UTAH VALLEY AT NEW MEXICO STATE
Friday-Saturday, March 31-April 1, 2017   
8 p.m. MT (Fri.), 4 & 6 p.m. MT (Sat.)
Las Cruces, N.M.   |   NM State Softball Complex
Live Video (Gm 1)  |  Live Video (Gm 2&3)  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Series Notes
 

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UTAH VALLEY TO OPEN WAC PLAY THIS WEEKEND AT NM STATE
OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University softball team will open Western Athletic Conference play at the defending conference champion New Mexico State Aggies this weekend in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The three-game league series will open on Friday evening (March 31) at 8 p.m. MT at the NM State Softball Complex. (Friday night's series opener has been pushed back to an 8 p.m. start due to strong winds in the Las Cruces area). 
 
Following Friday evening's opener, the series will then conclude on Saturday (April 1) with a late afternoon doubleheader at 4 and 6 p.m. MT. Live stats will be available for all three games by visiting NMStateStats.com, while Friday's opener will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network and Saturday's twin bill will be streamed via NMStateSports.com (for a fee).
 
UVU will enter the weekend series with an 8-12 overall record after winning eight of its last 12 ballgames. After taking three of four at the Nevada Classic on March 10-11 and three out of four in its home-opening week against Maine and Wagner (March 13-14), the Wolverines then went 1-2 last week on the road versus Utah State and Idaho State.
 
After dropping an 11-2 contest to the in-state Aggies in Logan on March 22, UVU then bounced back by splitting a doubleheader at Idaho State the following day. Utah Valley took the opener over the Bengals, 6-2, before ISU responded to take the finale by a score of 6-3. Junior right-hander Lauren Frailey went the distance in the win over Idaho State, as she allowed just one earned run while scattering eight hits and striking out a season-high five batters. The complete-game victory marked her third complete game outing of the season.
 
Frailey earned the first WAC Pitcher of the Week honors of her career on Monday after her fine outing against Idaho State. For the week, the junior transfer from Salt Lake Community College went 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA in nine total innings for work. After the week, Frailey now leads the Wolverines from the circle with a 5-3 record and a 2.61 ERA.
 
Seniors Courtney Beavers and Brittney Vansway led the way for the Wolverines offensively last week by hitting .500 and .400, respectively. Beavers went 4-for-8 with two runs scored, two runs driven in, two walks and two stolen bases, while Vansway went 4-for-10 with a home run, three RBIs and a run scored. Freshman Basia Query too had a solid week by also hitting an even .400 with a double and a run scored.
 
Vansway not only leads the Wolverines but also the WAC with a .413 batting average and 34 runs batted in. She also ranks second in the league in home runs (7) behind her teammate in freshman second baseman Lyndsay Steverson (8). Vansway also became UVU's all-time leader in sacrifice flies last week with nine, as she holds a single-season record of five on the year.   
 
As a team, UVU leads the WAC offensively with a .325 batting average, a .496 slugging percentage, a .385 on-base percentage and 23 home runs.
 
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
The Aggies will enter this weekend's WAC series with a 12-16 record after sweeping a doubleheader from neighboring rival UTEP in El Paso on Tuesday. Prior to the twin bill sweep, NM State had dropped five of their last six contests. The Aggies went a near-perfect 14-1 in league play last year en route to winning the 2016 WAC title. New Mexico State and Grand Canyon were both picked to win the conference this season in the preseason coaches' poll after tying with 23 votes apiece.
 
Preseason WAC Player of the Year selection Kelsey Horton leads the Aggies with a .402 average, four homers and 23 RBIs, while Nikki Butler holds a .382 average and four home runs as well. Kayla Green fronts the NM State pitching staff with a 7-9 record and a 3.86 ERA.
 
Friday's series opener will mark the 17th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Aggies. NM State will enter play holding to a 14-2 series lead, an 8-0 mark in Las Cruces, and having won nine straight meetings.  
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
Following this weekend's series, UVU will step out of conference play for an in-state midweek doubleheader at Southern Utah on Tuesday, April 4 in Cedar City. After the SUU twin bill, the Wolverines will then return to Orem for their home-opening WAC series against CSU Bakersfield next weekend (April 7-8).