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 6
Phoenix, Ariz.
4 p.m.
Grand Canyon
1-0
17
vs
2
Southern Utah
0-4
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Southern Utah
0
0
0
2
0
2
3
2
Grand Canyon
5
3
1
8
17
14
2
Photo by: Jayden Todd
Lopes take 2 in sold-out home opener
2/6/2026 11:35:00 PM | Softball
GCU's Satcher belts 2 HRs, totals 7 RBIs in 1st win vs. Southern Utah
With GCU Softball Stadium at capacity, host Grand Canyon came and conquered on Opening Day with a 17-2, five-inning throttling of Southern Utah and a 3-0 victory over Weber State on Friday night.
New Lopes starters Alina Satcher and Haley Wilkinson each hit a pair of home runs to lead the charge, while senior ace Taryn Batterton threw a complete-game shutout in the shutout nightcap to earn her first win.
The first inning began with GCU center fielder Sydney McCray's double over the head of the Thunderbirds left fielder, one of the senior's three hits in the opener. After the Lopes loaded the bases with a couple walks and a fielder's choice, junior two-way player Alina Satcher sent one out of the park for a grand slam.Â
Satcher, who primarily pinch-hit for the Lopes last season, had never started a college game at the plate or in the circle. She made the most of it, following her grand slam with a two-run shot in the bottom half of the second inning.
Her multi-homer performance and a fourth-inning RBI double gave Satcher seven RBIs, the most by a GCU player under fifth-year Lopes head coach Shanon Hays. The last Lope with a seven-RBI game was by Savannah Tourville against CSU Bakersfield in 2019.
"Alina has waited here two years to be inserted in the lineup and has really developed and matured," Hays said. "It really is not a huge surprise the success she had today, she has been doing it all fall and early this spring. Excited to see what she continues to do for us in the middle of the lineup."
GCU junior shortstop Mackenzie Nolan joined McCray and Satcher in the three-hit club in Game 1, hitting her first career collegiate long ball in the third inning to extend the league. Her single in the first inning also scored a run.
Nolan added some nice plays defensively in Game 2 vs. Weber State, with a diving grab to her right in the six-hole and a nifty, glove-flip play to her left to end an inning.
"We are counting on Mack to step up as a leader by her actions and her play," Hays said. "Especially with Sav (Savannah Kirk) out, she is a crucial part of our success on both sides of the ball."
In the bottom of the fourth inning, GCU added eight more runs, a feat it had not accomplished February of last season, when GCU run-ruled new Mountain West foe Utah State 10-2 in Phoenix.
Lopes sophomore left-hander Oakley Vickers got the start in the home opener, going 2 2/3 innings. She struck out three and just allowed a single in the start. Natalie Fritz, the sophomore transfer from New Mexico and a Chandler, Arizona native, took the next 1 1/3 innings and earned the win despite allowing the lone runs for the Thunderbirds.
GCU freshman Abi Jones made her collegiate debut with a perfect fifth inning in just 10 pitches to end the game.
Hays is 5-0 in season openers at Grand Canyon.GCU 3, Weber State 0
Lopes senior Taryn Batterton went the distance, pitching a seven-inning, complete-game shutout. She struck out eight batters, only giving up three hits on the night. The performance was just a day removed from her breakout performance in 2025, when she threw a five-inning no-hitter vs. Colgate.
Since that moment, Batterton has received all-conference and all-region honors, leaving her as the leader of the ever-dangerous GCU pitching staff.
"When the senior is rolling like that, you do not take her out," Hays said. "Her velocity was the same in the seventh inning as it was in the first, and the game was close. No way I was going away from Taryn tonight."
The Lopes struck again in the first inning with a McCray single to start the game. The senior speedster scored easily on a Trinity Martin double to left-center field, marking the graduate transfer's first hit as a Lope. The former Virginia Tech Hokie later just missed a homer, getting under it just enough for the Wildcats right fielder to take care of it at the warning track.
The fourth inning provided GCU insurance at the hands of Haley Wilkinson, the redshirt freshman infielder who packed a punch in the doubleheader. Wilkinson, who was hurt for most of the 2025 season, started at third base in both games on the evening, hitting a home run in each game.
Her two-run shot in the nightcap put the Lopes ahead 3-0 and nearly went over the massive net behind the right-field wall.
"It was good to get my confidence back after being out for about a year," Wilkinson said. "I certainly did not expect to hit two home runs today, but I was just trying to hit the ball hard on a line and on the ground, and the game rewards you when you do that."
With many positions seemingly up for grabs going into the season, Wilkinson made quite the case for her being somewhere in the lineup moving forward.
Grand Canyon gets right back at it Saturday with a 1:15 p.m. first pitch vs. Southern Utah and a 4 p.m. start against Santa Clara.
Santa Clara went 2-0 Friday and will seek revenge for its loss to GCUÂ in last season's NCAA Tucson Regional.
"We know Santa Clara is a very good team," Hays said. "They are seasoned and want to get us back for last postseason, so we need to be ready to go."
Â
New Lopes starters Alina Satcher and Haley Wilkinson each hit a pair of home runs to lead the charge, while senior ace Taryn Batterton threw a complete-game shutout in the shutout nightcap to earn her first win.
