PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Saint Joseph's softball team heads west as the Hawks take part in the Lopes Up Classic at Grand Canyon University starting this Friday, March 6. The Hawks open play at 2 p.m. ET versus UNLV on Friday, with matchups against Montana and the host Lopes set throughout the weekend.
LOPES UP CLASSIC
Friday, March 6
Saint Joseph's vs. UNLV | 2:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Tickets
Saint Joseph's vs. Montana | 4:30 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Tickets
Saturday, March 7
Saint Joseph's vs. UNLV | 12:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Tickets
Saint Joseph's vs. GCU | 5:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Watch Live | Tickets
Sunday, March 8
Saint Joseph's vs. Montana | 12:00 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Tickets
GAMEDAY LINKS
SJU: Roster | Schedule | Stats
UNLV: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Montana: Roster | Schedule | Stats
GCU: Roster | Schedule | Stats
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
• Saint Joseph's is is back in action this weekend after going 1-3 at the rain-shortened Fairfield Crabtree Invitational.
• Senior Jancarla Herrera has paced the Hawks' offense with 10 hits and a .417 average.
• Seniors Caela Abadie (.296) and Sarah Ostaszewski (.226) are tied for the team lead with four RBI apiece, while sophomore Carly Rybinski has posted a team-high five runs scored.
• This weekend marks a homecoming for Gilbert, Arizona, native Saige Stutz as the freshman pitcher enters Friday with a 2-0 mark and 2.82 ERA over a team-high 22.1 innings pitched.
SCOUTING UNLV
• Winners of nine of its last 10 games, UNLV takes the field Friday with a 16-5 overall record and a 4-0 mark in neutral site contests.
• At the plate, UNLV is batting .299 as a team with Maddie Schmidt hitting a team-best .424 with 18 runs scored, while teammate Justine Federe has driven in 22 runs with a .397 average.
• In the circle, Jenny Bressler leads the UNLV pitching staff with an 8-3 record and a 1.43 ERA to go along with a team-best 72 strike outs.
SCOUTING MONTANA
• Montana enters the Lopes Up Classic with a 9-10 mark, but are coming off a 3-1 performance at the Amy S. Harrison Classic least weekend at UC Riverside.
• Averaging 3.8 runs per game as a team, Cami Sellers has posted a team-best .344 average and ranks second on the team in runs (eight) and RBI (12) to Maygen McGrath's team-best 10 runs and 13 RBI.
• Michaela Hood (3-4) leads Montana's three-pitcher staff with a team-leading 1.90 ERA, with Tistin Achenbach standing at 6-6 with a 3.08 ERA and Ashley Ward yet to earn a decision in 5.2 innings of work.
SCOUTING GCU
• The host Lopes will take on both UNLV and Montana before facing the Hawks on Saturday evening.
• GCU heads into the weekend's tournament with a 4-16 mark and went 1-4 at the Judi Garman Classic last weekend.
• Gianna Nicoletti has posted a team-best .357 average to go with 13 runs scored, with Lily Bishop leading the way with 11 RBI and a .450 slugging percentage.
• GCU has taken advantage of pitching depth so far this season with five Lopes seeing action, led by Brianna Aguilar's 2.45 ERA.
UP NEXT
• Saint Joseph's travels to nationally ranked Arizona on Tuesday for a single contest with the nationally ranked Wildcats.
Follow the Saint Joseph's softball team on Instagram and Twitter and like the Hawks on Facebook.
