Big innings, stout pitching lead Lopes to 27-0

Saturday, March 7

San Diego, Calif.

11 a.m.

Grand Canyon

26-0

Princeton

5-5

Grand Canyon

Princeton

Photo by: Braden Dohrmann

3/7/2026 9:22:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GCU sweeps San Diego Classic with 5 wins over 3 days

By: Braden Dohrmann

SAN DIEGO — Grand Canyon posted a pivotal four-run inning in each game of Saturday's doubleheader, propelling the Lopes to 27-0 on the season with a five-game sweep of the San Diego Classic.

Back-to-back-to-back home runs in Saturday's first win over Princeton highlighted the day, as GCU once again showed resilience amid late-game deficits.

"It was a great weekend for us," Lopes head coach Shanon Hays said. "It is always tough on the road, but glad we got to experience what we did before conference play."

GCU 7, Princeton 4

The Lopes outhit Princeton 12-2 but found themselves in the scariest spot of the season when they trailed 4-1 heading into the sixth inning.

GCU did jump out to an early lead in the top of the first when sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper walked and advanced to second base on a wild pitch, before Emily Gonzalez hit a deep drive to left field that went off the wall, scoring Cooper.

In the second inning, Morgan Campbell earned her first career collegiate hit with a base hit to left field. Campbell had five prior pinch-hit at-bats, but was yet to scratch across a hit. Not only did she get on in her first AB of her first start in left field, but she followed it up with another later in the game.

Oakley Vickers started in the circle, throwing a clean three innings of ball to start the game. In the fourth, chaos ensued allowing the Tigers to eventually score four runs in the inning. Vickers exited the circle for freshman Abi Jones after a single and hit by pitch to start the inning.

Jones immediately plunked a batter herself, loading up the bases with no outs. From there, Jones did not give up any hard contact, but the defense did not do her any favors behind her. The first two Princeton runs came around to score on a Haley Wilkinson fielding error, where she could have minimally gotten one out at second base.

Three ground balls later, the Lopes only managed two outs and two more runs scored.

Jones seemingly cemented herself as the go-to cleanup reliever this weekend, first in relief in four of the five games and starting the fifth. She pitched 11.1 innings on the weekend, just one out shy of the clubhouse leader Oakley Vickers.

The big inning came in the top of the sixth. Cooper started the inning with a ground out and luckily for the Lopes, senior Emily Gonzalez's hard ground ball to shortstop was misplayed and too hot to handle, getting Gonzalez on base with an out.

Freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett worked a full count and hit an opposite field home run to bring the Lopes within one run. Junior catcher Tinley Lucas followed her up with a bomb of her own to straight center field on a hitter's 2-0 count. The Lucas homer tied the game at 4-4 and was her second long ball of the year.

Graduate left fielder Trinity Martin took her first game starting on the bench personally, with a swing that topped both Shifflett's and Lucas's. Martin pinch hit in the fourth and flew out, but Hays stuck with her in the sixth and it worked out quite well.

On a 2-2 count, Martin turned on a curve and hit an absolute no-doubter to deep right field. The entire dugout erupted off contact, as the momentum and score had quickly changed in the Lopes favor.

GCU added a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to three runs. After a lead off single from Cooper, freshman outfielder McKinsey Beyer pinch ran. Shifflett scored her rather quickly smoking a triple to right center field. Shifflett scored on a re-entered Morgan Campbell RBI single that was lost in the sun by the Princeton infielders.

Vickers re-entered in the fifth inning and closed the game out by retiring the final nine batters in the final three innings. She moved to 8-0 on the season with just a 1.34 ERA and 51 punch outs.

GCU 5, Notre Dame 4

After starting the day at USD Softball Complex, the team immediately bussed over to SDSU Softball Stadium to face Notre Dame for the second time in as many days.

The Fighting Irish jumped on starting pitcher Taryn Batterton early. A double and single, put runners on first and third with just one out. In a classic first and third situation, the Notre Dame runner on first purposefully got caught between first and second. Wilkinson at short received the ball from Lucas and ran the runner back towards first base. She however not only got the ball to Cooper at first too late, but the runner at third scored on the throw.

The Lopes answered right back with a Sydney McCray triple to right-center field that was followed up by a Raegan Holtorf RBI single. The freshman second baseman would not be done driving runs in.

After a walk and Gonzalez sacrifice bunt brought runners to second and third with one out, the Lopes seemed primed to take a first inning lead. However, Shifflett and Lucas struck out to end the inning tied at one.

Notre Dame broke the tie in the top of the third inning when ND's Ava Zachary hit a solo shot to center. McCray in center, lived up to her former MLB dad's nickname "Crash" McCay going for a robbery of the long ball. The senior came inches from the robbery, but crashed hard into the wall with her glove also flying over the wall in center.

McCray had the wind knocked out of her to put it lightly and exited the game for the time being. She was replaced by Morgan Campbell.

GCU's four-run inning came in the fourth inning of game two, thanks to two big hits. After a Shifflett walk and steal and Lucas reaching on a fielder's choice, Martin one of the heroes of game one returned to the plate. Martin pulled a 2-0 pitch down the line just barely sneaking fair. The graduate strolled around the bases for her first triple as a Lope, scoring two in the process.

McCray, now feeling ready to get back in the action, re-entered after two consecutive outs had kept Martin stranded at third base. She walked on a ball in the dirt that Martin almost went home for. Deciding it was not meant to be, Trinity sprinted back to third base and slid in safely. McCray of course grabbed the extra base, moving to second on the throw.

Holtorf came through with what would end up being two very important runs, singling to left field on a 3-1 count and scoring Martin and the speedy, banged up McCray. The Lopes led 5-2 after four innings.

Holtorf had another big-time week in the two hole, hitting .444 with a .474 on-base percentage. She is hitting .360 on the season, a huge replacement at second base for Savannah Kirk this season.

Abi Jones, who entered the game for Batterton in the third inning after the home run, worked the Notre Dame lineup efficiently through the sixth inning. She pitched seven ground ball outs in that time.

Jones ran into trouble in the seventh, with the first two batters getting on base. Hays turned to Vickers to close the game out and get the final three outs.

She allowed an RBI single and the Fighting Irish managed to scratch across their fourth run in another first and third scenario, but they fell short a run. Vickers earned her second save of the season.

The GCU pitching staff had five different players throw a minimum of five innings on the weekend.

At 27-0, Grand Canyon has the most wins in the nation and remains one of three undefeated teams in the country, as they enter Mountain West play for the first time.

They will begin their conference season in Alburquerque, with a three-game set at New Mexico, starting Friday, March 13.

"Going to New Mexico is going to be tough," said Hays. "They are pitching it well right now, just allowing one run to a ranked Mississippi State team last night, so we know it will be a goof challenge for us."