SEATTLE – Fresh off of taking two of three from WAC foe Seattle University over the weekend, the Utah Valley University baseball team will cap the Pacific Northwest trip with a midweek contest at Washington on the Pac-12 Conference on Monday.
 
The Monday night tilt will begin at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT from UW's Husky Ballpark in Seattle. Live video will be available via Washington's Pac-12 live stream and live stats will also be available at HuskyStats.com.
 
Utah Valley will enter the contest with a 12-20 overall record and a 5-10 WAC clip after claiming its first WAC series since May of 2019 by winning two of three at Seattle U. With the series getting moved up a day due to impending rain in the Seattle area, UVU went straight from the plane to Bannerwood Park and went on to claim a come-from-behind 6-5 victory in Thursday's opener. UVU then dropped a tightly contested game two on Friday, 5-4, before responding in a big way on Saturday by tying a season-high in runs scored en route to winning the finale, 14-2. 
 
In Thursday's opener, UVU trailed 4-0 in the sixth before Cole Jordan belted out a game-tying grand slam to tie the contest. Later down 5-4 in the seventh, Spencer Olsen continued his hot hitting as of late with what proved to be a game-winning two-run homer in the seventh as UVU held on the win by a score of 6-5. The Wolverines also had stellar relief work in the late innings of the contest, as Nick Sims allowed just one unearned run over 2.1 innings to improve to 5-0 on the season, while Josh Brown came on to record his third save after tossing an inning and two thirds of scoreless action.
 
Then in the rubber match on Saturday, Mitch Moralez got the Wolverine offense off to a strong start with a leadoff home run and Kyle Coburn added an RBI single in the second to make it 2-0 UVU. Utah Valley then broke the game open in the fifth with a five-run frame thanks to a two-run homer from Trey Cutchen followed by RBIs from Brody Ponti, Jordan, and Moralez. Coop Rust pitched well for the Wolverines in the contest by going 6.0 strong innings in which he allowed just one earned run to improve to 2-4 on the year. Cutchen led the way offensively by homering twice and going 2-for-5 on the day with four RBIs.
 
For the series, Cutchen paced UVU by hitting an even .500 (7-for-14) with three home runs, a double, five runs scored, and five RBIs. Jordan was next by hitting .429 with a home run and five RBIs, while Olsen batted .417 with a homer and three runs batted in. Rust led UVU on the mound on the weekend by going 1-0 and surrendering just one earned run and striking out two to go 1-0, while Carson Brown, Nick Sims, Bobby Voortmeyer, Andrew Hauck, Blake Zeleny, and Luke McCullough all tossed scoreless relief outings. 
 
On the season, Moralez fronts Utah Valley offensively with a .388 average, nine doubles, five homers, and 18 RBIs. Mick Madsen is next with a .330 clip, nine extra-base hits, 17 RBIs, and 24 runs scored, while Paul Vossen follows with a .312 average, eight extra-base knocks, 17 runs scored, and eight stolen bases. Rust leads UVU's starting rotation on the mound with a 2-4 record and a 4.22 ERA over 32.0 innings of work, while Nick Sims paces the bullpen with a 5-0 clip, 1.12 ERA, and two saves over 24.0 innings. 
 
MONDAY'S SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS
Southpaw Cameron Scudder (0-2, 18.00 ERA) is scheduled to get the start on the mound for UVU on Monday and will face a to-be-announced hurler from UW.
 
ABOUT WASHINGTON
The Huskies will enter Monday with a 15-15 overall record and a 6-9 Pac-12 clip after dropping two of three to Cal in Berkeley over the weekend. UW won Friday's opener before the Bears responded to win Saturday and Sunday's contests to claim the series. Washington holds a Pac-12 sweep on the season over in-state rival Washington State, as well as Pac-12 wins over Utah and Arizona State. The Huskies also holds non-conference wins on the year over Cal Poly (two), UC San Diego (two), Yale (two), Portland, Seattle, and UC Riverside. UW was picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 in 2022 after going 20-30 overall and placing 11th in league play with a 6-21 conference record. 
 
Johnny Tincher leads UW on the season with a .345 batting average, 11 extra-base hits and 18 RBIs. