OREM, Utah – Just days after qualifying for the WAC Baseball Tournament, the Utah Valley University baseball team will head to Mesa, Ariz., to compete at the 2021 WAC Tournament this week at Hohokam Stadium (May 26-30). The sixth-seeded Wolverines will open play in the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday afternoon against the third-seeded UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros. 
 
Wednesday's contest between UVU and UTRGV will mark the opener of the 2021 WAC Baseball Tournament will get underway at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live audio will also be available by visiting GoUVU.com while live stats can also be followed at WACStats.com. To check out the bracket for the tournament as well as the tournament central page, visit WACSports.com.
 
"We're looking forward to getting to Mesa and competing at the WAC Tournament. All six teams are good clubs and we'll be tested right out of the gate against UTRGV," interim head UVU coach David Carter said. "We're just going to continue to play hard and do good things. Anything can happen in a tournament and we're going to enjoy being there." 
 
The Wolverines (10-45, 8-28 WAC) earned the No. 6 seed for the WAC Tournament after defeating Seattle U in the regular-season finale on Saturday by a score of 14-5 at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue, Wash. In a must-win contest for UVU to get into the conference tournament, Mitch Moralez led UVU by going a 4-for-5 with five RBIs and four runs scored. After driving in two runs in the second with a two-run single to give the Wolverines a 4-0 lead, Moralez later belted out a big three-run home run in the sixth to extend UVU's advantage to 8-3. He finished just a triple shy of the cycle, as he was one of three Wolverines to drive in multiple runs in the crucial contest. The 14 runs marked a season high for UVU. 
 
Starter Nick Sims pitched well for UVU in the regular-season finale by allowing just three runs over 4.2 innings. Blake Zeleny then came on and gave up just one run over 2.0 innings of solid relief to earn the victory and improve to 1-0 on the year. The senior Spenser Triplett then came on to earn his fifth save of the season after throwing the final 2.1 innings. 
 
Moralez leads Utah Valley on the season with a .282 average, 26 runs scored and five stolen bases. He also has 11 extra-base hits and is second on the team in RBIs with 25. Mick Madsen is next with a .267 clip, seven extra-base knocks, 22 runs scored, 16 RBIs and a team-best 15 walks. The senior Kade Poulsen follows with a .264 average, 14 extra-base hits, 26 runs scored and a team-high 27 RBIs. Alexander Marco leads the club in the power numbers with nine home runs and 22 doubles. Marco's 22 doubles are good enough to lead the WAC and rank him third nationally, while his nine home runs are the fourth-best in the WAC. 
 
Of UVU's starting rotation, freshman right-hander Nick Sims leads the team in ERA with a 5.09 clip, while fellow RHP Mason Gray leads the way in wins with three, innings pitched (63.2), strikeouts (61), and complete games (one). Left-hander Dylan Cook is the club's top relief pitcher with a 3.70 ERA, while Triplett leads the club in saves with five and appearances with 20.
 
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS
Utah Valley RHP Gray will get the ball for the Wolverines on Wednesday and will enter with a 3-7 record and a 6.08 ERA. He will face UTRGV ace Kevin Stevens, who will enter the ballgame with a 7-4 record, 3.06 ERA, a trio of complete games and 87 strikeouts in 82.1 innings of work. His 87 Ks are third-best in the WAC.  
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
UTRGV earned the No. 3 seed for the WAC Tournament after going 29-24 overall on the season and 20-15 in league play. The Vaqueros technically finished fifth in the conference standings but both California Baptist and Dixie State are ineligible for postseason competition, so UTRGV moved up to the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament. UT Rio Grande Valley won conference series on the season over Seattle U (4-0), Northern Colorado (3-0), UVU (3-1), Tarleton (3-1) and split with both Dixie State and the top-seeded GCU Lopes. UTRGV was picked in a three-way to win the WAC this season after earning a share of the conference championship in 2019 with a 19-8 league record.
 
Andy Atwood leads the Vaqueros offensively on the season with a .339 average, nine home runs, 11 doubles, 44 runs scored and 29 RBIs. Diego Ramirez is next with a .325 clip, while Coleman Grubbs is batting .311 with 21 extra-base hits and 30 RBIs. Freddy Rojas Jr. too has nine homers and 30 RBIs, while Christian Sepulveda leads the team with 33 RBIs. The RHP Stevens fronts the club from UTRGV's starting rotation, while Chase Bridges is the team's top reliever with a 3.18 ERA, a 5-1 record and three saves. 
 
ALL-TIME HISTORY AGAINST UTRGV
UTRGV took three of four from the Wolverines this season in the four-game WAC series played in Edinburg, but UVU will enter play holding to a 24-15 all-time advantage over the Vaqueros. UTRGV has won six of the last seven meetings between the two clubs, but UVU pulled out the lone other meeting between the two in WAC Tournament play with a 9-2 victory on day two of the 2014 WAC Tournament at Sloan Park in Mesa. 
 
UVU ALL-TIME AT THE WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2021 WAC Tournament will mark Utah Valley's sixth appearance at the WAC Baseball Championships after joining the league prior to the 2014 season. UVU has twice reached the championship series at the WAC Tournament after advancing to it during the team's inaugural year in the league in 2014 and again in 2016. UVU would go on to win the WAC Baseball Tournament for the first time in 2016 en route to earning the program's inaugural bid to an NCAA Regional that season in the Baton Rouge Regional at LSU. After missing the tournament for the first time in 2018, UVU then rebounded in 2019 by winning its first game that season on its way to advancing to Friday's action at the 2019 WAC Tournament. The Wolverines will enter this season with an all-time record of 9-8 in WAC Tournament play.
 
LET'S TURN TWO
With 46 double plays turned on the season, the UVU defense is currently tied for seventh in the nation in that category. Utah Valley also ranks 34th nationally in double plays turned with a per game average of 0.84 per contest. The Wolverines turned an impressive tally of seven double plays in the four-game series against Tarleton a few of weeks ago, including a season-high four in the series finale on April 18.  
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
With a victory over UTRGV on Wednesday, UVU will advance in the winner's bracket to take on the WAC regular season champion Grand Canyon Lopes on Thursday at 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT. With a loss on Wednesday, the Wolverines will fall to an elimination game on Thursday at noon MT/11 a.m. PT. Each game of the 2021 WAC Baseball Tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+.