1/3 of them Friday night.
Hays went to senior Maggie Place to get the final two outs, where she gave up two runs before closing out the game.
Grand Canyon faces South Dakota at 2:30 p.m. and Northern Colorado again at 5 p.m. on Saturday, continuing the GCU Invite for the Lopes at GCU Softball Stadium.
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The Lopes have not started the season 7-0 since 2023. Three of the seven wins have come via shutout, including Friday afternoon's 12-0, five-inning rout of Northern Colorado.
"Overall, I liked the way we hit the ball tonight," GCU head coach Shanon Hays said. "We hit it very well in Game 1 and were able to manufacture runs in Game 2, so that was great to see."
GCU 12, Northern Colorado 0
The Lopes' bats were alive and well to open Friday's doubleheader. GCU scored 12 runs on 12 hits, including a pair of RBI-filled home runs from senior Emily Gonzalez and junior Alina Satcher.After the bases loaded were left stranded in the first inning, Grand Canyon cashed in for three runs in the second inning. Freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett earned her first collegiate start and delivered a leadoff single.Â
GCU senior center fielder Sydney McCray scored her on a sharply hit double to left-center. Later in the inning, again with the bases loaded, sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper ripped a shot down the left-field line, scoring two more runs and giving the Lopes a 3-0 lead.
The third inning brought in another four runs. With two outs and a runner on third base, McCray got her second hit of the game with an RBI bunt single. She eventually added three more hits in Game 2 for a five-hit day.
Freshman second baseman Raegan Holtorf then reached on an error, and Gonzalez made the Bears pay with her first home run of the season, a no-doubter to left-center field.
"Sometimes, it takes a while to get going," Hays said of Gonzalez. "You go through lulls as a hitter, but she is an experienced and professional hitter that knows it will come back to her if she continues to be herself."
In the fourth inning, GCU scored five with all but one coming on a pinch-hit grand slam from Satcher, who leads the team in home runs (three) and RBIs (11).
Before the slam, Salt Lake Community College transfer Ellie Pond ripped her first home run as a Lope, and Shifflett and freshman catcher Sarah Campbell reached on their second hits of the game.
" 'Shifty' and Sarah took some great swings today and really gave our lineup some life today," Hays said.
In the circle, sophomore left-hander Oakley Vickers moved to 2-0 with four dominant innings, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out three.
Freshman Lilly Camp made her GCU debut in the fifth inning, retiring the side with a game-ending strikeout.
GCU 4, Sacramento State 2
A pitching duel was the storyline coming into the nightcap, as GCU's Taryn Batterton entered with a 2-0 record, 18 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA through 14 innings, while Sacramento State's Alexa Ortiz also was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA that include 17 strikeouts over 15 innings.Neither pitcher disappointed as both zoomed to another two scoreless innings to start the game.
The streak ended for Ortiz in the third, when McCray doubled and scored on a Holtorf RBI single. Holtorf, who has started all seven Lopes games this season, moved up to the lineup's two-hole Friday night.
McCray's three-hit nightcap jumped her to a team-high 10 on the season.
"Syd really had a good night," Hays said. "If she can continue to get on base that often, we have too many good hitters behind her to not bring her home to score."
Cooper added her second double of the day to score a second run in the inning, thanks to a miscommunication between the Hornets second baseman and right fielder that let the ball drop between the two and gave GCU a 2-0 lead after three.
Shifflett singled to start the fourth inning, moving to third on a single by redshirt freshman Haley Wilkinson;s single and scoring on Pond's RBI groundout.
Pond moved to third base early in the game, with Wilkinson sliding to shortstop because of junior shortstop Mackenzie Nolan suffering an injury. Pond joined the defensive effort effortlessly, making many plays at the hot corner the rest of the game.
Gonzalez scored the fourth and final run for the Lopes in the fifth inning when she hit a leadoff single and was later brought home on graduate left fielder Trinity Martin's sacrifice fly to center field.
Batterton won the pitcher's duel and held onto her season-long scoreless streak of 20 1/3 innings, throwing 6 1/3 of them Friday night.
Hays went to senior Maggie Place to get the final two outs, where she gave up two runs before closing out the game.
Grand Canyon faces South Dakota at 2:30 p.m. and Northern Colorado again at 5 p.m. on Saturday, continuing the GCU Invite for the Lopes at GCU Softball Stadium.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vickers, Oakley (2-0)
L: Algrim, Grace (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Campbell, Sarah 1 ; Cooper, Jada 1 ; McCray, Sydney 1
HR: Gonzalez, Emily 1 ; Satcher, Alina 1
RBI: Campbell, Sarah 1 ; Cooper, Jada 2 ; Gonzalez, Emily 3 ; Satcher, Alina 4 ; McCray, Sydney 2
SH: Campbell, Sarah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Briah 1 ; Holtorf, Raegan 1 ; Campbell, Sarah 2 ; Shifflett, Addison 2 ; Gonzalez, Emily 1 ; Nolan, Mackenzie 1 ; Satcher, Alina 1 ; Pond, Ellie 1 ; McCray, Sydney 2
HBP: Cooper, Jada 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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IF
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UTIL
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OF
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OF
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IF
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RHP
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UTIL
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RHP
/ SoftballOF
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LHP
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IF
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