UTAH VALLEY AT RED DESERT CLASSIC 
Friday-Sunday, March 3-5, 2017  
St. George, Utah   |   Canyons Softball Complex
Tournament Central Page  |  UVU Game Notes
Live Stats: vs. UCSB, vs. Utah State, vs. UNLV, vs. Montana, vs. Iowa State 
 

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UTAH VALLEY HEADS TO ST. GEORGE FOR RED DESERT CLASSIC
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University softball team will return to action this weekend (March 3-5) at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah. The weekend tournament will take place at the Canyons Softball Complex and is being hosted by Southern Utah University and the City of St. George.
 
The Wolverines will play a total of five games in three days at the tournament and will open play against UC Santa Barbara on Friday at 12:30 p.m. UVU will then close Friday with an in-state rivalry game against Utah State later that afternoon at 3 p.m. The Wolverines will then face both UNLV and Montana at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, on Saturday, before closing the tournament against Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
 
Live stats will be available for all five games by visiting UVUStats.com.
 
ABOUT UTAH VALLEY
The Wolverines will enter the tournament with an 0-4 record on the young season after opening the year with four setbacks at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 17-19. Despite dropping all four contests, three of the four were one-run decisions, as UVU fell to San Diego (10-9 in eight innings), St. Mary's (2-1) and UC Davis (4-3). The lone other setback of the opening tournament was an 11-3 loss to Cal Poly.
 
In Feb. 19's tournament finale against UC Davis, UVU's comeback attempt fell just short as it dropped the one run decision to UCD. With the Aggies holding to a 4-0 lead in the last of the sixth inning, the Wolverine offense finally broke through with four hits and three runs in the frame to pull within a run. Utah Valley junior Kirsten Andersen began the rally with an infield single and senior Courtney Beavers immediately followed with a single up the middle to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Following a strikeout, senior Brittney Vansway delivered an RBI single to put the Wolverines on the board. Junior Taleigh Williams then followed with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit in half, and freshman Lyndsay Steverson capped the scoring with an RBI single of her own to make it a 4-3 game.
 
UVU then threatened in the final inning with a leadoff double from sophomore Eryn Sustayta, but it couldn't manage to push the tying run across as UCD held on for the 4-3 win.
 
Beavers leads Utah Valley and the WAC offensively on the season with a .571 average, while the newly named Senior CLASS Award candidate Vansway is right behind her with a .545 clip and a team-high seven RBIs. Junior transfer Lauren Frailey fronts the Wolverine pitching staff with a solid 1.50 ERA and an 0-1 record in 9.1 innings of work.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
UCSB will enter the weekend with a 4-10 record after going 1-5 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic a week ago. The Gauchos' lone win of the tournament was a 6-5 victory over No. 20 Missouri. UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish sixth in the Big West this year after going 28-28 overall and 11-10 in league play last season. Friday's opener will mark the sixth all-time meeting between UVU and UCSB. The Gauchos will enter play holding to a 5-0 all-time series lead.
 
Utah State is off to an 8-3 start on the year after going 4-1 at the season-opening Easton Invite, 1-1 at the DeMarini Classic and 3-1 last weekend at the Amy S. Harrison Classic in Riverside, California. USU picked up wins over Siena, UTEP and host UC Riverside a week ago. The Aggies were picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West this year after posting a 26-25 overall record and a 12-12 conference clip in 2016. Friday's second game will mark the 30th all-time ballgame between the Wolverines and Aggies. USU will enter the game holding to a 19-10 series lead.
 
UNLV will enter the tournament with a 9-5 record after posting a 2-3 mark at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational last weekend. The Rebels posted their two wins of the tournament over the host Rainbow Wahine and fellow Red Desert Classic foe Montana. UNLV was picked to tie for sixth in the Mountain West poll after going 24-31 overall and 8-16 in league play last year. Saturday's contest will mark the ninth all-time meeting between UVU and UNLV. The Rebels will enter the game holding to a 7-1 series advantage.
 
In just its third year of existence, Montana softball will enter the Red Desert Classic with a 5-9 record after going 1-4 at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational last week. The Lady Griz posted their lone win of the tournament with a 6-0 victory over UNLV. Montana was picked to finish third in the Big Sky this season after going 29-27 overall and 14-7 in conference play last year. Saturday's contest will mark the first all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Lady Griz.  
 
Iowa State is off to a 7-7 start in 2017 after dropping four games last weekend at the Samford/UAB Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to the 0-4 weekend, ISU posted a perfect 5-0 outing at the Tennessee State Tiger Classic the previous week. The Cyclones were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 after going 20-35 overall and 1-17 in league play in 2016. Sunday's finale will mark the first all-time meeting between UVU and ISU.
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
Following the conclusion of the Red Desert Classic, the Wolverines will head to Reno, Nevada, for four games at the Nevada Wolf Pack Classic on March 10-11. UVU will play a pair of games against both St. Mary's and host Nevada Wolf Pack before returning to Orem to welcome the Maine Black Bears to town for its 2017 home opener on Tuesday, March 14.
 
5-FOR-5
Senior transfer Courtney Beavers shined in her first ballgame in a Wolverine uniform by setting a new UVU school record for hits in a game after going 5-for-5 from the plate on Feb. 17 against San Diego at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The speedster went a perfect 5-for-5 from the leadoff spot in the contest with three doubles, two runs scored and a stolen base en route to setting the new Utah Valley record. Beavers finished her opening weekend at UVU going 8-for-14 (.571) with three doubles, three runs scored and two stolen bases.     
 
VANSWAY TABBED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Senior infielder Brittney Vansway has been selected as one of 30 top NCAA softball student-athletes who excel both on and off the field as a candidate for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award. Vansway is a three-time all-conference performer who holds a 3.15 GPA in business management at UVU and is set to earn her bachelor's degree this spring.