April 10, 2006

Opponent: BYU
Dates: April 11, 2006 
Location: Orem, Utah (Wolverine Stadium) 
Times: 7:00pm
Live Audio: Click HERE 
Live Stats: Click HERE 

What's on Deck ... 
Utah Valley State will begin its 2006 series with BYU on Tuesday at 7pm in Orem. The Wolverines and Cougars will play one another four times this season, all Tuesday single-game match ups.

The neighboring schools played five times in 2005, with BYU winning four games.

The lone Utah Valley State win came on April 18th, 2005 when Kyle Tash pitched a complete game in the Wolverines' 7-4 win.

Utah Valley is coming off of a series against another in-state opponent, Utah, that saw them drop three out of four. 

The Wolverines won the final game of the series, 5-4, after Adam Openshaw singled home Eli Slesk in the bottom of the eighth inning to score the winning run. Freshman Kyle Beecher pitched a perfect ninth to pick up the win for Utah Valley State.

So far this season the Wolverines are 4-8 against in-state opponents, (3-5 vs. SUU & 1-3 vs. Utah). 

Jones to be Inducted into UVSC Hall of Fame... 
On Wednesday, April 12th Utah Valley State will induct former Wolverine baseball star Mitch Jones into the UVSC Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Jones, one of two former athletes being honored on Wednesday, was an outstanding baseball player at Utah Valley State from 1997-98. He finished his career as the most prolific home run hitter in school history, cranking out 41 homers in his two seasons with the Wolverines.

Jones played during Utah Valley's NJCAA era, and left holding a host of single and two-year career records. He set the school's single-season record with 23 homers in 1998, and the single game record with three dingers against North Idaho on May 9, 1997. He held the career grand slam record with three, and held UVSC records for the most career at bats (368), runs (120), and bases on balls (68). He set a UVSC record with eight consecutive hits in 1997. He was second in career doubles (31), second in career slugging percentage (.777), and fourth in career hits (126). Jones had 10 multiple homer games and was a career .345 hitter. He earned All-Conference, All-Region, and NJCAA All-America recognition.

Jones came to UVSC after an outstanding high school career. He lettered in football and baseball at nearby Mountain View High in Orem, Utah. He captained the baseball team and earned All Region and All State recognition. His senior year he hit .560 with 10 home runs.

Jones continued his dominance on the diamond after leaving UVSC. He played his final two years of collegiate baseball at Arizona State. He set a single-season record for ASU with 27 homers in 2000, and led the nation in home runs per game with a .46 average. 

He also set an ASU record with 49 extra-base hits that year, and wound up with the best career slugging percentage in ASU history (.731). He was a consensus first-team All-American, and was drafted in the seventh round by the New York Yankees. .Jones is in his sixth season in the Yankee organization, currently with the AAA Columbus Clippers of the International League.

In the minor leagues, he has won home run titles four times. He began by taking the crown in the short-season New York Penn League in 2000 with 11 long balls. He hit 21 homers in 2001 to win the Florida State League title, 23 to win the Eastern League title in 2003, and 39 more to claim the Eastern League title again in 2004. He has won home-run derbies at All-Star games at the A, AA, and AAA levels. 

Scouting the Opposition ... 
BYU is 13-18 (3-4 in the Mountain West) after taking two out of three at UNLV last weekend. After struggling out of the gates, the Cougars are 13-8 in their last 21 games and have won three out of four including a big 23-6 win over Southern Utah last week.

Former Utah Valley State player Ben Saylor is batting .315 with seven home runs and 24 runs batted in for BYU while Jordan Muir is 3-0 with a 0.67 ERA in 27 innings pitched so far this season. 

Up Next ... 
The Wolverines host fellow NCAA Independent team Northern Colorado this weekend in a three-game series beginning Friday at 7pm. Saturday's action will begin at 1pm as the two teams will play a doubleheader.