Completed Event: Softball at Colorado State on May 2, 2026 , Win , 11, to, 2 , (5 inn.)
Softball
at Colorado State
W 11-2
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, April 30
Fort Collins, Colo.
5 p.m.
Grand Canyon
46-7
10
at
5
Colorado State
23-25
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 0 |
| Colorado State | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
Photo by: Braden Dohrmann
Lopes win, clinch MW regular-season title
4/30/2026 10:29:00 PM | Softball
GCU wins conference title in 1st year in Mountain West
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Friday night's Grand Canyon win at Colorado State will be remembered for a long time. Not only within GCU softball, but for the Lopes' athletic department.
With a 10-5 victory and a loss by second-place Nevada minutes later, the Lopes clinched the first Mountain West championship in school history.
GCU's fourth consecutive regular-season championship, following three WAC titles, locks up the No. 1 seed in next week's Mountain West Championship. The tournament will take place in Reno, Nevada, home to second- or third-place Nevada.
Tjhe Lopes' first responsibility in the two-part clinch scenario was a series-opening win in Fort Collins. GCU(46-7, 19-4 MW) scored 10 runs on 14 hits thanks to a full-team effort. The entire starting lineup earned a hit for just the second time this season.
Senior designated player Emily Gonzalez must have sensed that the month of May was near, as she went yard twice in the contest. Both were solo shots, one to give GCU a 1-0 lead in the second and the other to reclaim the lead at 4-3 in the fifth. Gonzalez showed the ability to heat up late in the season last year when she homered in two of three NCAA Regional games and in the WAC Tournament championship.
"Gonzo" now has 11 home runs this season, nearing last year's total of 13. Her 24 homers at Grand Canyon ties her for third in GCU's Division I history. Camree Wartman also hit 24 over her four-year Lopes career from 2014-17.
The Lopes held a 3-0 lead that was erased in the third inning. Starting pitcher Natalie Fritz threw two clean innings to begin the game before Colorado State's Jailey Wilson tied the game with a deep drive to left field. Fritz went 2 1/3 innings pitched, just allowing two hits and striking out three.
Oakley Vickers entered in relief, eventually earning the win. The sophomore left-hander was dominant over three innings, striking out six before she also was chased out by a Rams two-run shot. Vickers is 12-4 this season with a team-best four saves.
After Gonzalez put the Lopes ahead 4-3 in the fifth inning, Grand Canyon's lineup was far from done. Junior catcher Tinley Lucas and freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett added singles before sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond walked, loading the bases with two outs for junior shortstop Mackenzie Nolan.
Nolan ripped a line-drive single into right-center field to score two more runs and extend the GCU lead to 6-3.
In the sixth inning, graduate left fielder Trinity Martin smoked a RBI triple before she scored on a Lucas bloop single. Martin has three triples on the year, while Lucas led the team with three hits Friday and is hitting .380 in 19 conference starts.
After the Rams (23-25, 11-12 MW) tightened the score to 8-5 in the sixth, GCU extended the ead to 10-5 five on sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper's two-RBI double. Cooper drew three walks Friday, adding to her program single-season record with 41 walks on the year. That is tied for the 16th most in the nation this season.
Grand Canyon locked up the No. 1 seed and regular-season title in the Mountain West but still has much to play for on Friday and Saturday to finish out the regular-season schedule.
Ranked No. 31 in RPI with the nation's third-most wins, the Lopes will look to continue to improve their resume as the NCAA Tournament looms two weeks away.
With a 10-5 victory and a loss by second-place Nevada minutes later, the Lopes clinched the first Mountain West championship in school history.
GCU's fourth consecutive regular-season championship, following three WAC titles, locks up the No. 1 seed in next week's Mountain West Championship. The tournament will take place in Reno, Nevada, home to second- or third-place Nevada.
Tjhe Lopes' first responsibility in the two-part clinch scenario was a series-opening win in Fort Collins. GCU(46-7, 19-4 MW) scored 10 runs on 14 hits thanks to a full-team effort. The entire starting lineup earned a hit for just the second time this season.
