Utah Valley State (4-3) at Gonzaga (3-3)
Location: Pasco, Washington
Date: February 25-27, 2005
Time: 3:00 p.m. MST on Feb. 25-26 & 2:00 p.m. MST on Feb 27
Series Record: Bulldogs lead 1-0

What's on Tap:
The Wolverines will try to keep their momentum from last weekend alive as they take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Pasco, Washington. First pitch will be at 3:00 p.m. MST on Friday and Saturday and 2:00 p.m. MST on Sunday.

Quick Hits:
- The Wolverines will play their first 23 games of the season on the road.
- Brad Hales has a season long hit streak going for Utah Valley State. He leads the team with 15 hits.
- In their first year of NCAA Division-I competition last season the Wolverines finished 10-9 against other Division-I schools and 2-2 against other D-I Independent schools. They are a perfect 2-0 so far this season against other D-I Independents with the two-game sweep of North Dakota State last weekend.
- The Wolverines return four players and picked up one more that received postseason honors last season. They are: Canyon Vance (2nd Team All-Independent), Reno Mendenhall (2nd Team All-Independent), Jed Jensen (Honorable Mention All-Independent), Brady Drake (Honorable Mention All-Independent), and SUU transfer, Kory Drew (2nd Team All-Mid Continent).

Wolverine Update:
The Wolverines are coming off an outstanding week at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado as they beat North Dakota State and Air Force two times each to sweep the four-games over the weekend. Utah Valley State went crazy at the plate, outscoring the opposition 52-10. The Wolverines hit .435 for the series, including .533 with two outs.

The pitching staff wasn't too shabby either as Jed Jensen started off the weekend by going the distance in a three-hit shut-out, striking out 10 while walking only one in a 10-0 win over North Dakota State.

Kyle Tash had another outstanding performance in the final game against North Dakota State, an 8-2 victory. Tash pitched eight innings, giving up two earned runs, while scattering six hits, striking out six and walking none. The pitching staff ERA for the weekend was solid 2.00. 

Perry Gains National Recognition:
CollegeBaseballInsider.com has named senior first baseman Trent Perry its National Player of the Week. Perry won the award for his performance at the US Air Force Academy. Perry had four home runs and 16 RBI in the four-game sweep of NDSU and Air Force.

"It's a neat thing that's happened for Trent," said Head Coach Steve Gardner. "I hope the rest of the school understands how hard it is to get that kind of exposure."

He was 10-for-18 (.555) while slugging 1.412 during the series and was 8-for-13 with runners in scoring position, knocking in 11 of his 16 RBI with two outs. At first base he had 38 chances in the field with no errors.

"I don't know that I've ever had a player have the kind of week that Trent had," said Gardner. "It's the type of thing that happens only one time in a guy's career."

To compare the weekend to what Perry did all of last year, he nearly matched his 2004 totals in home runs (7) and RBI (23).

Valuable Additions:
Head Coach Steve Gardner may have found himself a gem close to home when a couple of local players decided to transfer to Utah Valley State. Kory Drew (Southern Utah) and Brad Hales (BYU) have both been very impressive at the plate thus far.

Hales brings a season long hit streak into this weekend's games as he leads the team with 15 hits and is fourth on the team with a .469 average. Drew's weekend in Colorado went somewhat unnoticed because of Trent Perry. But Drew had quite the four-game run as well. He was 9-for-17 with three home runs and nine RBI. The senior is tied for the team lead with four doubles while hitting .448 at the plate.

Scouting the Opposition:
Gonzaga:
The Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-3) are coming off of an extended layoff after playing in the Coca-Cola Spring Training Tournament in Surprise, Arizona. The Bulldogs were 2-1 in the tournament with wins over Oklahoma (8-5) and a shutout win over 12th ranked Arizona State. Patrick Donovan pitched seven innings against the Sun Devils and was named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week.

The Bulldogs normally play at Avista Stadium in Spokane, but because of the uncertain February moods of Mother Nature, schedule their early season games elsewhere. This weekend's series will take place at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington.

The 'Zags are off the their best start since the 2000 season when they began 4-2. Last season, Gonzaga welcomed Utah Valley State to Division I baseball with a 21-0 win in the Banana Belt Tournament on March 5th.

The two teams will play each other again next weekend at this year's Banana Belt Tournament in Lewiston, Idaho. The game will be Saturday, March 5th at 4:00 p.m. and the final game of the tournament for the Wolverines.

On Deck:
Utah Valley State will play in the Banana Belt Tournament March 3-5 in Lewiston, Idaho, hosted by Lewis-Clark State. They will play Washington State Thursday the 3rd at 1:00 p.m. and Lewis-Clark State at 4:00 p.m. On Friday the 4th, they will take on Portland at 10:00 a.m. with the final game of the tournament coming Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Gonzaga.

In last season's Banana Belt Tournament, the Wolverines were just 1-3 with their only win coming 5-4 over Portland. They will be familiar with Gonzaga after playing them this weekend and will have to get familiar with Washington State, as the two teams will play a three-game series March 18-20 in Pullman, Washington.