Martin stays hot; Lopes get to 10-0 in MW

Thursday, April 2

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

37-2, 10-0

Nevada

24-13, 6-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Nevada	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	8	0
Grand Canyon	0	1	2	0	1	0	X	4	8	0

Photo by: Kaily Green

4/2/2026 11:10:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Win gives Grand Canyon 4-game lead on rest of conference

By: Braden Dohrmann

Grand Canyon improved its conference lead to four games after taking down second-place Nevada 4-3 on Thursday night at GCU Softball Stadium.

GCU (37-2, 10-0 MW) won thanks to the long ball, as GCU hit two home runs to take leads at different points in the game. The Lopes also received 4 1/3 innings of solid relief work from freshman Abi Jones, the reigning MW Freshman of the Week.

Jones has three wins in the last four games, moving to 6-1 in her freshman campaign with only one start.

Grand Canyon struck first in an expected pitchers' duel between each team's best starter this season. The Lopes began with sophomore left-hander Oakley Vickers, who leads the team in ERA and has the best record (10-1) in the conference. Nevada threw its ace. Tess Bumiller.

Senior designated player Emily Gonzalez powered an opposite-field blast over the right-field wall to give the Lopes a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Nevada answered with a solo shot in the next half inning. Wolf Pack leadoff batter Madison Clark reached on an infield single on a high-chopping slap that she was able to beat with her speed. She then stole second, making her way to third on an errant throw from junior catcher Tinley Lucas. The sequence was eerily similar to GCU injured star Savannah Kirk's seemingly daily sequence in 2025.

The difference was Grand Canyon's bench challenged that Clark left early from first on the steal attempt. Thei challenge was correct and Clark was called out. The call saved a run when Hannah Di Genova, the MW home run leader, hit a line drive that barely made its way over the center-field fence to knot the game at 1-1.

GCU answered back in the form of Trinity Martin, as the graduate left fielder hit a moonshot to right field, scoring two and delivering the Lopes a 3-1 lead. Martin leads the team in home runs (11), hitting clean-up Thursday for the first time this season. She has seven home runs in the last seven conference games.

"Trin made some really good adjustments," Lopes head coach Shanon Hays said. "She has such talent and pop, so to see it coming together has been really fun to watch."

Martin added the Lopes fourth and final run two innings later, lasering a double to left-center field to score center fielder Sydney McCray from second base after the senior earned her second stolen base of the game.

McCray is 24 for 24 on stolen base attempts this season, giving her the most steals in the country without being caught.

Nevada provided a late scare in the top of the seventh, when Clark hit through the GCU defensive shift that put freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett at first base as a fifth infielder, leaving right field empty. It is a defensive shift that the Lopes have used double-digit times successfully this season.

Clark was the first batter to beat it with a hard ground ball through the right side that reached the wall and gave her a stand-up RBI triple. Clark scored the third run on a Katelyn Wetteland RBI single.

With two outs and the tying run on first base, the Lopes went to senior Taryn Batterton for the final out and she delivered. Batterton queued up a strikeout looking, giving GCU the win.

"I thought we hit the ball hard and truthfully should have put a couple more runs on the board tonight," Hays said. "Luckily, our pitching showed up against a great hitting team. Any time you can be 10-0 in a league like this, you have to be proud of your girls and how they consistently find ways to win."

Grand Canyon and Nevada are right back at it Friday at 7 p.m. for Game 2 of the conference series at GCU Softball Stadium. The game can be watched on Arizona's Family Sports or MW Network.