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
Saturday, May 9
Reno, Nev.
Grand Canyon
52-8
11
at
10
(3) Nevada
39-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 2 |
| Grand Canyon | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 4 |
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
GCU wipes out 9-0 hole, wins MW tourney in 9
5/9/2026 5:53:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro
Box ScorePostgame - Coach HaysPostgame - Ellie PondPostgame - Sydney McCrayPostgame - Oakley VickersFull HighlightsPhoto Gallery
Lopes makes largest comeback in program history to punch NCAA ticket
RENO, Nev. – It took the greatest comeback in Grand Canyon softball history for the Lopes to march out of Nevada with the Mountain West Championship trophy as a warm-up to dancing in its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Buried in a 9-0, first-inning hole, No. 25 GCU climbed all the way out when a four-run seventh inning was capped by Lopes sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond's game-tying, two-out, three-run double that took host Nevada to extra innings. After GCU pitching star and tournament Most Valuable Player Oakley Vickers blanked Nevada in the tops of the eighth and ninth, the Lopes doubled their season's MW championship haul when junior catcher Tinley Lucas smacked a game-winning RBI single for the 11-10, nine-inning win.
"Listening to the girls in the dugout the whole time, they were talking about, 'Hey, we're not out of this,' " said head coach Shanon Hays, who has guided five NCAA Tournament teams in five GCU seasons. "In my mind, I was thinking, 'We probably are.' They were right. I was wrong. You had so many great, heroic things done in that game."
The Mountain West regular-season champions emphasized the title by beating Nevada twice on its home field on championship Saturday, going through the range of dramatics. The day began with Vickers' shutout victory in her first career complete game and ended by chasing down the Wolf Pack over three hours for the MW Championship- and NCAA regional berth-clinching win.
Vickers won both games, giving her a tournament ERA of 1.09 over 19 1/3 innings and tying GCU (52-8) with Texas Tech for the nation's most wins.
GCU's season motto has been "All 21" because it takes 21 outs to beat the Lopes in their first Mountain West season. That proved even truer in this tournament, when the Lopes rallied from four-run, seventh-inning deficits twice on clutch two-out hits.
"You're going to have to get all 21 because this team fights," Lucas said. "We've practiced coming back in so many games like that in the preseason and the regular season. We always had the confidence that it was going to take all 21 if you want to get us down."
GCU chipped away at the Nevada 9-0 start with freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett's two-run home run in the second inning, freshman catcher Sarah Campbell's RBI double in the fourth inning and a three-run sixth inning that came from sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper's RBI sacrifice fly and graduate left fielder Trinity Martin's two-run home run. The Lopes' 10 tournament home runs broke the MW Championship record by four.
Shiflett set Mountain West Championship records for home runs (four) and RBIs (13; previous was eight) in the tournament to earn All-MW Championship Team spots with Martin, who hit three tourney home runs, and Lucas.
Trailing 10-6 entering the bottom of the seventh, GCU loaded the bases with no outs before two strikeouts sent Pond to the plate looking for her first hit against Nevada over three tournament games. Pond delivered a bases-clearing double to right-center field, tying the score at 10-10. After moving to third on an error, Pond tried to score on a wild pitch but was tagged out when Nevada catcher Karolyn Glover missed her upper body but touched her foot on the head-first slide.
Just before she lined a clutch hit to the opposite outfield gap, Pond stepped out of the box and took a deep breath after swinging and missing for her first strike.
"There's a ton of pressure with two outs, the bases loaded and we're down in the last inning," Pond said. "With me, if I can calm myself down, that helps me perform better. I was just trying my best to keep calm and remember the ones who love me and do it for them and my team. That was awesome. I was just like, 'I need to keep the rally going,' and it ended good.
"I didn't have one doubt in my mind that we could come back. We love to fight back. I honestly feel like sometimes we do better when we are down."
Hays was not going to put Vickers back in the circle in Saturday's second game unless GCU had a chance to win. Senior right-hander Taryn Batterton and freshman right-hander Lilly Camp gave the Lopes that chance.
GCU trailed 9-0 in the first inning without recording an out before Batterton entered to stabilize the damage. She limited Nevada to one run over four innings, striking out four and only allowing three hits. Camp delivered her best outing of the season, shutting out the Wolf Pack's potent arsenal for the next three innings while only giving up one hit, which was quickly wiped out by a double play.
Once Pond's hit sent the game to extra innings, Vickers entered after throwing 112 pitches in Saturday's first win. With her spin and change-up mesmerizing the Wolf Pack, Vickers shut out Nevada for the final two innings. The Wolf Pack started the top of the ninth wth an infield single but came up empty after Lucas threw out an attempted steal and Vickers struck out two.
"I'm so glad that this week I stepped up and did my job because I was there for my other pitchers," said Vickers, who struck out a MW Championship-record 23 batters in 19 1/3 tournament innings and only allowed one extra-base hit. "I had their back. I just made sure to stay calm and focused all the time because you never know when you need to go in.
