April 3, 2012
OREM, Utah -- For the first time in the program's NCAA history, Utah Valley University baseball will host a ranked opponent when No. 4 Arizona comes to Brent Brown Ballpark on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. MT and can be heard live on 960 AM the Zone.
UVU (12-11), winners of five straight, will also begin defense of its Great West Conference championship in a four-game series against North Dakota starting Thursday. Following Saturday's series finale, there will be an Easter egg hunt on the field. All kids who bring an Easter basket can get into the game for free.
The Wolverines swept Southern Utah behind a big weekend at the plate that saw UVU score 41 runs over three games on its way to a season sweep of the T-Birds. Austin Heaps batted .545 in the series and was named the Great West Offensive Player of the Week.
The Pac-12 Wildcats (21-7) will be the highest-ranked opponent the Wolverine baseball program has faced in the NCAA Division I era and the seventh game this season against a top-25 foe. No. 6 Arizona State, in 2007, was the highest-ranked opponent prior Wednesday's game.
Arizona moved up four spots in Baseball America's poll after sweeping then-No. 2 Stanford in a three games in Tucson over the weekend. The Wildcats boast one of the nation's top hitting teams, batting .327 as a club.
Arizona defeated Utah Valley on Feb. 21, 12-6, in Tucson. In that game, the Wolverines led 5-1 in the fourth and held onto the lead until giving up six runs in the sixth. The Wildcats have won all 15 meetings between the schools and have been ranked in 10 of the games.
North Dakota enters the conference-opening series at 2-16 after dropping four games to in-state rival North Dakota State last weekend. Despite dropping the series, the Fighting Sioux twice lost by only a single run and once by two runs.
UND and Utah Valley did not meet last season during the GWC regular season due to weather but did face off in the conference tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota in a thrilling 3-2 Wolverine win.
