Season ends at No. 1 Nebraska despite Vickers' gem

Sunday, May 17

Lincoln, Neb.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

54-10

(1) #1 Nebraska

49-6

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
GCU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Nebraska	1	0	0	0	0	0	X	1	5	1

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

5/17/2026 2:21:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Lopes sophomore limited Huskers to 5 hits in 1-0 defeat at Lincoln Regional

By: Paul Coro

LINCOLN, Neb. – It took the No. 1 team in the nation playing in its sold-out home stadium to end Grand Canyon's greatest softball season. And even then, GCU was not an easy out with sophomore left-hander Oakley Vickers spinning another pitching gem Sunday.

Top-ranked Nebraska (49-6) extended the nation's longest active winning streak to 24 games, but the Lopes played the Huskers closer than any opponent did during the run. With Vickers delivering her second outstanding outing of the NCAA Lincoln Regional, GCU (54-10) gave a scarlet scare before exiting Bowlin Stadium with a 1-0, season-ending loss in Sunday's regional final on ESPN.
Regional postgame

The Lopes were capping the program's winningest season with their second regional final visit in three years, but the Huskers' dominant pitching produced the first two shutouts that GCU has suffered this season – 2-0 on Saturday and 1-0 on Sunday.

If it was not clear that Lopes have closed the gap on the nation's giants, the seventh-inning separation from tying No. 1 Nebraska was 120 feet with another 60 feet separating them from leading the Huskers in a stadium where they had lost once this season. Sunday's Huskers win was its first decided by one run during the 24-game streak, coming a day after their 2-0 win vs. GCU matched the streak's previous tightest victory.

"They just kept jumping over the bar," GCU head coach Shanon Hays said of a season that ended with a 2-2 regional. "The freshmen we had really stepped up. Most of the year, our pitching was really solid. So when you've got good pitching, it gives you time to get through some things and grow as a team. I think we did that."
Oakley Vickers

Vickers was up to the challenge Sunday, hurling 5 1/3 innings wtih Nebraska only getting five hits, one of which was a first-inning solo home run by senior Hannah Camenzind. In her last four postseason outings, After pitching 4 1/3 regional innings as freshman, Vickers posted a 0.66 ERA over 21 1/3 innings, allowing only 16 hits while striking out 19.

Adding a drop curve to her arsenal recently, Vickers did it differently than her 4-hit complete game that beat No. 24 Louisville on Friday. Drawing a mix of fly outs and ground outs, a flawless defense backed her up with gems like freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett's diving catch on the foul line and Vickers' slow-roll scoop and glove toss to first.

"I just wanted to make sure the fans didn't get into my head or anything, make sure I save my legs," said Vickers, who finished the season at 16-5 with a 1.99 ERA. "And then after the (first-inning) home run, I just thought to myself, 'If I can hold them from here on out, my team's got my back. It didn't turn out that way, but it was a close game, so I'm glad it ended that way.

"I can just keep getting better from here on out. Last year, I was a freshman. I was a little nervous (at the Tucson Regional). But today, I didn't feel nervous at all. I knew our team was good enough to do this. So I just stayed calm. The whole team stayed calm this whole weekend actually, and it was great."
Regional postgame

In getting one-hit by Nebraska for the second time in two days, GCU only put a runner in scoring position three times Sunday.

"It's very frustrating," Hays said. "It was nice that we could get through yesterday with keeping Oakley fresh because we're trying to do damage here, not just trying to get to the last game, but trying to win the game. It's very frustrating when you don't get anything going offensively, and I felt like we had our chances in this game early. We didn't execute the bunt to put pressure on them and move the runners over, and that hurt us."

The Lopes' lone hit off Huskers freshman starter Alexis Jensen came from freshman second baseman Raegan Holtorf, who singled to left field with one out in the first. She moved to second on a wild pitch with two outs, but graduate left fielder Trinity Martin stepped out of the box on a two-strike foul swing and was ruled out.
Ellie Pond at regional

GCU sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond drew a leadoff walk in the third inning and a Nebraska error put runners on first and second with no outs, but Jensen escaped with a fly out, grounder and one of the 12 strikeouts that she and ace reliever Jordy Frahm recorded Sunday.

Lopes senior right-hander Taryn Batterton relieved Vickers in the bottom of the sixth, drawing a double-play liner to sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper to set up GCU's last chance in the seventh.

GCU freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett was hit by a pitch with one out, but was forced out on second when junior catcher Tinley Lucas hit a would-be bloop single to short center field. Pond was also hit by a pitch, although it required a video review for the call to be made. With two on and two outs, the Lopes looked for more pinch-hit magic from junior Alina Satcher, but she struck out against the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.

"We're not used to getting shut out like that, facing that great pitching," Hays said. "I love the way our pitching battled and the way we defended. The way Oakley threw through this whole tournament and to watch her development has been good, but when you go play a bigtime team like we've done here in a great environment, you've got to do something special and we couldn't do that offensively. Obviously, they (Jensen and Frahm) are two of the best in the business."
Emily Gonzalez

A program-record 54 wins came after Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year Savannah Kirk, last season's No. 2 hitter in the nation, suffered a season-ending knee injury before the Lopes' opener. GCU won the Mountain West Championship despite losing another middle infielder, junior shortstop Mackenzie Nolan, to an ankle injury.

The Lopes maintained the nation's fourth-best winning percentage (.798) over the Hays era (2022-26), was the last team in the nation to lose a game this season at 30-0, destroyed the program home run record with 91 (was 75) and wound up being one of the last 32 teams playing Sunday.

"It's meant the world," GCU senior designated player Emily Gonzalez said after her final game. "This team is the best that I've ever been on. Just the fight that we've had and the chemistry and the talent. It's really hard to find a team that's really good and has the chemistry. It was really fun and easy to play with these girls. I'm really grateful that Coach Hays has given me the opportunity to come to Grand Canyon and play for him."