Utah Valley State (0-0) at Southern Utah (3-1)
Location: St. George , UT - Dixie State College - Hurst Field
Date: February 11th, 2:00pm (DH) February 12th, 12:00pm (DH)
Series Record: 1st Meetings

What's on Tap:
The Wolverines open up their 2005 campaign against in-state rival, Southern Utah on Friday and Saturday. The games will be played in St. George, Utah at Dixie State College's Hurst Field. Doubleheaders will be played each day with Friday's double dip scheduled to start at 2:00 pm and Saturday's games will start at 12:00 pm.

Quick Hits

• Junior Canyon Vance enters the season with a seven game hitting streak.
• The Wolverines return four players that received postseason honors last season. Vance and Reno Mendenhall were named to the 2nd Team All-Independent, while Jed Jensen and Brady Drake picked honorable mention All-Independent honors.
• Transfer Kory Drew also picked up a postseason honor as he was named to the All-Mid Continent Conference 2nd team while playing for Southern Utah.
• Last season Head Coach Steve Gardner led the Wolverines to an impressive opening record of 19-17, including 10-9 against other Division I teams.

2005 Season Preview:
A brand new sparkling stadium, a challenging schedule, and seven returning starters highlight the upcoming 2005 baseball season at Utah Valley State.
Head Coach Steve Gardner returns for his 15th season in Orem and is preparing the team for its second season at the Division I level. Last season Utah Valley played 36 games, finishing 19-17 in its first year against the new competition. This year the number of games jumps to 56, 41 of which will be on the road. As for the other 15 games, those will be in the beautiful new Parkway Crossing Stadium. The stadium has 2,500 seats and can hold another 2,500 people on the grass berms outside the third base line and outfield.

"It's a dream come true for me," said Coach Gardner about Parkway Crossing Stadium. "The ballpark is outstanding. There aren't a lot of Division I programs with the facilities we have at this point. We're thrilled to death."

The Wolverines play their first 24 games on the road and opening day at home won't be until March 24th as Southern Utah travels to Orem. During the three-day weekend, many former players will return for the grand opening of the stadium.

The 2005 schedule should provide quite the challenge for the Wolverines. Three Pac-10 teams all ranked 12th or higher in the preseason are the most name-worthy opponents for Utah Valley State. The team will travel to Seattle March 28-29 for three games against Washington. They will also make the trip to Tempe and Tucson, where they will take on Arizona State on May 4th and Arizona three times May 6-8.

The schedule will also include 19 games against in state schools Southern Utah (8), Utah (6) and BYU (5), with the season opener set for Friday, February 11th in Cedar City.

"We want the best experience possible for the players so we like to play a good schedule," said Gardner. "It's gonna be tough, and if we can play .500 baseball I'll feel pretty darn good."

The team will also play perennial NAIA contender Lewis & Clark State, Portland, Gonzaga and Washington State in the Banana Belt Tournament March 3-5 in Lewiston, Idaho.

Seven starters from last year's squad will be on the field on opening day, including Reno Mendenhall and Canyon Vance who were both on the Division I All-Independent 2nd team in 2004.

"The seven returning starters is definitely a plus," said Gardner. "We have good team speed and we've improved our outfield play."

Jed Jensen and Brady Drake were both honorable mention All-Independent a year ago and return on the hill for the Wolverines.

Tough Road Ahead:
The Wolverines will get used to being on the road this season, playing their first 24 games away from the friendly confines of newly built, Parkway Crossing Stadium. Utah Valley State finally returns home on March 24-26 to host the T-Birds for a four-game set.

New Digs:
The opening weekend at Parkway Crossing Stadium will be 'Alumni Weekend'. All Utah Valley State baseball alumni are invited back to enjoy the festivities of this historical event. More details on an alumni package that will include a pre-game barbecue on the grass berm and tickets to each game of the series will be announced shortly. Check the website at: www.wolverinesports.net for updated information.

Scouting the Opposition:
Southern Utah :
The Thunderbirds took three of four games from the Air Force Academy last week to open their season. Jason Ruiz earned the conference-??s first player of the week award after hitting .467 against the Falcons. Ruiz also finished the weekend with seven RBI and four runs scored.

The T-Birds swept the conference awards when Jeff Oliverson was named the conference-??s pitcher of the week. Oliverson retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced in three relief appearances. He picked a win and two saves, having a hand in all three SUU victories.

Southern Utah is coached by David Eldredge, who is in his first year at the helm in Cedar City. The T-Birds were picked to finish 3rd in the Mid-Continent preseason poll.

Up Next:
Utah Valley State travels to Colorado Springs February 18-20 to take on North Dakota State and Air Force. The Wolverines will play both teams twice on Falcon Field. Games will start at 10:00 am (NDSU) and 1:00 pm (AFA) on Feb. 18, 1:00 pm (AFA) on Feb. 19, and 10:00 am (NDSU) on Feb. 20. NDSU is a fellow Independent school having made the jump this season from Divison II to NCAA Division I.