Best-ever start, rally try cooled by Oregon State

Sunday, February 19

Phoenix, Ariz.

11:30 a.m.

Grand Canyon

9-1

Oregon State

4-6

Oregon State

Grand Canyon

2/19/2023 3:47:00 PM | Softball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes take 5-4 loss to World Series qualifier after winning 1st 9 games

By: Paul Coro

Sunday's 5-4 loss to 2022 College World Series team Oregon State said just as much about Grand Canyon's potential as the best start in its program's history.

The Lopes won their first nine games, including five shutouts, before letting the Beavers off the hook Sunday at GCU Softball Stadium with their first multi-error game of the season.

The GCU season's 78-19 scoring advantage did not make taking a 5-4 defeat any easier.

"We've got a team that can compete at a high level because we've improved in the pitching department," said Lopes head coach Shanon Hays, who guided the team to its first NCAA tournament appearance in his first GCU season last year. "Our one loss was disappointing because our defense, which has been really good, didn't play well. If we just play a little bit of defense, we win 4-2.

"We just didn't field their weak contact, but what I've found is we've got the firepower and pitching to have a chance to win every game."

Whether they were two errors or miscues the Lopes defense expects to avoid, Hays said his team should have limited Oregon State's damage to a pair of solo home runs but wound up trailing 5-2.

Slide

The Lopes (9-1) still had one last rally in them to end their five-game weekend. They loaded the bases with nobody out when senior center fielder Hannah Burnett reached on an error and junior pinch hitter CC Wong and senior right fielder Kristin Fifield followed with singles.

The Lopes cut the lead to 5-4 when junior shortstop Katelyn Dunckel was hit by a pitch and senior third baseman Madison Schaefer grounded a fielder's choice. But Oregon State pitcher Tami Stepto finished a complete-game win by striking out senior designated player Ramsay Lopez on a change-up with Dunckel being thrown out trying to steal third.

GCU senior pitcher Ariel Thompson took her first loss in four starts and was relieved in the fifth inning by sophomore Emily Darwin, who struck out the first two batters before the GCU defense could not get her out of the inning to set up two runs and a 4-1 hole.

Darwin struck out four and allowed one earned run in three innings. It is the only earned run that the native of Benson, Arizona, has allowed in her first 12 1/3 innings of Division I softball after transferring from Yavapai College.

Darwin threw a five-inning perfect game, the first in GCU's 20-season history, in her Feb. 11 debut.

"What's crazy is the way she overpowers you is not necessarily by striking you out," Hays said. "She's going to do it with her movement and velocity and getting in on your hands."

The seventh inning was GCU's second opportunity with two on and nobody out, but the fifth-inning chance only netted a run the came on a double steal by Burnett and senior second baseman Macee Barnes to cut Oregon State's lead to 4-2.

The Lopes scored their first run when Schaefer drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on a two-out single to center by junior left fielder Kayla Rodgers, another Yavapai transfer who is hitting a team-best .478 with a .586 on-base percentage.

Burnett is close behind her with a .421 batting average and a team-high six stolen bases in 10 games.

"We've learned that we're capable of anything," Burnett said. "We have such a great team. Everyone can hit. Everyone can field. There's just so much depth. We know that we can really beat anyone no matter what.

"There were missed opportunities today, but we know we're better than what we were today."

The Lopes return to GCU Softball Classic next weekend for the Purple Classic, which will include games against Utah State, Montana (twice) and South Dakota (twice).

"We're jelling as a team and there are certain teams we can overpower when they don't have high-level pitching," Hays said. "We need to be good enough defensively when we face bigtime pitching that we can win games 2-1 and 3-2 instead of just trying to blow everybody out."