Completed Event: Softball versus Nevada on April 2, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 3
Softball
vs Nevada
W 4-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Jayden Todd
Faith fulfills Fritz to flourish in comeback
4/9/2026 4:39:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro
GCU pitcher leads MW in ERA after ACL surgery
Three months into tedious rehabilitation following knee surgery, Natalie Fritz was at a pivotal health milestone that proved to be a principal faith moment in her path to becoming the Grand Canyon pitcher who leads the Mountain West in ERA.
In the summer of 2024, Fritz was testing the power in her drive leg by trying a pistol squat, which bent her surgically repaired left knee to full depth as her right leg extended forward … until she collapsed to the ground and felt a pop in her knee. It seemed identical to her as the pop when felt when she leapt for a chopper and tore her ACL upon landing as a Basha High School senior.
Still shaken by the unknown of what just happened, Fritz recorded herself breathless and crying in her thoughts once she sat in her car, saying, "It scared me so bad. Immediate tears … God, I just hope it's OK. It's been so long. It's been so hard. I can't take it. I just don't want to do everything again. God, please help me. I can't do it alone."
And then a divine calm overtook Fritz when she serenely assured herself, "It's going to be OK."
Just as the strength of Fritz' faith was tested and endured, the strength of her knee did too. Her rehabilitation progressed after that follow-up exam to lateral movements and plyometrics. She remained on schedule to return just as her freshman season at New Mexico began.
Fritz managed a season without full preparation or her usual velocity, but she already has surpassed that season's win total for GCU this season. The sophomore right-hander is 7-0 with a 1.29 ERA that ranks seventh nationally as No. 25 GCU (39-4) heads into a "Faith and Family Night" home game Friday night at 7 against Boise State.
"In these past couple of years, it's where my faith has grown the deepest, coming of age, being on my own, dealing with the ups and downs," Fritz said. "God has been my rock through it all. Leaning on my faith and just knowing that my purpose is so much greater than my performance.
"I want my life to be led by Christ to glorify His name in everything I do. Incorporating my faith into my sport really helped me. Coming to GCU where the entire foundation is in Christ and being able to grow my faith and touch other people to grow theirs has been huge for me."
Faith is a bedrock of the nationally renown program GCU head coach Shanon has built in Phoenix. Along the way to four consecutive NCAA regional trips and the nation's fifth-best winning percentage since 2022, the five rules of the program have more to do with being Christians than winning games:
Fritz's positivity radiates through the team and stands as tall as her 6-foot frame in the circle. But from the time her Basha team's state title hopes were derailed by her injury, that optimism was tested by surgery and a rehabilitation defined by battling pain and a limited range of motion.
Amid it, the uncertainty moved her to be baptized. Fritz had grown up in a Chandler home of faith with her parents, who met when her mother, Jamie, played volleyball and her father, Aaron, played basketball at Union, a Division III Christian college in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Her faith found community at GCU, where it is ingrained into the softball program more than she even realized for how the Christian foundation of the university attracted her.
"It's been pretty amazing to see the transformation and the growth," her mother, Jamie, said. "Having that ACL injury was a good way for her to slow down and re-evaluate her life and softball career. Although we never want to have these injuries happen to our children, it all happens for a reason. In her case, it brought her faith out more and brought her closer to the Lord."
The once-shy girl who clutched to her mother's leg as a child is now a beacon of hope and spirit for her peers. She is an exercise science major who plans to serve on the encouraging end of injuries as a physical therapist.
Hays always had seen that "bright light" shine in Fritz through her high school years in nearby Chandler. The way it transformed into the way she competes and lifts her team on the field made Hays want the competitive right-hander to join GCU last year.
As Fritz has posted the nation's eight-best ratio of strikeouts to walks (6.8 to 1), Hays did not realize how directly impactful she could be beyond the circle until second baseman Savannah Kirk, the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, tore her ACL and underwent surgery just before the season opener.
Empathy engulfed Fritz, but she said she also knew that "God's plan is so much greater for her."
And at the same stage of rehabilitation that Fritz was baptized, Kirk was baptized on Easter Sunday.
"It's great for Sav because she's seen Natalie go through it," Hays said of the former club teammates. "For Sav's growth and development as a player and her walk with God, she has looked at people like Natalie, KK (former player Katelyn Dunckel), Jayme (assistant coach Jayme Bailey) and Mac (teammate Mackenzie Nolan) and all the people we have on our team. Now Sav's a great influence."
When team prayer bookends each GCU game, Fritz gives thanks for His daily mercies as much as her restored health, improved pitching, beloved teammates and staff and a 39-4 record.
"We've got big goals," Fritz said. "So being able to do my part has been amazing. It's felt so fulfilling. I'm really happy with where I'm at and excited about where we're about to go.
