UTAH VALLEY AT GRAND CANYON
Friday-Saturday, April 21-22, 2017
5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT & 7:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. MT (Fri.), 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT (Sat.)
Phoenix, Ariz. | GCU Softball Stadium
Live Video (Fri.) |
Live Video (Sat.) |
Live Stats |
UVU Game Notes
UTAH VALLEY CONTINUES WAC PLAY THIS WEEKEND AT GRAND CANYON
OREM, Utah – Fresh off of back-to-back series victories at home over CSU Bakersfield and Seattle U, the Utah Valley University softball team will continue Western Athletic Conference play this weekend at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. The three-game series league will feature a doubleheader on Friday, April 21 at 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT and 7:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. MT and a single game on Saturday, April 22 at 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT.
Live video as well as live stats will be available for all three games by visiting
GCULopes.com.
The Wolverines will enter the series with a 12-17 overall record and tied for third in the WAC standings with a 4-5 conference mark. After getting swept on the road by first-place New Mexico State three week's ago, UVU bounced back nicely by taking two of three at home from both CSUB and Seattle U over the past two week's.
Two-time WAC Pitcher of the Week
Lauren Frailey once again led the Wolverines in the circle in the most recent series against the Redhawks, by going 2-1 with a near-perfect 0.47 ERA. Frailey allowed just one earned run over 15.0 innings of work in the series while striking out five and scattering 16 hits. She also tossed a pair of complete-game outings, which included her second shutout victory of the season.
On the offensive side, senior outfielder
Courtney Beavers paced the Wolverines last week by hitting an even .500 (5-for-10) with a triple, two runs scored and four RBIs. She also drove home the winning run in Saturday's finale against SU en route to leading UVU to a 1-0 walk-off win.
The Wolverines actually won both of their games last week via walk-off hits. Besides Beavers' walk-off RBI single on Saturday, freshman
Caragh Morris drove in the winning run during Friday's opener via a walk-off seventh-inning RBI single of her own to send UVU to a 2-1 win in that contest. Morris finished the weekend hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a home run, a run scored and six runs batted in.
UVU fell just short of sweeping the series, as its late-inning comeback attempt fell just short in Saturday's first leg of the doubleheader. The Wolverines scored eight runs in the final two innings of play, including a five-run seventh, but it wasn't enough as Seattle U held on to take the contest by a score of 10-9.
Senior third baseman
Brittney Vansway leads UVU offensively on the season with a .402 batting average, eight homers, six doubles, a WAC leading 43 RBIs and a .750 slugging percentage. Morris and Beavers are next with respective averages of .375 and .354. Frailey tops the Wolverine pitching staff with a 9-6 record, a 2.63 ERA and nine complete games. Her 2.63 ERA is also good enough to lead the WAC.
ABOUT GRAND CANYON
GCU will enter the weekend with a 31-14 record and in second place in the conference standings with a 6-3 WAC clip. After dropping two of three to Seattle U, the Antelopes have since won five of their last six ballgames after taking two of three from UMKC and sweeping CSU Bakersfield in Phoenix last weekend. The Lopes, who are 19-5 at home this season, were picked to tie for the league title this year after taking second in league play in 2016 with a 10-5 WAC record.
Shea Smith paces GCU at the plate on the season with a .360 batting average and 33 runs scored, while Camree Wartman is hitting .353 with a team-best 34 runs batted in. The one-two punch of Brianna Aguliar and Taylor Nowlin leads the Lopes in the circle, as Aguilar is 9-4 with a 2.66 ERA and the reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week Nowlin is a league-best 17-7 with a 2.91 ERA.
Friday's series opener will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Lopes on the softball diamond. GCU will enter play holding an unblemished 9-0 record after sweeping UVU in each of the last three seasons.
ON DECK FOR UVU
Following Saturday night's series finale, Utah Valley will return home to welcome in-state foe Utah State to town for a non-conference contest on Tuesday, April 25 at 2 p.m. at Wolverine Softball Field. UVU will then continue non-conference play the following day when it travels to Provo for a UCCU Crosstown Clash against No. 21 BYU at 6 p.m. at Gail Miller Field.
