OREM, Utah – Fresh off of playing five games at home over the past four days, the Utah Valley University baseball team will continue its homestand by welcoming No. 22 UC Irvine of the Big West Conference to town for a three-game series this Friday to Sunday at UCCU Ballpark (March 15-17).  
 
The Wolverines and Anteaters will open the series on Friday evening with a 6 p.m. contest, before playing on Saturday at 2 p.m. and closing the series on Sunday at noon. All three games will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network, while Saturday's matinee will also be televised locally on UVU TV. All three games will also feature live stats as well as live audio by visiting GoUVU.com.
 
UVU will enter the series with a 3-13 record and off of a two-game midweek series split against Niagara University. The Wolverines took game one on Monday night, 8-2, before falling in Tuesday's finale to the Purple Eagles by a score of 12-8. Prior to those games, UVU dropped a trio of contests to Saint Mary's last weekend. 
 
In Monday's win over Niagara, pitching was key for UVU as both Mason Gray and Jesse Schmit combined to allow just four hits and two runs en route to leading the Wolverines to the victory. The freshman Gray went a season-high six innings and allowed just two hits and one run while striking out five and walking four. Schmit then came on and pitched the final three innings of the ballgame and struck out three while allowing just two hits and one unearned run. 
 
UVU's offense also came alive late in the ballgame to break a 1-1 tie with seven eighth-inning runs. Drew Sims delivered a go-ahead two-run single, and Kody Hall, Ty Vargas, Kade Poulsen and Jake Plecas all followed with RBIs of their own on their way to helping Utah Valley secure the victory. 
 
Senior outfielder Michael Beltran leads UVU offensively on the season with a .382 average, three triples and 11 runs scored. Junior outfielder Alexander Marco is next with a .317 clip and a team-best two home runs and eight RBIs. Junior right-hander Paxton Schultz (0-2, 5.06 ERA) has been Utah Valley's top starting pitcher on the year, as he's struck out 28 and walked just six in 26.2 innings of work. Schultz is scheduled to start game two on Saturday, while senior Jake Carr will get the ball in the opener on Friday and fellow senior Walker Ramsey will start the finale on Sunday.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
The Anteaters are ranked 22nd in the nation on this week's Baseball America Top 25 poll, as they hold a 9-4 record on the season. UCI is coming off of a series victory at home over St. John's in which it took two of three from the Red Storm. UC Irvine also holds series victories over Washington, Rice, Missouri State on the year. The Anteaters were picked to take second in the Big West this season after going 32-24 overall and tied for third in Big West play at 13-11 a season ago. 
 
Adrian Damla holds a team-best .304 batting average on the season for UCI while Brandon Lewis is right behind at .294. Lewis also leads the club in home runs with five, RBIs with 15 and doubles with six. Right-hander Trenton Denholm fronts UC Irvine's rotation this season with a 2-0 record and a 0.93 ERA, while Tanner Brubaker is 1-1 with a 2.16 clip and the 2018 consensus All-American Andre Pallante is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA and a team-best 30 strikeouts in 21.2 innings of work. Pallante is scheduled to start Friday's opener, while Brubaker will take the ball in game two and Denholm in the series finale on Sunday. 
 
ALL-TIME VS. UC IRVINE
Friday's opener will mark just the fourth all-time contest between UVU and UCI and the second series. The Wolverines and Anteaters met for the first time in program history for three games in Irvine last March and UVU managed to take two of three to claim the series and hold an all-time series advantage of 2-1. The Wolverines dropped game one, 4-2, before responding to take game two, 8-5, and game three, 9-5, to take the series at Anteater Park. 
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
The Wolverines will conclude its current nine-game homestand by welcoming neighboring foe BYU to town for a UCCU Crosstown Clash on Tuesday, March 19 at UCCU Ballpark. The midweek contest is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start and will mark the second and final season meeting between UVU and BYU. Following the game, the Wolverines will then open WAC play at Seattle U March 22-24.