Completed Event: Softball versus Boise State on April 11, 2026 , Win , 6, to, 1
Softball
vs Boise State
W 6-1
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, February 27
Phoenix, Ariz.
4 p.m.
Grand Canyon
18-0
13
vs
5
CSU Bakersfield
2-15
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSU Bakersfield | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| Grand Canyon | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | X | 13 | 11 | 1 |
Photo by: Jayden Todd
Close win over Wisconsin brings GCU to 19-0
2/27/2026 11:15:00 PM | Softball
Lopes score 22 runs on 27 hits in Friday doubleheader
Grand Canyon added another two wins to its historic start of the season Friday with a run-rule victory over Cal State Bakersfield and a 9-8 nightcap over Wisconsin at GCU Softball Stadium.
The Lopes bats exploded for 22 runs on 27 hits over the two games. GCU sits at 19-0, just four wins from tying the program-record win streak of 23 games, set last season. Grand Canyon is one of four undefeated teams in the nation after Florida fell to UCLA earlier Friday.
Senior right-hander Maggie Place went just three innings in her start, only allowing a run. Thanks to the three-inning requirement for a win in a five-inning game, Place moved to 3-0 with a pair of strikeouts.
The top of the lineup was the story of the day offensively, as senior center fielder Sydney McCray and freshman second baseman Raegan Holtorf manufactured and finished off many big innings for the Lopes. In the bottom of the first, McCray walked, stole second and scored on an amazing hustle play. McCray easily moved to third on Holtorf's perfect bunt that ended up being a hit, but McCray never broke stride around third and barely slid home safely for the first run.
"All I want to do is get on base and grab extra bases for my team," McCray said. "I want to let my speed do the talking. I can go on a slump at the plate, but my speed will never slump."
McCray tallied four stolen bases in Friday's two games, bringing her season total to 13 without being caught.
Holtorf's bunt single in the first would not end up being overlooked, as she added hits in the second and third innings as well. She doubled with two outs and runners on second and third to score two in the second inning. She homered in the third inning, scoring McCray with each RBI hit.Â
The big fly was Holtorf's second of the season, and she finished Friday's first game with four RBIs.
"Hitting behind Syd makes life so much easier for me," Holtorf said. "She frees me up by always getting on base and usually getting to second base. I just want to do what my team needs from me in those situations. Whether that is bunting or moving her closer to home with a ground ball."
GCU senior Emily Gonzalez added an RBI double in the second inning on the heels of the Holtorf double. Gonzalez had one RBI double in each game Friday.
Sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond hammered her second home run of the year just batters before Holtorf's. The three-run tank was the highlight of the Salt Lake Community College transfer's 2-for-2 game against Bakersfield.
Pond added another hit in the nightcap with Wisconsin. Despite a slower start at the plate, the night's events brought Pond's batting average to .333 on the season.
Maybe the biggest highlights of Game 1 were three players' first career collegiate hits. In the fourth inning, sophomore Briah Williams and freshmen McKinsey Beyer and Izzy Rueda all picked up their first hits of their promising young careers.
Freshmen Lilly Camp and Abi Jones finished the game out in the circle.
The Badgers made a game out of it, as another fast start by GCU seemingly had the game all but wrapped up in the third inning.
In the first inning, Wisconsin walked and earned two hits off GCU starter Natalie Fritz, scoring the game's opening run. It was just the second time all season the Lopes allowed a run in the first inning.
GCU responded in the best way it could have, scoring three in the bottom half. Singles from the McCray and Holtorf led to the Gonzalez RBI double. Sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper picked up an RBI groundout before freshman left fielder Addison Shifflett doubled in the third run.
Shifflett went 2 for 2 in Game 1Â with her first career triple and a double. Her hit in Game 2 gave her three on the evening and boosted her team-best batting average to .442.
The Lopes tallied a season-best 16 hits against Wisconsin, the first time GCU had done so since its road series in Utah Valley last season.
