As of Friday morning, Friday's doubleheader has been postponed due to snow. The two teams will now look to open the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. MT at UCCU Ballpark. 

OREM, Utah – After playing its first 11 games of the 2019 season away from home, the Utah Valley University baseball team will return to Orem to open a 10-game homestand this weekend (March 8-10) at UCCU Ballpark against West Coast Conference foe Saint Mary's. The Wolverines will also host Niagara University for two games the following two days on Monday and Tuesday (March 11-12) for a total of six games over a five-day span.  
 
The four-game weekend series against SMC is slated for a Friday doubleheader at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. followed by a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday at noon, while next week's two-game set against NU is scheduled for a start 6 p.m. on both Monday and Tuesday evening.
 
All six games will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network, while live audio as well as live stats will also be available for each game by visiting GoUVU.com.
 
"It's exciting to be able to play at home in front of our home crowd. I thought that we had good support at BYU the other night and we're looking forward to playing at our park this weekend," head UVU coach Eric Madsen said. "We're excited to take on Saint Mary's and striving to perform the way that we are capable of."
 
The Wolverines will open the six games over five-day span with a 2-9 record on the season after falling to neighboring rival BYU, 5-1, in a UCCU Crosstown Clash contest on Tuesday night in Provo. With UVU and Brigham Young all knotted up at 1-1 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, BYU's Jackson Cluff managed to deliver a bases clearing triple to right to help propel the Cougars to the 5-1 victory. 
 
UVU jumped out to a 1-0 advantage in Tuesday's contest at BYU thanks to back-to-back third-inning hits from Kade Poulsen and Jake Berry. After Poulsen led off the inning with a single to center and then advanced to second on a passed ball, he was then driven home on an RBI single from Berry to give the Wolverines the early lead.
 
The Cougars then countered with a run in the fifth via an RBI single from Keaton Kringlen to tie the game at 1-1. Still 1-1 in the eighth, BYU then loaded the bases with two outs and Cluff delivered the big hit to help propel Brigham Young to the victory.
 
Kody Hall led the Wolverines in the game by going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk while Berry went 1-for-3 with an RBI. The UVU pitching staff did a nice job on the night by allowing just one run into the eighth inning. Six pitchers combined to scatter 10 hits and gave up just four earned runs (five total) while striking out five.  
 
On the season, Michael Beltran leads UVU with a .375 average, three triples, seven runs scored and four runs batted in. Poulsen is next with a .324 clip and a team-best six RBIs. On the mound, Paxton Schultz leads the Wolverine staff with 22 strikeouts and just four walks in 22.0 innings of work. Schultz has also pitched a complete game on the year and holds an 0-1 record and a 4.09 ERA. Matt Dalke too has solid numbers from the pen with a 1-0 record and a 2.84 ERA in five appearances. 
 
Right-hander Jake Carr is scheduled to get the ball for the Wolverines in Friday's opener while Mason Gray is slated to pitch Friday's nightcap. Schultz will then pitch on Saturday while Walker Ramsey will get the nod in the finale on Sunday. Both Monday's and Tuesday's games against Niagara are to-be-announced.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION 
Saint Mary's of the WCC will enter the weekend series with a 6-6 record after defeating WAC foe Sacramento State in midweek action by a score of 10-1 on Tuesday. Prior to that, the Gaels dropped two of three at California last weekend. SMC opened the season with a four-game sweep over Pac-12 foe Washington State before dropping three games at Oregon the following week. The Gaels were picked to finish third in the WCC this season after going 31-23 overall and 14-13 in league action in 2018.
 
Joe Vranesh fronts Saint Mary's offensively with a .405 average, three homers, 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored. Kevin Milam is next with a .348 clip, a team-high seven doubles as well as eight runs batted in. Friday's game two scheduled starter Tyler Thornton leads the Gaels on the mound with a 2-0 record and a 2.19 ERA. Opponents are batting just .140 off of the SMC right-hander. 
 
Friday's series opener will mark the 19th all-time meeting between UVU and SMC. Saint Mary's will enter play holding to a 12-6 all-time advantage after taking three of four from the Wolverines last season in Moraga. This weekend's action will mark just the second series between UVU and SMC in Orem.
 
Niagara University of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will enter the weekend with a 1-9 record and will first play a three-game series at Utah in Salt Lake City over the weekend before coming to Orem to face the Wolverines on Monday and Tuesday. The Purple Eagles have dropped six straight after getting swept by Bucknell last weekend and dropping the final three games at New Mexico two weeks ago. NU's lone win on the year was a 5-3 victory at UNM on Feb. 23. Niagara was picked to finish eighth in the MAAC this season after going 24-27 overall and 13-11 in league play last season.
 
Max Giordano leads NU offensively in 2019 with a .281 average, two doubles, three runs batted in and five runs scored. Joseph Tevlin is next with a with a .219 clip. On the mound, starter Matthew Brash leads the way with a .3.38 ERA and an impressive tally of 27 strikeouts in 16.0 innings of work while Tyler Howard is 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA. Monday and Tuesday's starters are yet to be determined.
 
Monday's opener will mark the first all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Purple Eagles as well as UVU's first all-time meeting an opponent from the MAAC. 
 
ON DECK FOR UTAH VALLEY
The Wolverines will continue their 10-game homestand by welcoming UC Irvine of the Big West Conference to town for three games next weekend (March 15-17). Game times are set for 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. UVU will then close the homestand by welcoming BYU to town for a UCCU Crosstown Clash on Tuesday, March 19 at 6 p.m.