"I just had to make sure I didn't get in my head and didn't let their fans get in my head. I stayed focused. Our team has come back before so many times. I knew we had a chance to come back."
After stranding a Nevada runner on third base in the bottom of the eighth, Vickers gave them another chance to win in the ninth. Martin started the rally with a leadoff walk, and Shiflett followed with a one-out walk to bring up Lucas. Playing two games behind the plate, Lucas was given a mid-game break before returning and drawing a bases-loaded, seventh-inning walk that cut the lead to 10-7.
Based on her history vs. Nevada, Lucas was expecting a pitch high in the zone and was looking for one that she could get the bat on the top side. On a 1-1 ptich, Lucas left on top by lining a rope to left-center field and circling back into celebration once Martin had scored the winning run.
"On deck both times, I was just thinking, 'God, give me peace and confidence to go just do this for my team,' " said Lucas, who had scored the tying run from first base on Pond's seventh-inning double. "I was completely locked in and just wanted to get this done for my team, especially my girl Oakley because we were out there for so many innings. All of her stuff was on. They couldn't touch her."
Grand Canyon will find out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday's ESPN2 selection show at 4 p.m. (Phoenix time). Tied for the most wins in the nation, a No. 25 poll ranking and a No. 27 RPI ranking entering Saturday, the Lopes are positioned to be a regional No. 2 seed.when NCAA Tournament play starts Friday.
Despite losing starting second baseman (MW Preseason Player of the Year Savannah Kirk) before the season to injury and losing starting shortstop Mackenzie Nolan this week to injury, GCU will pack its refuse-to-lose mentality for a fifth consecutive NCAA regional trip.
"It just shows the type of team we are," GCU senior center fielder Sydney McCray said. "We've been telling each other we've got 'All 21.' That's what we've got to work with. In this case, 27. Just never count us out."
Buried in a 9-0, first-inning hole, No. 25 GCU climbed all the way out when a four-run seventh inning was capped by Lopes sophomore third baseman Ellie Pond's game-tying, two-out, three-run double that took host Nevada to extra innings. After GCU pitching star and tournament Most Valuable Player Oakley Vickers blanked Nevada in the tops of the eighth and ninth, the Lopes doubled their season's MW championship haul when junior catcher Tinley Lucas smacked a game-winning RBI single for the 11-10, nine-inning win.
"Listening to the girls in the dugout the whole time, they were talking about, 'Hey, we're not out of this,' " said head coach Shanon Hays, who has guided five NCAA Tournament teams in five GCU seasons. "In my mind, I was thinking, 'We probably are.' They were right. I was wrong. You had so many great, heroic things done in that game."
The Mountain West regular-season champions emphasized the title by beating Nevada twice on its home field on championship Saturday, going through the range of dramatics. The day began with Vickers' shutout victory in her first career complete game and ended by chasing down the Wolf Pack over three hours for the MW Championship- and NCAA regional berth-clinching win.
Vickers won both games, giving her a tournament ERA of 1.09 over 19 1/3 innings and tying GCU (52-8) with Texas Tech for the nation's most wins.
GCU's season motto has been "All 21" because it takes 21 outs to beat the Lopes in their first Mountain West season. That proved even truer in this tournament, when the Lopes rallied from four-run, seventh-inning deficits twice on clutch two-out hits.
"You're going to have to get all 21 because this team fights," Lucas said. "We've practiced coming back in so many games like that in the preseason and the regular season. We always had the confidence that it was going to take all 21 if you want to get us down."
GCU chipped away at the Nevada 9-0 start with freshman right fielder Addison Shifflett's two-run home run in the second inning, freshman catcher Sarah Campbell's RBI double in the fourth inning and a three-run sixth inning that came from sophomore first baseman Jada Cooper's RBI sacrifice fly and graduate left fielder Trinity Martin's two-run home run. The Lopes' 10 tournament home runs broke the MW Championship record by four.
Shiflett set Mountain West Championship records for home runs (four) and RBIs (13; previous was eight) in the tournament to earn All-MW Championship Team spots with Martin, who hit three tourney home runs, and Lucas.
Trailing 10-6 entering the bottom of the seventh, GCU loaded the bases with no outs before two strikeouts sent Pond to the plate looking for her first hit against Nevada over three tournament games. Pond delivered a bases-clearing double to right-center field, tying the score at 10-10. After moving to third on an error, Pond tried to score on a wild pitch but was tagged out when Nevada catcher Karolyn Glover missed her upper body but touched her foot on the head-first slide.
Just before she lined a clutch hit to the opposite outfield gap, Pond stepped out of the box and took a deep breath after swinging and missing for her first strike.
"There's a ton of pressure with two outs, the bases loaded and we're down in the last inning," Pond said. "With me, if I can calm myself down, that helps me perform better. I was just trying my best to keep calm and remember the ones who love me and do it for them and my team. That was awesome. I was just like, 'I need to keep the rally going,' and it ended good.
