UTAH VALLEY AT NEVADA WOLF PACK CLASSIC 
Friday-Saturday, March 10-11, 2017  
Reno, Nev.   |   Hixson Softball Park
Live Stats  |  UVU Game Notes
 

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UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO RENO FOR NEVADA WOLF PACK CLASSIC
OREM, Utah – Fresh off of a win over Big 12 Conference foe Iowa State last week, the Utah Valley University softball team will travel to Reno, Nevada, this weekend for the Nevada Wolf Pack Classic. The three-team preseason tournament will run Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, at Nevada's Hixson Softball Park.
 
UVU will play the Saint Mary's Gaels twice on the weekend, as well as the host Nevada Wolf Pack twice. The Wolverines and Gaels will open the tournament on Friday at 12:30 p.m. MT/11:30 a.m. PT. UVU will then face Nevada on Friday at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT, before closing the tournament on Saturday with games against SMC at 10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT and the Wolf Pack at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT.
 
The Wolverines will enter the Classic with a 1-8 record on the young season after pulling out a 1-0 shutout victory over the Big 12 Cyclones in the Red Desert Classic finale in St. George, Utah, last weekend. Junior right-hander Lauren Frailey led the way for UVU in the contest by pitching a complete-game gem. Frailey went the distance en route to compiling the shutout, as she scattered six ISU hits on the seven innings, while striking out three and inducing 16 groundouts.
 
Freshman catcher Basia Query led the Utah Valley offense in the game by going 2-for-3 at the plate, while junior shortstop Kirsten Andersen drove home the lone run of the game with an RBI single in the fifth.
 
The victory snapped an eight-game skid for the Wolverines, and marked just UVU's third in program history over an opponent from the Big 12 Conference.
 
After going 7-for-15 last week with a double, a homer and three RBIs, the freshman Query now leads UVU offensively on the season with a .407 batting average, a .667 slugging percentage and a pair of homers. Senior Courtney Beavers is next with a .367 clip, while fellow senior Brittney Vansway tops the club in runs batted in with 13. The junior right-hander Frailey tops the pitching staff with a 1-2 record and a 2.84 ERA.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Saint Mary's will enter the weekend with a 9-9 overall record after going 3-1 at the ShareSLO Mustang Classic in San Luis Obispo, California, last weekend. Friday's opener will mark the second meeting of the season between the Wolverines and Gaels after SMC pulled out a 2-1 come-from-behind win over UVU at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 17. Saint Mary's was picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference this year after going 20-27-1 overall and 7-8 in league play last season.
 
Nikki Alexander leads the Gaels with a .333 batting average while Hailey Sparacino is hitting an even .300 with a homer and a team-best 13 RBIs. Katlyn Whitt fronts the Gaels pitching staff with a 1.43 ERA and a 3-2 win-loss record, while Katie Moss holds a team-best 5-4 record with five complete games.
 
Friday's opener will mark the 15th all-time meeting between UVU and SMC on the diamond. The series is deadlocked at seven wins apiece (7-7) after Saint Mary's pulled out the 2-1 win in Cathedral City, California, earlier this year.
 
The host Nevada Wolf Pack will enter the tournament with a 12-6 record on the year after going 4-1 at the Red Desert Classic a week ago, which included a 7-6 upset win over No. 17 Utah. Nevada was picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West this season after going 32-15 overall a year ago and 10-10 in league play.
 
Amanda Nicholas paces the Wolf Pack offense with a .455 average, while Jennifer Purcell is batting .375 and Aaliyah Gibson is right behind her at .373. McKenna Isenberg leads the way for Nevada in the circle with a 7-2 record and a 3.13 ERA.
 
Friday's contest against Nevada will mark the 11th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Wolf Pack. Nevada will enter play holding to a 9-1 series lead. UVU's lone win was an 11-1 run-rule victory at the Red Desert Classic on Feb. 10, 2013.
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
Following this weekend's tournament, the Wolverines will return to Orem for their 2017 home opener against the Maine Black Bears on Tuesday, March 14. The doubleheader will mark the first of two back-to-back midweek doubleheaders on the week, as UVU will then welcome the Wagner Seahawks to town for a pair of games on Wednesday, March 15. 

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.
 
DEFENSIVE ASSISTS LEADER                    
With six assists in a pair of games on Friday, March 3, senior infielder Brittney Vansway became Utah Valley's all-time leader in defensive assists with 346. The three-time all-conference performer and four-year starter passed former UVU third baseman Jessica Anderson's (2008-2010) old record of 340. After tallying a total of 12 assists on the weekend, Vansway now leads the UVU record books in that category with 352. The slick-fielding Vansway is also UVU's all-time record holder in double plays turned with 44.
 
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.