OREM, Utah – Fresh off of an midweek victory over in-state foe Utah on Tuesday, the Utah Valley University baseball team will head to Bakersfield, California, for a key three-game WAC series at CSU Bakersfield this weekend (April 26-28). 
 
The conference series will be contested Friday to Sunday at CSUB's Hardt Field. Games one and two are set for Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT each night, while Sunday's finale will begin at 1 p.m. MT/noon PT. All three games will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network and live audio as well as live stats will be available by visiting GoRunners.com.
 
"This is a really big series for us. I know that our team knows just how important it is," head UVU coach Eric Madsen said. "We definitely need to get out there and be ready to go and continue to do good things."
 
The Wolverines will enter the series with a 10-30 overall record and currently in sixth place in the WAC standings with a 6-9 league record. The Roadrunners are just a game back and currently in a tie for seventh place with a 5-10 WAC mark. The top six teams in the WAC standings besides California Baptist, who is currently transitioning from NCAA DII to DI and ineligible for postseason competition, will advance to the WAC Tournament that will be held May 22-26 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. 
 
After taking one of three from the defending WAC Tournament champion New Mexico State Aggies at home last weekend, UVU capped its homestand with a 6-3 victory over the Pac-12 Utes on Tuesday at UCCU Ballpark. Freshman Mason Gray pitched a season-high 6.1 solid innings and allowed just three runs while striking out three and allowing just five hits to give the Wolverines a chance. Catcher Drew Sims belted out a two-run homer in the sixth and later tied 3-3 in the eighth, UVU rallied for three clutch runs to go on to take the midweek in-state contest by a score of 6-3.
 
Kade Poulsen started Utah Valley's eighth-inning rally with a leadoff double and later came in to score on a bloop RBI single off the bat of Kody Hall to give the Wolverines a 4-3 lead. Later with two on and two out, Ryan Eastburn plated both Hall and Trevor Howell for a couple of insurance runs to extend UVU's lead to 6-3.
 
Reliever Jesse Schmit then returned for his second inning of work in the ninth and managed to pitch around a pair of hits by striking out two en route to helping UVU pull out the victory. Schmit improved to 4-5 on the year after pitching 1.2 innings of scoreless relief late in the game for the Wolverines.
 
Eastburn continues to swing a hot bat for the Wolverines, as he leads the team with a .371 batting average and a .504 on-base percentage. Michael Beltran is next with a .342 clip and team-high tallies of four triples, 34 runs scored and 26 walks, while Alexander Marco leads UVU in the power numbers with 11 doubles, six homers and 33 RBIs. As a team, UVU is batting .270 on the season to rank fourth in the WAC.
 
A trio of right-handers are scheduled to start this weekend's series on the mound for the Wolverines in Jake Carr (Friday), Paxton Schultz (Saturday) and Walker Ramsey (Sunday). Carr fronts the group in wins (2), while Schultz leads the way in ERA (4.64), innings pitched (66.0) and strikeouts (62). 
 
ABOUT CSU BAKERSFIELD
The 'Runners will enter the series with a 17-26 record as well as a 5-10 clip in WAC play. After taking two of three from Northern Colorado at home last weekend, CSUB dropped a pair of midweek games against No. 6 UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside on Monday and Tuesday. In WAC play, Bakersfield has also taken two of three from Seattle U as well as a game from NM State. The 'Runners have been swept by both Sacramento State and California Baptist. CSUB was picked to finish seventh in the WAC this season after taking sixth a season ago with a 21-36 record and a 10-14 clip in league play.
 
Tyler Jorgensen paces the Roadrunners offensively with a .338 average, two home runs and 25 RBIs, while Jake Ortega follows with a .317 clip, 20 RBIs and a perfect 9-for-9 in steals. Saturday's scheduled starter left-hander Edgar Barclay leads CSUB on the mound with a 5-2 record and a 2.80 ERA. He and Friday's scheduled starter Darius Vines are tied atop the WAC in strikeouts with 80 apiece. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CSUB
Friday's opener will mark the 18th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and 'Runners. UVU will enter the series holding to a slim 9-8 all-time advantage, but CSUB has won six straight after sweeping Utah Valley in each of the past two seasons. Prior to the last two series, UVU had won nine of 10 from 2014 to 2016. 
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
Following this weekend's series, the Wolverines will return to the state of California for its second WAC series in as many weeks in the Golden State when it heads to Riverside for the three-game league series at California Baptist. The UVU and CBU series will run Friday to Sunday, May 3-5, at CBU's Totman Stadium.