Better Batterton blanks Minnesota for 17-0 Lopes

Thursday, February 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

17-0

Minnesota

6-10

Minnesota

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Brayden Stenner/GCU

2/26/2026 10:33:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU senior pitches 3-hitter as no Gopher reaches 2nd base

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon ace Taryn Batterton was one of the best pitchers in the nation last season when she climbed into the national top 15 for ERA in mid-April.

The senior right-hander is even better this season.

Phoenix, AZ - February 26, 2026, GCU Softball wins 6-0 over Minnesota at GCU Softball Stadium. (Photo by Kaily Green/GCU).

Phoenix, AZ - February 26, 2026, GCU Softball wins 6-0 over Minnesota at GCU Softball Stadium. (Photo by Kaily Green/GCU).

Batterton allows no batter fun when her pitch mix is even enthralling herself, as it did Thursday night in GCU's 6-0 win against Minnesota with Batterton using a heavy dose of change-ups for a complete-game shutout at GCU Softball Stadium.

The 25th-ranked Lopes (17-0) remained one of five undefeated teams in the nation and delivered fifth-year head coach Shanon Hays' 200th GCU victory, which has come in 250 games for the fourth-best winning percentage (.800) in the nation since 2022.

Opportunistic offense capitalized on Batterton's third shutout in seven starts, topping her 2025 season with two shutouts in 19 starts.

"I definitely used the change-up a lot more," Batterton said. "I kind of like that. I like the games when I get to throw my change about 50% of the time. That's a good time for Taryn, honestly. I just like that pitch so much. I think it keeps the hitters off-balance. The great thing about that pitch is no matter how many times a batter can see it, they still swing and miss a lot. It's a lot of fun to throw. It's my favorite pitch for a reason, and that showed tonight."

Batterton efficiently three-hit Minnesota, facing only 24 batters on 98 pitches. The Golden Gophers struck out six times and never put a runner in scoring position, with the change-up exaggerating the jump and velocity of Batterton's riseball. She improved her record to 6-0 this season and dropped her ERA to 1.06 and the team's ERA to 1.03, which ranks third nationally.

"She didn't have her dropball going today, and Kat (pitching coach Kat Frakes) and her get on the same page so well," Hays said. "They just started going with her drop curve and throwing her rise and screwball in. That's something new she has over last year that has really taken her up a level. Of course, her change-up was fantastic. It was diving so much."

Batterton has not allowed a run in all but one inning of her 39 2/3 innings this season. When the device the staff uses to communicate pitch calls to the circle did not work Saturday, Batterton lost rhythm and allowed a six-run inning to UC Santa Barbara. That ended a nation-high run of 27 shutout innings to start the season, and now she has another streak of 12 2/3 consecutive shutout innings.

"Bad innings don't make me a bad pitcher," said Batterton, who only has experienced one in seven outings this season.

Phoenix, AZ - February 26, 2026, GCU Softball wins 6-0 over Minnesota at GCU Softball Stadium. (Photo by Kaily Green/GCU).

Batterton received all the offensive support she would need in the first inning, when sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper pulled a 2-2 pitch into left field for team-high 19th RBI. The hit scored senior center fielder Sydney McCray, who had reached on an infield single and stole second.

An inning later, GCU pushed the lead to 3-0 with aggressive baserunning and RBI grounders by McCray and freshman Raegan Holtorf.

"Our baserunning was great," Hays said. "We pressured them. They were so worried about our speed that they made mistakes, and we took advantage of their mistakes."

The Lopes' lead stayed at 3-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning, when junior pinch-hitter Alina Satcher led off with a single. Satcher mostly has pinch-hit this season but leads the team with a .455 batting average that includes seven-extra base hits and 16 RBIs in 22 at bats.

GCU sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond and McCray followed Satcher with two more singles. An error, a passed ball, McCray's second stolen base and a wild pitch pushed the Lopes' lead to 6-0.

Phoenix, AZ - February 26, 2026, GCU Softball wins 6-0 over Minnesota at GCU Softball Stadium. (Photo by Brayden Stenner/GCU).

McCray had GCU's only multi-hit game Thursday, going 2 for 4 to lift her season batting average to .360 after hitting .326 last season. In taking over the leadoff spot after star Savannah Kirk's season-ending injury, McCray has posted an on-base percentage of .467 (up from .386 last season) and gone 10 for 10 on stolen base attempts.

"The name of the game tonight was Taryn and Syd," Hays said. "Syd started stirring the pot. She has stepped up bigtime, but she had already done that in the fall. Syd had really matured and worked on things that we talked about. We were so excited to have her and Savannah at the top of the lineup. We're not going to get to do that, but Syd's been really good and not forced things. She's been a big leader for our team."

The Lopes return to GCU Softball Stadium for a 4 p.m. Friday doubleheader that starts against CSU Bakersfield before a 7 p.m. nightcap against their toughest opponent yet, Wisconsin, which is 11-3 with five shutouts. At 17-0, GCU has far surpassed the previous record of 10-0 for best start by a Mountain West softball program.