GCU 17, Southern Utah 2 (5 innings)
The Lopes got rolling offensively early and often, scoring in each of the four innings, including five runs in the first and eight more in the fourth to launch the Lopes into a run-rule scenario.The first inning began with GCU center fielder Sydney McCray's double over the head of the Thunderbirds left fielder, one of the senior's three hits in the opener. After the Lopes loaded the bases with a couple walks and a fielder's choice, junior two-way player Alina Satcher sent one out of the park for a grand slam.Â
Satcher, who primarily pinch-hit for the Lopes last season, had never started a college game at the plate or in the circle. She made the most of it, following her grand slam with a two-run shot in the bottom half of the second inning.
Her multi-homer performance and a fourth-inning RBI double gave Satcher seven RBIs, the most by a GCU player under fifth-year Lopes head coach Shanon Hays. The last Lope with a seven-RBI game was by Savannah Tourville against CSU Bakersfield in 2019.
"Alina has waited here two years to be inserted in the lineup and has really developed and matured," Hays said. "It really is not a huge surprise the success she had today, she has been doing it all fall and early this spring. Excited to see what she continues to do for us in the middle of the lineup."
GCU junior shortstop Mackenzie Nolan joined McCray and Satcher in the three-hit club in Game 1, hitting her first career collegiate long ball in the third inning to extend the league. Her single in the first inning also scored a run.
Nolan added some nice plays defensively in Game 2 vs. Weber State, with a diving grab to her right in the six-hole and a nifty, glove-flip play to her left to end an inning.
"We are counting on Mack to step up as a leader by her actions and her play," Hays said. "Especially with Sav (Savannah Kirk) out, she is a crucial part of our success on both sides of the ball."
In the bottom of the fourth inning, GCU added eight more runs, a feat it had not accomplished February of last season, when GCU run-ruled new Mountain West foe Utah State 10-2 in Phoenix.
Lopes sophomore left-hander Oakley Vickers got the start in the home opener, going 2 2/3 innings. She struck out three and just allowed a single in the start. Natalie Fritz, the sophomore transfer from New Mexico and a Chandler, Arizona native, took the next 1 1/3 innings and earned the win despite allowing the lone runs for the Thunderbirds.
GCU freshman Abi Jones made her collegiate debut with a perfect fifth inning in just 10 pitches to end the game.
Hays is 5-0 in season openers at Grand Canyon.
GCU 3, Weber State 0
The Lopes' win over Weber State was done in a much different way, as pitching took center stage in front of the sold-out crowd of GCU Softball Stadium.
Lopes senior Taryn Batterton went the distance, pitching a seven-inning, complete-game shutout. She struck out eight batters, only giving up three hits on the night. The performance was just a day removed from her breakout performance in 2025, when she threw a five-inning no-hitter vs. Colgate.Since that moment, Batterton has received all-conference and all-region honors, leaving her as the leader of the ever-dangerous GCU pitching staff.
"When the senior is rolling like that, you do not take her out," Hays said. "Her velocity was the same in the seventh inning as it was in the first, and the game was close. No way I was going away from Taryn tonight."
The Lopes struck again in the first inning with a McCray single to start the game. The senior speedster scored easily on a Trinity Martin double to left-center field, marking the graduate transfer's first hit as a Lope. The former Virginia Tech Hokie later just missed a homer, getting under it just enough for the Wildcats right fielder to take care of it at the warning track.
The fourth inning provided GCU insurance at the hands of Haley Wilkinson, the redshirt freshman infielder who packed a punch in the doubleheader. Wilkinson, who was hurt for most of the 2025 season, started at third base in both games on the evening, hitting a home run in each game.
Her two-run shot in the nightcap put the Lopes ahead 3-0 and nearly went over the massive net behind the right-field wall.
"It was good to get my confidence back after being out for about a year," Wilkinson said. "I certainly did not expect to hit two home runs today, but I was just trying to hit the ball hard on a line and on the ground, and the game rewards you when you do that."
With many positions seemingly up for grabs going into the season, Wilkinson made quite the case for her being somewhere in the lineup moving forward.
Grand Canyon gets right back at it Saturday with a 1:15 p.m. first pitch vs. Southern Utah and a 4 p.m. start against Santa Clara.
Santa Clara went 2-0 Friday and will seek revenge for its loss to GCUÂ in last season's NCAA Tucson Regional.
"We know Santa Clara is a very good team," Hays said. "They are seasoned and want to get us back for last postseason, so we need to be ready to go."
Â
Team Stats
Batting:
3B: Becerra, McKenzy 1
RBI: Knight, Isabella 1 ; Salvatierra, Michaella 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Munoz, Kassidy 1 ; Becerra, McKenzy 1
SB: Toscano, Alayah 1
HBP: Knight, Isabella 1
Batting:
2B: Satcher, Alina 1 ; McCray, Sydney 2
HR: Nolan, Mackenzie 1 ; Satcher, Alina 2 ; Wilkinson, Haley 1
RBI: Martin, Trinity 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 1 ; Gonzalez, Emily 1 ; Nolan, Mackenzie 2 ; Satcher, Alina 7 ; Wilkinson, Haley 3 ; McCray, Sydney 1
SF: Gonzalez, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Martin, Trinity 2 ; Williams, Briah 1 ; Campbell, Morgan 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 1 ; Gonzalez, Emily 1 ; Nolan, Mackenzie 2 ; Satcher, Alina 3 ; Wilkinson, Haley 2 ; Rueda, Izzy 1 ; Pond, Ellie 1 ; McCray, Sydney 2
SB: Shifflett, Addison 1 ; McCray, Sydney 1
HBP: Martin, Trinity 2
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
7
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
IF
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