"I didn't have one doubt in my mind that we could come back. We love to fight back. I honestly feel like sometimes we do better when we are down."
Hays was not going to put Vickers back in the circle in Saturday's second game unless GCU had a chance to win. Senior right-hander Taryn Batterton and freshman right-hander Lilly Camp gave the Lopes that chance.
GCU trailed 9-0 in the first inning without recording an out before Batterton entered to stabilize the damage. She limited Nevada to one run over four innings, striking out four and only allowing three hits. Camp delivered her best outing of the season, shutting out the Wolf Pack's potent arsenal for the next three innings while only giving up one hit, which was quickly wiped out by a double play.
Once Pond's hit sent the game to extra innings, Vickers entered after throwing 112 pitches in Saturday's first win. With her spin and change-up mesmerizing the Wolf Pack, Vickers shut out Nevada for the final two innings. The Wolf Pack started the top of the ninth wth an infield single but came up empty after Lucas threw out an attempted steal and Vickers struck out two.
"I'm so glad that this week I stepped up and did my job because I was there for my other pitchers," said Vickers, who struck out a MW Championship-record 23 batters in 19 1/3 tournament innings and only allowed one extra-base hit. "I had their back. I just made sure to stay calm and focused all the time because you never know when you need to go in.
"I just had to make sure I didn't get in my head and didn't let their fans get in my head. I stayed focused. Our team has come back before so many times. I knew we had a chance to come back."
After stranding a Nevada runner on third base in the bottom of the eighth, Vickers gave them another chance to win in the ninth. Martin started the rally with a leadoff walk, and Shiflett followed with a one-out walk to bring up Lucas. Playing two games behind the plate, Lucas was given a mid-game break before returning and drawing a bases-loaded, seventh-inning walk that cut the lead to 10-7.
Based on her history vs. Nevada, Lucas was expecting a pitch high in the zone and was looking for one that she could get the bat on the top side. On a 1-1 ptich, Lucas left on top by lining a rope to left-center field and circling back into celebration once Martin had scored the winning run.
"On deck both times, I was just thinking, 'God, give me peace and confidence to go just do this for my team,' " said Lucas, who had scored the tying run from first base on Pond's seventh-inning double. "I was completely locked in and just wanted to get this done for my team, especially my girl Oakley because we were out there for so many innings. All of her stuff was on. They couldn't touch her."
Grand Canyon will find out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday's ESPN2 selection show at 4 p.m. (Phoenix time). Tied for the most wins in the nation, a No. 25 poll ranking and a No. 27 RPI ranking entering Saturday, the Lopes are positioned to be a regional No. 2 seed.when NCAA Tournament play starts Friday.
Despite losing starting second baseman (MW Preseason Player of the Year Savannah Kirk) before the season to injury and losing starting shortstop Mackenzie Nolan this week to injury, GCU will pack its refuse-to-lose mentality for a fifth consecutive NCAA regional trip.
"It just shows the type of team we are," GCU senior center fielder Sydney McCray said. "We've been telling each other we've got 'All 21.' That's what we've got to work with. In this case, 27. Just never count us out."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vickers, Oakley (15-4)
L: McLean, Hailey (11-5)
Batting:
2B: Clark, Madison 1 ; Haith, Rylie 1
HR: Glover, Karolyn 1
RBI: Clark, Madison 2 ; Engelbrecht, Haylee 1 ; Tretton, Talia 2 ; Haith, Rylie 2 ; Glover, Karolyn 1 ; Leetch, Matlyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clark, Madison 1 ; Engelbrecht, Haylee 1 ; O'Gorman, Lexi 1 ; Di Genova, Hannah 1 ; Tretton, Talia 1 ; Haith, Rylie 1 ; Glover, Karolyn 2 ; Wetteland, Katelyn 1 ; Leetch, Matlyn 1
SB: Gee, Zaria 1
CS: Leetch, Matlyn 1
HBP: Engelbrecht, Haylee 2 ; Di Genova, Hannah 1 ; Tretton, Talia 1 ; Wetteland, Katelyn 1
Batting:
2B: Pond, Ellie 1 ; Campbell, Sarah 1
3B: Gonzalez, Emily 1
HR: Martin, Trinity 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 1
RBI: Martin, Trinity 2 ; Pond, Ellie 3 ; Lucas, Tinley 2 ; Campbell, Sarah 1 ; Cooper, Jada 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 2
SF: Cooper, Jada 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Martin, Trinity 3 ; Holtorf, Raegan 2 ; Rueda, Izzy 1 ; Lucas, Tinley 1 ; Campbell, Morgan 1 ; Shifflett, Addison 1 ; Gonzalez, Emily 1 ; McCray, Sydney 1
SB: McCray, Sydney 1
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
INF
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C
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OF
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OF
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IF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
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LHP
/ SoftballTuesday, June 09
Thursday, May 21
Monday, May 18
Sunday, May 17