Feb. 21, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
OREM, Utah - The Utah Valley baseball team will open its 2008 schedule with doubleheaders at Santa Clara on Friday, February 22nd and at Cal a day later. Friday's twinbill against Santa Clara will begin at 4pm MT while Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 12pm MT.
"This is a tough early schedule. We're playing some good teams and we haven't even been outside yet to throw a ball around on the grass," said head coach Steve Gardner. "But guys have been working hard. We know we have to play well to win and I think it brings the guys up to another level."
The Wolverines are expected to start Marcus Moore, their top pitcher in 2007, in the season opener and Bryan Smith in the nightcap. Moore finished 6-4 with a 3.92 ERA in 2007 and had three complete games including a school record 14 strikeout performance on April 11th against in-state rival Southern Utah. Moore struck out 98 batters in 87.1 innings, including four games where he struck out at least 10 batters.
Aaron Brady, a transfer from San Diego State who with 1-3 with a 2.92 for the Tony Gwynn and the Aztecs in 2007, is expected to start Saturday's first game while senior south paw Dan Christensen will get the nod in the weekend finale.
"We've got some that kids that have a lot of good experience," said Gardner. "Marcus is our first guy out of the chute; he'll give teams trouble because he's a different kind of a pitcher. He'll consistently give us a chance to win ball games."
Utah Valley returns four position starters from a season ago, including Ping! Freshman All-American Jace Brinkerhoff, who batted .371 with four home runs and threw two complete games on the mound. Brinkerhoff made 11 starts on the hill and threw nearly 70 innings but is expected to be the everyday third baseman and will likely see a lot less action as a pitcher.
First baseman Adam Openshaw and outfielders Tyler Garretson and Scott Croshaw, all seniors, are the other returning starters. Brady will also see some time in the outfield along with AJ Palmer, who redshirted in 2005 before serving and LDS mission.
One glaring omission from the lineup with be Derrick Thomas, who hit .401 with 16 home runs in his senior season. Thomas, who played last summer for the Orem Owlz (Los Angeles Angels rookie league), will be replaced by sophomores Kevin Arendse and Dixie State transfer Brock Sargent.
Ryan Jones, who split time at second with departed senior Keiki Albino, will be the everyday second baseman, while shortstop is still an unknown with freshmen Kai Hatch and Jake Rickenbach and sophomore Dick Bargewell all potential options for Gardner.
On the mound, the Wolverines will have a senior heavy staff. In addition to the weekend's four starters, Kyle Kasper and Matthew Ratliff are two more seniors to add to the mix along with juniors Andy Jangard, who will likely get a handful of starts, Craig Stringham and Jory Jensen. There's also a familiar name on the pitching staff in freshman Kole Mickolio, the younger brother of former Wolverine and Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kam Mickolio.
Tough Road Ahead
Utah Valley will play its first 22 games of the season away from Brent Brown Ballpark before its home opener on March 25th against Utah. The Wolverines will play just 11 games at home, where they went 15-7 in 2007, with nine of those games coming against in-state schools.
The road schedule includes Pac-10 foes Cal, Washington, #1 Arizona and the back-to-back national champion Oregon State. Road series at Big 12 Oklahoma State and WAC schools Nevada and Hawai'i also add to the Wolverines' toughest schedule in five NCAA seasons.
About Santa Clara and Cal
Santa Clara went 27-29 overall and 9-12 in West Coast Conference action, finishing fourth in conference in 2007. The Broncos return sophomore catcher Tommy Medica, who hit .373 and was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America and Louisville Slugger.
Cal finished 29-26 and 12-12 in Pac-10 play last year. The Bears return three All-Americans in junior pitchers Tyson Ross and Matt Gorgen and first baseman David Cooper, who hit .382 with 12 home runs.
It wil be the first time ever that Utah Valley will face both Santa Clara and Cal.
On Deck
The Wolverines are scheduled to play a three-game series at Southern Utah next Thursday through Saturday and then head to St. George to face Dixie State for single games on Sunday and Monday.
UV is scheduled to play 19 games against in-state teams, including a neutral-field game against BYU at the River City Classic in Sacramento.