McCray went 4 for 4 at the top of the lineup with three singles and a double to deep left field.
"I worked super hard on swinging away in the fall," McCray said. "To see that hard work is a great feeling and helps me be the multi-dimensional player I want to be."
"Syd was dominant today and last night," GCU head coach Shanon Hays said. "Hopefully, she keeps doing what she does. She has been hitting the ball at a phenomenal rate, but I also think of her as one of the best base runners in the country."
McCray is hitting .400 through 19 games, leading the team in hits with 22.
Shortstop Haley Wilkinson snagged the first three-hit game of her career, scoring two runs Friday night.
One of her hits was a leadoff double in the second, where she immediately came around to score on McCray's RBI double.
The third inning saw catcher Tinley Lucas' first long ball of the season, an absolute bomb to left-center field. Lucas had two hits on the game with three RBIs.
Wisconsin, trailing 7-2 heading into the fourth inning, showed tons of fight. The Badgers scored three runs the next inning and another three in the sixth inning to reduce GCU's lead to 9-8 behind catcher Hilary Blomberg's second homer of the night.
The Lopes pitched by committee, with sophomore Oakley Vickers earning the win due to her 2 1/3 relief innings behind Fritz's one inning start. Jones entered in the fourth, while senior Taryn Batterton, despite trouble in the sixth, closed the door on Wisconsin's upset aspirations.
No. 25 GCU (19-0) returns to action against Eastern Illinois and UC Riverside on Saturday evening at GCU Softball Stadium.
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The Lopes bats exploded for 22 runs on 27 hits over the two games. GCU sits at 19-0, just four wins from tying the program-record win streak of 23 games, set last season. Grand Canyon is one of four undefeated teams in the nation after Florida fell to UCLA earlier Friday.
GCU 13, CSU Bakersfield 5
The Lopes dominated the Roadrunners from start to finish, scoring five runs in the second and third innings, before giving their young players some action in the field and at the plate.Senior right-hander Maggie Place went just three innings in her start, only allowing a run. Thanks to the three-inning requirement for a win in a five-inning game, Place moved to 3-0 with a pair of strikeouts.
The top of the lineup was the story of the day offensively, as senior center fielder Sydney McCray and freshman second baseman Raegan Holtorf manufactured and finished off many big innings for the Lopes. In the bottom of the first, McCray walked, stole second and scored on an amazing hustle play. McCray easily moved to third on Holtorf's perfect bunt that ended up being a hit, but McCray never broke stride around third and barely slid home safely for the first run.
"All I want to do is get on base and grab extra bases for my team," McCray said. "I want to let my speed do the talking. I can go on a slump at the plate, but my speed will never slump."
McCray tallied four stolen bases in Friday's two games, bringing her season total to 13 without being caught.
Holtorf's bunt single in the first would not end up being overlooked, as she added hits in the second and third innings as well. She doubled with two outs and runners on second and third to score two in the second inning. She homered in the third inning, scoring McCray with each RBI hit.Â
The big fly was Holtorf's second of the season, and she finished Friday's first game with four RBIs.
"Hitting behind Syd makes life so much easier for me," Holtorf said. "She frees me up by always getting on base and usually getting to second base. I just want to do what my team needs from me in those situations. Whether that is bunting or moving her closer to home with a ground ball."
GCU senior Emily Gonzalez added an RBI double in the second inning on the heels of the Holtorf double. Gonzalez had one RBI double in each game Friday.
Sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond hammered her second home run of the year just batters before Holtorf's. The three-run tank was the highlight of the Salt Lake Community College transfer's 2-for-2 game against Bakersfield.
Pond added another hit in the nightcap with Wisconsin. Despite a slower start at the plate, the night's events brought Pond's batting average to .333 on the season.
Maybe the biggest highlights of Game 1 were three players' first career collegiate hits. In the fourth inning, sophomore Briah Williams and freshmen McKinsey Beyer and Izzy Rueda all picked up their first hits of their promising young careers.
