May 10, 2012
OREM, Utah -- 27th-ranked Utah Valley makes its final road swing of the 2012 regular season when it visits Old Westbury, New York, for a four-game, Great West Conference series with NYIT. Game one gets underway Friday at 1 p.m.
Friday's series opener and Sunday's series finale can be heard locally on 960 AM The Zone, while live audio for all the weekend's action, including Saturday's doubleheader, can be found at WolverineGreen.com.
The Wolverines (35-11, 20-0 GWC) took all four games last weekend at Houston Baptist, pushing their win streak to 28 games. UVU needed a late rally to keep the streak alive on Sunday as it trailed 3-1 heading into the eighth inning. But five runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth gave the Wolverines an 8-6 win and preserved the nation's longest winning streak.
UVU had an eventful week from there, garnering national attention and individual accolades. On Monday, the Wolverines entered the national rankings for the first time in program history when Collegiate Baseball ranked UVU No. 27 in their weekly poll. The Wolverines also received top 25 votes in the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' polls.
Goose Kallunki, who leads the country in RBIs (72), ranks seventh in batting average (.419) and ninth in home runs (15), was named a "Louisville Slugger" National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baesball for the second time this season after going 10-for-19 with three home runs in the HBU series.
The NCBWA also named Kallunki National Hitter of the Week while College Baseball Insider declared him the West Region Player of the Week.
NYIT (5-36, 3-17 GWC) sits at the bottom of the GWC standings after dropping three of four to North Dakota last weekend.
UVU's magic number to clinch its third straight GWC regular season crown sits at just one, as the Wolverines currently hold first place by seven games.
This weekend's series kicks off a busy stretch for UVU as it will play nine games in the next nine days. Following NYIT, the Wolverines return home for a midweek game against Utah on Tuesday, and then conclude the regular season with a four-game, home series against Northern Colorado.
