Grand Canyon defeated Nevada in the first game of the MW Championship Series, forcing a decisive, winner-takes-all affair to determine who would take home the conference title, and with it, the autobid into the NCAA Tournament. GCU was essentially locked in regardless, but Nevada would need to take this one home to extend their season. In an absolute epic that will be remembered, both fondly and with horror, forever, GCU overcame a nine-run deficit to knock off the Wolf Pack by an 11-10 final, securing
their first Mountain West Tournament title.
Nevada needed to get the momentum back quickly after an offensive disaster in Game 1. Turns out, what Oakley Vickers had done to their offense less than an hour prior was the equivalent of covering up a baking-soda volcano: they stopped it for a while, but all it took was one little slip for everything to explode. The Lopes started the game with an uncharacteristic defensive error that allowed Madison Clark to extend her leadoff single all the way to third. That was the slip the Wolf Pack needed.
The second at-bat went just about as well as the first, as starter Natalie Fritz hit Katie Wetteland on an 0-2 pitch. Hannah Di Genova scored Clark on a fielder’s choice, but Nevada chose to willingly take the run off the board due to Jada Cooper being out of position from where she was on the lineup card. The decision promptly worked out, as Di Genova also got hit by Fritz to load the bases. Yet another hit-by-pitch of Haylee Engelbrecht allowed Clark to finally come home, giving Nevada the early 1-0 lead.
After a two-run single by Talia Tretton, Abi Jones was called on to replace Fritz. Jones allowed another hit to Lexi O’Gorman to load the bases again, then a Matlyn Leetch single and a Jada Cooper error allowed two more runs. Nevada finished off the top of the first with a 9-0 lead. Hailey McLean then sat down each of the first three batters in the bottom of the frame, snuffing any glimmer of life the Lopes may have had in that inning.
After Lexi O’Gorman got on again with a leadoff walk, two wild pitches advanced her to third. New Lope pitcher Taryn Batterton, just 20 hours removed from an apparent injury suffered against New Mexico, sat down the next three batters, keeping the deficit at just nine entering the fourth frame of the game. Unstoppable freshman Addison Shifflett continued her incredible tournament performance, smashing a two-run homer to chip away at some of the damage the Wolf Pack had done in the first. McLean got the next two outs, keeping the lead at 9-2 entering the third.
After a groundout by Clark, then two straight strikeouts against Wetteland and Di Genova, the lead remained at seven entering the bottom of the third. With the Lopes now having a bit of momentum on their side, McLean locked up the top of the GCU lineup, forcing a deep flyout, a strikeout, then a fantastic catch by Clark in foul territory to get out of the inning with the lead still intact.
Tretton got a single in the top of the fourth, but pinch runner Bailie Clark was called out from leaving early at first, even as it appeared her foot was still touching first base. That immediately came back to haunt the Wolf Pack, as Clark would have been on third to score the Pack’s 10th run two pitches later. Instead, Nevada left the top of the fourth with the same number of runs they had scored in the first inning. McLean was pulled after recording one out in the fourth, and was strangely replaced by freshman Sofie Seese. Seese gave up a triple to Emily Gonzalez, then gave up a run on a two-out, pinch-hit double by Sarah Campbell. Seese was pulled for Ainsley Berlingeri after that, completing the series of confusing decisions. Berlingeri got pinch hitter Alina Satcher to ground out, ending the inning still up by six.
Karolyn Glover sent a 1-2 pitch to the moon for a solo homer to lead off the fifth, scoring Nevada’s first run since the first inning. Batterton was pulled for Lilly Camp in an attempt to keep the game out of run-rule range. Camp got the Lopes out of the inning without needing a run to stay alive. McCray and Raegan Holtorf each got singles to lead off the fifth, the former scoring on a Jada Cooper sac fly to make it 10-4, the latter coming home on a Trinity Martin two-run blast that made it 10-6. Talia Tretton was then called on for the final out of the inning, forcing a deep flyout to Shifflett that was caught against the wall in center by Leetch.
In the sixth, Nevada got a hit from Haylee Engelbrecht, but a double play groundout and a flyout to center kept the Pack off the board, now up by just four. At this point, the conclusion of this game seemed inevitable, as opposed to incomprehensible as it had been just an inning earlier. Tretton averted said fate with three straight outs to keep Nevada’s lead at four.
Camp kept Nevada at bay in the top of the seventh, leaving her offense with the same requirement as they achieved in their first game against New Mexico: score at least four runs in the bottom of the seventh. Holtorf led off with a single, then walked Jada Cooper. With their backs against the wall, the Wolf Pack turned to Tess Bumiller against the heart of the Lope lineup.
Bumiller started off with a walk via an illegal pitch penalty, loading the bases for the tying run, Emily Gonzalez, with nobody out. After putting Gonzalez up 3-1, Bumiller struck her out, bringing Addison Shifflett back to the plate. Bumiller then served up a disgusting changeup, striking out Shifflett and bringing up Tinley Lucas, the Lopes’ final chance. Lucas took a walk to get the winning run to the plate, bringing up Ellie Pond for the biggest at-bat of her life. Pond delivered, knocking her first hit of the game: a bases-clearing triple to tie the game. Pond then tried to get home on a wild pitch, but Karolyn Glover miraculously tapped Pond’s heel before she touched home plate, sending the game to extras.
Oakley Vickers then came into the game for the start of the bonus frame, just about the last person the Wolf Pack wanted to see. Vickers sat down the first two batters, allowed one hit, then got an inning-ending flyout on yet another great catch by McCray. McLean was brought back in for the eighth, engaging in an early battle with McCray that ended in a walk. With the winning run on second after a steal, Holtorf got her to third with a groundout. That brought up Jada Cooper, who popped out to end the inning and send it to the ninth.
Matlyn Leetch got a perfect slap hit single to lead off the ninth, but the Lopes destroyed all momentum in its tracks with a clinical throw from Tinley Lucas to Holtorf at second. That allowed Lucas to walk off the game in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Martin from second to walk off the Wolf Pack, securing the nine-run comeback and their first tournament championship as a member of the Mountain West.
Listing all of GCU’s heroes would take all day. From Vickers to Camp, Holtorf, Lucas and Pond, everybody had a part in this day. Overcoming a nine-run deficit is something even the greatest teams cannot dream of. However, that is exactly what the Lopes did. They never gave up, never stopped fighting, and overcame one of the largest deficits in NCAA Softball history to secure a conference title.GCU will head on to the NCAA Tournament, awaiting the announcement of their spot in the 2026 Road to OKC.
As for Nevada…there are no words. That was a collapse of legend, one that will linger throughout this program for decades to come. With all the talent the Wolf Pack have leaving via graduation, running it back will be nearly impossible. Even if they somehow got the chance again, there will always be that lingering doubt in everyone’s mind that something like this will happen again. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy at its finest. Nevada had a great season, and it’s been a long journey getting here, but this program will never be the same after today.