Freshmen Lilly Camp and Abi Jones finished the game out in the circle.
GCU 9, Wisconsin 8Â
The nightcap brought long balls, hits galore and late-game intensity.The Badgers made a game out of it, as another fast start by GCU seemingly had the game all but wrapped up in the third inning.
In the first inning, Wisconsin walked and earned two hits off GCU starter Natalie Fritz, scoring the game's opening run. It was just the second time all season the Lopes allowed a run in the first inning.
GCU responded in the best way it could have, scoring three in the bottom half. Singles from the McCray and Holtorf led to the Gonzalez RBI double. Sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper picked up an RBI groundout before freshman left fielder Addison Shifflett doubled in the third run.
Shifflett went 2 for 2 in Game 1Â with her first career triple and a double. Her hit in Game 2 gave her three on the evening and boosted her team-best batting average to .442.
The Lopes tallied a season-best 16 hits against Wisconsin, the first time GCU had done so since its road series in Utah Valley last season.
McCray went 4 for 4 at the top of the lineup with three singles and a double to deep left field.
"I worked super hard on swinging away in the fall," McCray said. "To see that hard work is a great feeling and helps me be the multi-dimensional player I want to be."
"Syd was dominant today and last night," GCU head coach Shanon Hays said. "Hopefully, she keeps doing what she does. She has been hitting the ball at a phenomenal rate, but I also think of her as one of the best base runners in the country."
McCray is hitting .400 through 19 games, leading the team in hits with 22.
Shortstop Haley Wilkinson snagged the first three-hit game of her career, scoring two runs Friday night.
One of her hits was a leadoff double in the second, where she immediately came around to score on McCray's RBI double.
The third inning saw catcher Tinley Lucas' first long ball of the season, an absolute bomb to left-center field. Lucas had two hits on the game with three RBIs.
Wisconsin, trailing 7-2 heading into the fourth inning, showed tons of fight. The Badgers scored three runs the next inning and another three in the sixth inning to reduce GCU's lead to 9-8 behind catcher Hilary Blomberg's second homer of the night.
The Lopes pitched by committee, with sophomore Oakley Vickers earning the win due to her 2 1/3 relief innings behind Fritz's one inning start. Jones entered in the fourth, while senior Taryn Batterton, despite trouble in the sixth, closed the door on Wisconsin's upset aspirations.
No. 25 GCU (19-0) returns to action against Eastern Illinois and UC Riverside on Saturday evening at GCU Softball Stadium.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Place, Maggie (3-0)
L: Estrada, Amber (0-5)
Batting:
2B: Narvaiz, Mari 1 ; Sanchez, Jillian 1
RBI: Narvaiz, Mari 1 ; Castro, Alexia 1 ; Castillo, Anahi 1 ; Barella, Erika 1 ; Marquez, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Harrison, Aariana 1 ; Garcia, Hannah 1 ; McDanell, Alexandra 1 ; Eaton, Jayda 1 ; Visser, Kayla 1
HBP: Eaton, Jayda 1
Batting:
2B: Holtorf, Raegan 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 1 ; Gonzalez, Emily 1
3B: Shifflett, Addison 1
HR: Holtorf, Raegan 1 ; Pond, Ellie 1
RBI: Holtorf, Raegan 4 ; Wilkinson, Haley 1 ; Pond, Ellie 3 ; Williams, Briah 1 ; Gonzalez, Emily 1 ; Satcher, Alina 1
SH: Campbell, Sarah 1
SF: Satcher, Alina 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Martin, Trinity 1 ; Holtorf, Raegan 2 ; Wilkinson, Haley 1 ; Rueda, Izzy 1 ; Pond, Ellie 1 ; Beyer, McKinsey 1 ; Campbell, Sarah 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 2 ; McCray, Sydney 3
SB: McCray, Sydney 3
CS: Holtorf, Raegan 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UTIL
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballUTIL
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
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