The Grand Canyon University Club Softball team finished off its 2024 season with a flair, taking two of three games from UCLA Saturday at GCU Softball Stadium on the GCU campus. Hot bats lifted GCU to a pair of five-inning, 14-6 'mercy rule' victories in Games 1 and 3 of the tripleheader, and narrowly missed a three-game sweep in falling to the Bruins, 8-6, in the second game of the day. The series win moved the Lopes into sole possession of 3^rd place in the Pacific Region South standings ahead of the Bruins, and also put smiles on the faces of the Lopes' two seniors, pitcher Marly Stueber and infielder Rose Castillo, as they were honored with Senior Day festivities on the field immediately following the tripleheader.
 
Game 1:  GCU 14, UCLA 6 (F/5)
 
In the final Game 1 start of her four-year career, Stueber didn't have to wait long to get run support from her mates. After UCLA took a 1-0 lead after a half inning, the top of GCU's batting order, Emma Pinkstaff, Denise Lopez and Jordyn Thompson, strung together three straight hits to lead off the bottom of the inning, eventually all coming around to score to give Stueber a 3-1 lead. Grace Remphrey's two-out single in the 2^nd brought the Bruins back within a run, but the Lopes used five singles and a couple of UCLA fielding errors to score four in the bottom of the frame and didn't look back. The Lopes put things officially out of reach by sending 11 to the plate in a seven-run 4^th inning. The Lopes' 16-hit attack saw eight of the nine starters contribute at least one hit-led by the Pinkstaff/Lopez/Thompson trio with three hits apiece. Thompson and Lopes' shortstop Rachel Stephens also cranked two-run blasts within eight pitches of each other in the 4^th. Stueber went the five-inning distance in the circle, allowing six earned runs on nine hits.
 
Game 2:  UCLA 8, GCU 6
 
This time around, UCLA got out of the gates quickly, and the Lopes never recovered. The Bruins put seven straight hitters on base to start the 1^st, plating three; then used three singles, a walk and a wild pitch to score two more in the 2^nd. Meanwhile, the Lopes struggled against UCLA starting pitcher Jasmine Estrada, whose drop ball and riseball limited GCU to just one hit through the first three innings, allowing the Bruins to build a seven-run cushion. The Lopes scored four in the 5^th to get back within range, but Estrada got her second wind and retired the final eight hitters to face her. Quincy Weinbender, who replaced GCU starting pitcher Bailey Pool in the 3^rd inning, allowed two earned runs in five innings of work in the circle, and also led the Lopes at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and three runs batted in.


Game 3:  GCU 14, UCLA 6 (F/5)
 
Stueber entered the circle for her final start, and closed out her four-year career by getting the win. However, her fellow senior stole a bit of her thunder along the way. Fulfilling a request she had received from her middle infielder, Lopes' Head Coach Lindsey Collins sent Stueber to play 2^nd base in the 2^nd inning (for the first time as a Lope), and handed the ball to Castillo, who had pitched in high school, but had never asked for the opportunity to do so for GCU until now. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, didn't disappoint, striking out Bruins' pitcher Cynthia Aguilar, then getting both Remphrey and Brooke Gushiken on popups to retire the side in order, ending her Lopes' career with a 0.00 earned run average. Seeing that feat inspired the Lopes to send 12 to the plate in the bottom of the 2^nd, using six hits (two from Megan Reichley and one each from Castillo and Stueber) to score eight runs. Collins sent nine more hitters to the dish in a four-run 4^th inning to eliminate any doubt about the outcome, and Stueber – who returned to the pitching circle in the 3^rd - finished off her career by retiring the final four Bruins' hitters of the game. Reichley went 3-for-3 with three RBI, while Lopez scored three times, knocked in three more, and belted out a triple.
 
The Lopes finish the 2024 campaign with a 12-6 mark – both overall and in PacSouth play.