Utah Valley vs. Missouri-Kansas City
Fri., April 24 (12 & 2 pm MT) - Sat., April 25 (12 pm MT) 
Orem, Utah  |  Wolverine Field
Live Video (Fri.)  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Series Notes
 

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OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University softball team will close Western Athletic Conference play with a key league series against Missouri-Kansas City at Wolverine Field this weekend. Due to rain on the horizon this weekend, the two teams will now play a doubleheader beginning at noon on Friday followed by a single game at noon on Saturday.
 
This weekend's series will mark the final home games for the Wolverines in 2015, and Saturday will be Senior Day for UVU. Senior outfielders Kelli Gendlek, Megan Peay and Erin Romero will all be honored for their careers at Utah Valley prior to Saturday's first pitch.
 
Live video as well as live stats will be available for all three games by visiting WolverineGreen.com. 
 
This weekend's series will pit the sixth-place Wolverines (16-33, 3-9 WAC) against the fourth-place Kangaroos (24-24, 4-7 WAC). Both teams will be vying to move up in the league standings to try and improve their respective seeds for the upcoming WAC Softball Tournament that will be played May 7-9 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
 
UVU will look to right the ship this weekend as it will enter play having dropped four straight contests. After getting swept by fellow WAC foe Grand Canyon in Phoenix last weekend, Utah Valley fell by a score of 10-2 to Idaho State in a non-conference contest on Tuesday. ISU scored nine late runs in that game to defeat the Wolverines via the eight-run rule.
 
In Tuesday's ballgame at ISU, junior Morgan Smith tied the all-time triple record at UVU with her ninth career three-bagger. She finished the game going 1-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. With the stolen base, Smith is now second in the WAC in steals with 11, as she is a perfect 11-for-11 in that category on the season.
 
Sophomore Brianna Gatlin paces the Wolverines on the year with a .339 average, while fellow sophomore Brittney Vansway leads the team in conference-only play with a .367 clip. Freshman Jaylen Watson is next as she's second on the team both overall and in WAC-only play with respective batting averages of .325 and .357. Sophomore Bailey Moore paces the UVU pitching staff with an overall record of 10-17 an earned run average of 5.05.
 
About UMKC
The Kangaroos will come to Orem on the heels of sweeping a weather-shortened two-game series over Seattle U at home last weekend. Kansas City took the first contest by a score of 3-2 and the second 9-1. Prior to the home series against SU, UMKC got swept in a three-game set at conference leader New Mexico State the previous weekend.
 
Katie Kelley leads the 'Roos with a .380 average, 14 home runs and 54 RBIs. She also paces UMKC in victories from the circle with a 10-10 record. Kelley is also tops in the WAC in doubles with 16, as well as total bases with 118. Her teammate Brooke Parker too leads the WAC in stolen bases with 27 (27-31).
 
Friday's opener will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the Wolverines and 'Roos. UMKC holds a slight 4-3 advantage after taking two out of three from UVU in Kansas City last season. The Wolverines then, however, revoked some revenge with a 1-0 victory over UMKC at the 2014 WAC Tournament.  
 
Up Next of the Wolverines
UVU will tune-up for the WAC Championships by heading to Norman, Oklahoma, for a two-game non-conference series at No. 6 Oklahoma next weekend. Following the two-game set at Big 12 Oklahoma, UVU will face BYU in Provo in its final game of the regular season on May 5.