UTAH VALLEY AT #20 BYU
Monday, May 8, 2017 Â | Â 5 p.m. MT
Provo, Utah  |  Gail Miller Field
Live Video  | Â
Live Stats  | Â
UVU Game Notes
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WOLVERINES SET TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON MONDAY AT #20 BYU
OREM, Utah – Just days before the 2017 WAC Tournament is set to begin, the Utah Valley University softball team will play its final game of the regular season on Monday, May 8 at No. 20 BYU. The UCCU Crosstown Clash is set for a 5 p.m. MT start at BYU's Gail Miller Field in Provo.
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Live video will be available for the contest by visiting
theW.tv, while live stats can also be followed by visiting
BYUStats.com.
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Due to a few rainouts and cancelations throughout the year, UVU recently added Monday's regular season finale against the crosstown rival Cougars. The contest will mark Utah Valley's final tune-up before the 2017 Western Athletic Conference Tournament that is set to begin on Thursday, May 11 at the NM State Softball Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
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The Wolverines will enter Monday's finale with a 16-21 overall record and on a four-game winning streak after sweeping UMKC in its final WAC series, as well as pulling out a 7-5 walk-off win over fellow in-state foe Weber State on May 3. With the key three-game sweep over the Kangaroos in UVU's final league series, the Wolverines finished league play with a 7-8 conference clip which is good enough to tie for third place in the league standings and earn the two seed for the WAC Tournament.
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After winning two-of-three by the run-rule and earning the three-game sweep over UMKC on April 29-30, UVU pulled out a 7-5 walk-off non-conference win over Weber State on May 3 thanks to a two-run walk-off home run from freshman
Lyndsay Steverson. After the Wildcats scored three unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5, Steverson responded for the Wolverines in the bottom of the inning by blasting out a two-run walk-off homer to left to secure the win for UVU on Senior Day.
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The victory marked Utah Valley's first over Weber State in its last nine tries, and capped the Wolverines' 2017 home record with a solid 11-3 clip. The 11-3 home ledger marks the best home winning percentage in school history (.786), and the 11 victories marked the second most wins, as the 2013 club went 12-5 at Wolverine Softball Field.
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Steverson led the way for the Wolverines offensively against the Wildcats by going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a walk, and a run scored, while juniors
Kirsten Andersen and
Taleigh Williams each added 2-for-3 outings as well. Senior right-hander
Bailey Moore led the way for UVU in the circle in the contest by giving up just two earned runs while striking out three in 6.1 innings in her final appearance at Wolverine Field. The Wolverine senior also became UVU's all-time leader in total innings pitched in the ballgame with over 500 innings logged for her career (500.1), passing former Utah Valley great Josi Summers' previous record of 495.1.
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Senior
Brittney Vansway paces UVU offensively on the season with a .404 batting average, 12 home runs and a WAC-best 51 RBIs. Freshman
Caragh Morris is next with a .376 clip, eight doubles and 25 runs batted in, while junior
Lauren Frailey fronts the Wolverine pitching staff with a 12-8 record and a 3.02 ERA.
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ABOUT #20 BYU
The 20th-ranked Cougars will enter Monday's contest with a 40-10 overall record and having won 19 consecutive ballgames after sweeping its fourth straight West Coast Conference series of the season over the weekend. Brigham Young also holds a perfect 12-0 conference record and hasn't lost a game in nearly six weeks when it fell to No. 1 Oregon, 1-0, on March 30 in Eugene. The Cougars, who have made 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, were picked to win the WCC again this year after winning West Coast Conference titles in each of the past three seasons.
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Caitlyn Alldredge paces the BYU offense with a .389 average, 10 home runs and 39 RBIs, while Libby Sugg is batting .356 with team-highs of 12 home runs and 49 runs batted in. McKenna Bull not only leads Brigham Young in the circle, but is one of the top pitchers in the nation with a 27-4 record and a 1.30 ERA.
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Monday's meeting will mark the second of the season between UVU and BYU and the 40th all-time. The Cougars will enter play holding to a 35-4 series advantage after coming from behind to defeat Utah Valley by a score of 12-4 on April 26 in Provo. UVU's last win in the series, however, was a 13-0 run-rule victory in which Utah Valley's Moore no-hit the Cougars on their home field on March 21, 2015.
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ON DECK FOR UVU
Following the conclusion of Monday's UCCU Crosstown Clash, UVU will head to Las Cruces for the 2017 WAC Tournament. The second-seeded Wolverines will open play against the No. 3 Seattle U Redhawks on Thursday, May 11 at 1:30 p.m. MT. The winner of that contest will advance to the tournament's semifinal game, while the loser will drop to the consolation bracket.Â