Some days you run into it.
Saturday was one of those days for the UNLV softball team, which was shut out 10-0 in five innings by Grand Canyon at GCU Softball Stadium.
The Lopes entered the weekend with the top ERA in the Mountain West, and they looked every bit of it. They limited UNLV to three hits and matched that total with three walks, keeping the Rebels off balance all afternoon.
Grand Canyon improved to 44-7 overall and 17-4 in conference play, while UNLV dropped to 28-19 and 15-6.
Early hole, no way out
Grand Canyon wasted no time taking control.
Trinity Martin opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first, and the Lopes kept piling on. They added three more in the second, taking advantage of walks and a two-run single from Addison Shifflett to make it 5-0.
The third inning broke it open.
Tinley Lucas and Ellie Pond hit back-to-back solo home runs, Raegan Holtorf added an RBI triple, and another run scored on a groundout as the lead ballooned to 9-0.
Grand Canyon tacked on one more in the fourth on a sacrifice fly to end the scoring.
Numbers that mattered
Taryn Batterton, one of the conference’s top arms, handled the rest. She tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
UNLV’s offense never found a rhythm. Bri Williams, Natalie Turner and Lyla Gonzalez accounted for the Rebels’ three hits.
In the circle, UNLV issued eight walks and allowed eight hits, leading to 10 runs, nine earned. Yanina Sherwood took the loss, falling to 10-8.
Up next
UNLV will look to regroup in the series finale at Grand Canyon on Sunday.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
