PHOENIX, Ariz. – Behind six home runs on the night, Grand Canyon University swept a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader over Utah Valley University, 16-7 and 15-3, on Friday at Stepleton-Pierson Stadium in Phoenix.
 
The Antelopes slugged out 26 hits and 31 runs en route to improving to 27-19 overall and 8-3 in WAC play. With the pair of losses, UVU drops to 16-31 on the season and 3-8 in conference action.
 
Trailing 2-0 in the second inning in Friday evening's opener, the Wolverines got on the board thanks to a two-run home run from designated player Hailey Kofler. UVU then tacked on five more runs in the third to take a 7-2 advantage at the time. Morgan Smith singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the frame, while Taleigh Williams drove home Brittney Vansway for the second run of the inning with a single up middle to give UVU a 4-2 lead. With two on and one out, Erin Romero then delivered the big hit with a three-run homer to left field.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, as GCU struck back with 11 runs of their own in the last of the third to take a 13-7 advantage. The Antelopes sent 15 batters to the plate that inning and smacked out three round trippers, including a pair of grand slams.
 
With Grand Canyon still holding to its 13-7 lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Lopes put the game away thanks to a run-rule walk-off home run from Haley Walker.
 
Taylor Nowlin picked up the win in relief for Grand Canyon to improve to 12-6 on the year while UVU reliever Kelsey Lawton suffered the loss to drop to 0-1. Camree Wartman led the Lopes offensively by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and six RBIs and Romero paced the Wolverines with a 1-for-2 outing with three runs driven home and a run scored.
 
In the nightcap of the twin bill, Utah Valley jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Following a two-out walk by Jaylen Watson, Vansway drove them both home with a two-run home run down the left-field line.
 
GCU then once again responded with two runs of its own in the last of the first to tie the game at 2-all. The Lopes then took their first lead of the contest in the second thanks to two more runs. Grand Canyon then put game two away in the third by scoring 11 more runs.
 
Romero tacked on her second homer of the day for the Wolverines in the fourth inning of the nightcap to finish going 2-for-5 with a pair of long balls and four RBIs.
 
Bailey Bergman went the distance in the circle for Grand Canyon to improve to 4-3 on the year while Makayla Shadle suffered the loss for Utah Valley to drop to 5-5. 
 
As a whole, UVU and GCU combined to slug out 10 home runs on the day.   
 
The Wolverines and Lopes will conclude their weekend series with a single game on Saturday evening at Stapleton-Pierson Stadium. First pitch for the series finale is slated for 7 p.m. MDT/6 p.m. MST and the game will air live on the WAC Digital Network.