Senior designated player Emily Gonzalez must have sensed that the month of May was near, as she went yard twice in the contest. Both were solo shots, one to give GCU a 1-0 lead in the second and the other to reclaim the lead at 4-3 in the fifth. Gonzalez showed the ability to heat up late in the season last year when she homered in two of three NCAA Regional games and in the WAC Tournament championship.
"Gonzo" now has 11 home runs this season, nearing last year's total of 13. Her 24 homers at Grand Canyon ties her for third in GCU's Division I history. Camree Wartman also hit 24 over her four-year Lopes career from 2014-17.
The Lopes held a 3-0 lead that was erased in the third inning. Starting pitcher Natalie Fritz threw two clean innings to begin the game before Colorado State's Jailey Wilson tied the game with a deep drive to left field. Fritz went 2 1/3 innings pitched, just allowing two hits and striking out three.
Oakley Vickers entered in relief, eventually earning the win. The sophomore left-hander was dominant over three innings, striking out six before she also was chased out by a Rams two-run shot. Vickers is 12-4 this season with a team-best four saves.
After Gonzalez put the Lopes ahead 4-3 in the fifth inning, Grand Canyon's lineup was far from done. Junior catcher Tinley Lucas and freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett added singles before sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond walked, loading the bases with two outs for junior shortstop Mackenzie Nolan.
Nolan ripped a line-drive single into right-center field to score two more runs and extend the GCU lead to 6-3.
In the sixth inning, graduate left fielder Trinity Martin smoked a RBI triple before she scored on a Lucas bloop single. Martin has three triples on the year, while Lucas led the team with three hits Friday and is hitting .380 in 19 conference starts.
After the Rams (23-25, 11-12 MW) tightened the score to 8-5 in the sixth, GCU extended the ead to 10-5 five on sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper's two-RBI double. Cooper drew three walks Friday, adding to her program single-season record with 41 walks on the year. That is tied for the 16th most in the nation this season.
Grand Canyon locked up the No. 1 seed and regular-season title in the Mountain West but still has much to play for on Friday and Saturday to finish out the regular-season schedule.
Ranked No. 31 in RPI with the nation's third-most wins, the Lopes will look to continue to improve their resume as the NCAA Tournament looms two weeks away.
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓. 🏆
— GCU Softball (@GCU_Softball) May 1, 2026
History made. In the Lopes' first season in the @MountainWest, GCU wins the regular-season championship. pic.twitter.com/OhZzXornOA
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vickers, Oakley (12-4)
L: Bentley, Giselle (8-10)
Batting:
2B: Lucas, Tinley 1 ; Cooper, Jada 1
3B: Martin, Trinity 1
HR: Gonzalez, Emily 2
RBI: Martin, Trinity 1 ; Nolan, Mackenzie 3 ; Lucas, Tinley 1 ; Cooper, Jada 3 ; Gonzalez, Emily 2
SF: Nolan, Mackenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Martin, Trinity 1 ; Wilkinson, Haley 1 ; Lucas, Tinley 1 ; Williams, Briah 1 ; Campbell, Morgan 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 2 ; Gonzalez, Emily 2 ; McCray, Sydney 1
SB: Nolan, Mackenzie 1 ; Wilkinson, Haley 1
Batting:
2B: Smith, Kyra 1
HR: Edwards, Abby 1 ; Wilson, Jailey 1
RBI: Edwards, Abby 2 ; Wilson, Jailey 3
Base Running:
RUNS: DeZeeuw, Nadia 1 ; Edwards, Abby 1 ; Stucky, Lauren 1 ; Smith, Kyra 1 ; Wilson, Jailey 1
HBP: Edwards, Abby 1 ; Rutherford, Autumn 1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
LHP
/ SoftballTuesday, June 09
Thursday, May 21
Monday, May 18
Sunday, May 17