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Grand Canyon softball earns 3rd straight NCAA Tournament berth with WAC title

Grand Canyon's softball team once again has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The Lopes clinched an automatic berth Saturday, capturing their third straight Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship by defeating California Baptist 9-2, in a game played at Seattle U.

GCU (48-11), which set a school record for most wins in a season, will find out Sunday which team it will play and where it will travel to for the NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be released Sunday at 4 p.m. with a selection show on ESPN2.

This was the first time a WAC softball team won three consecutive conference tournament championships.

The conference titles have come all three years Shanon Hays has led the program. This season's team broke last year's school-record win total of 47.

Hailey Hudson and Meghan Golden combined on a two-hitter Saturday for GCU, which broke open a tight game with a five-run fifth inning.

Kristin Fifield had ripped an RBI double and Ramsay Lopez launched a two-run homer in the inning. Makaiya Gomez followed with a home run to make it 9-2.

Hudson, the WAC Pitcher of the Year, won her 15th game.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: GCU softball earns 3rd straight NCAA Tournament berth with WAC title