Utah Valley at UT Rio Grande Valley
Friday, March 24 - Sunday, March 26  |  6pm/5pm/11am MT
Edinburg, Texas  |  Edinburg Baseball Stadium
Video (Gm 1)  |  Video (Gm 2)  |  Video (Gm 3)
Live Stats  |  UVU Series Notes
 

ON DECK
Utah Valley University opens Western Athletic Conference play on Friday at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The series opener will start at 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT with Saturday's middle contest at 6 p.m. CT and Sunday's finale at noon CT. Friday's opener will air on the WAC Digital Network. 

IN THE HOLE
Next week the Wolverines return home for just their second series at Brent Brown Ballpark. Sacramento State comes to town for a three-game WAC series starting Thursday, March 30. 

LAST TIME OUT
Paul Estrada had a career-high four RBIs including a three-run double as UVU won its fourth straight game over in-state rival Utah, 9-7, on Wednesday in Salt Lake City. Kade Poulsen had a pair of hits including a two-run triple during a four-run second inning.

The Wolverines trailed the Utes 3-0 after the first before responding with the four-run second. Estrada's three-run double came in the sixth and gave UVU a 7-3 advantage. The Utes closed to within a run at 8-7, but Zac Willis gave the Wolverines an insurance run in the eighth with an RBI single. Patrick Wolfe closed out the game in the ninth, retiring the side in order on just five pitches to earn his fourth save of the season. 

Last weekend, UVU won its series opener against Creighton at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, 2-1, in 11 innings last Friday night before dropping the final three games of the series. The teams played one-run contests in the first three games before the Blue Jays' bats aided the home team in a lopsided series finale. 

ABOUT THE VAQUEROS
UT Rio Grande Valley sported the second-best winning percentage in the WAC during the conference's preseason slate of games, and currently sit at 16-8 on the year. The Vaqueros lost at Big 12 Texas on Wednesday despite a seven-run first inning. Prior to that though, UTRGV was on a six-game winning streak. 

The Vaqueros have played 20 of their 24 games so far this season at home in Edinburg, Texas, going 16-4 in those contests. Jose Garcia is batting .405 with four home runs and leads the WAC in total bases (57) and runs scored (27) while ranking second with 34 hits. The pitching staff is tied for the league lead with Sac State with a 3.47 team ERA and leads the conference as a team with 211 strikeouts. Friday starter Carter Johnson has a 2.08 ERA and a WAC-best 43 strikeouts. 

SERIES HISTORY VS UTRGV
Utah Valley is 18-8 all-time against UTRGV and won the first 12 meetings between the teams. Since both joined the WAC in 2014, the two have split 10 games with the Vaqueros winning five of nine during the WAC regular season and UVU winning the one match up in WAC Tournament play. Utah Valley is 6-5 all-time on the road against UTRGV with the Vaqueros winning the last series in Edinburg in 2015, taking two of three.