"Being able to glorify Him on the biggest stage is really all we want to do. Through that name on our chest, Grand Canyon, and what this school stands for, that is going to be our greatest motivator."
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In the summer of 2024, Fritz was testing the power in her drive leg by trying a pistol squat, which bent her surgically repaired left knee to full depth as her right leg extended forward … until she collapsed to the ground and felt a pop in her knee. It seemed identical to her as the pop when felt when she leapt for a chopper and tore her ACL upon landing as a Basha High School senior.
Still shaken by the unknown of what just happened, Fritz recorded herself breathless and crying in her thoughts once she sat in her car, saying, "It scared me so bad. Immediate tears … God, I just hope it's OK. It's been so long. It's been so hard. I can't take it. I just don't want to do everything again. God, please help me. I can't do it alone."
And then a divine calm overtook Fritz when she serenely assured herself, "It's going to be OK."
Just as the strength of Fritz' faith was tested and endured, the strength of her knee did too. Her rehabilitation progressed after that follow-up exam to lateral movements and plyometrics. She remained on schedule to return just as her freshman season at New Mexico began.
Fritz managed a season without full preparation or her usual velocity, but she already has surpassed that season's win total for GCU this season. The sophomore right-hander is 7-0 with a 1.29 ERA that ranks seventh nationally as No. 25 GCU (39-4) heads into a "Faith and Family Night" home game Friday night at 7 against Boise State.
"In these past couple of years, it's where my faith has grown the deepest, coming of age, being on my own, dealing with the ups and downs," Fritz said. "God has been my rock through it all. Leaning on my faith and just knowing that my purpose is so much greater than my performance.
"I want my life to be led by Christ to glorify His name in everything I do. Incorporating my faith into my sport really helped me. Coming to GCU where the entire foundation is in Christ and being able to grow my faith and touch other people to grow theirs has been huge for me."
Faith is a bedrock of the nationally renown program GCU head coach Shanon has built in Phoenix. Along the way to four consecutive NCAA regional trips and the nation's fifth-best winning percentage since 2022, the five rules of the program have more to do with being Christians than winning games:
- Compete and have fun.
- Be kind and thankful.
- It's just softball.
- If it helps, do it. If it doesn't help, don't do it.
- Mature every day.
Fritz's positivity radiates through the team and stands as tall as her 6-foot frame in the circle. But from the time her Basha team's state title hopes were derailed by her injury, that optimism was tested by surgery and a rehabilitation defined by battling pain and a limited range of motion.
Amid it, the uncertainty moved her to be baptized. Fritz had grown up in a Chandler home of faith with her parents, who met when her mother, Jamie, played volleyball and her father, Aaron, played basketball at Union, a Division III Christian college in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Her faith found community at GCU, where it is ingrained into the softball program more than she even realized for how the Christian foundation of the university attracted her.
"It's been pretty amazing to see the transformation and the growth," her mother, Jamie, said. "Having that ACL injury was a good way for her to slow down and re-evaluate her life and softball career. Although we never want to have these injuries happen to our children, it all happens for a reason. In her case, it brought her faith out more and brought her closer to the Lord."
The once-shy girl who clutched to her mother's leg as a child is now a beacon of hope and spirit for her peers. She is an exercise science major who plans to serve on the encouraging end of injuries as a physical therapist.
Hays always had seen that "bright light" shine in Fritz through her high school years in nearby Chandler. The way it transformed into the way she competes and lifts her team on the field made Hays want the competitive right-hander to join GCU last year.
As Fritz has posted the nation's eight-best ratio of strikeouts to walks (6.8 to 1), Hays did not realize how directly impactful she could be beyond the circle until second baseman Savannah Kirk, the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, tore her ACL and underwent surgery just before the season opener.
Empathy engulfed Fritz, but she said she also knew that "God's plan is so much greater for her."
And at the same stage of rehabilitation that Fritz was baptized, Kirk was baptized on Easter Sunday.
"It's great for Sav because she's seen Natalie go through it," Hays said of the former club teammates. "For Sav's growth and development as a player and her walk with God, she has looked at people like Natalie, KK (former player Katelyn Dunckel), Jayme (assistant coach Jayme Bailey) and Mac (teammate Mackenzie Nolan) and all the people we have on our team. Now Sav's a great influence."
When team prayer bookends each GCU game, Fritz gives thanks for His daily mercies as much as her restored health, improved pitching, beloved teammates and staff and a 39-4 record.
"We've got big goals," Fritz said. "So being able to do my part has been amazing. It's felt so fulfilling. I'm really happy with where I'm at and excited about where we're about to go.
"Being able to glorify Him on the biggest stage is really all we want to do. Through that name on our chest, Grand Canyon, and what this school stands for, that is going to be our greatest motivator."
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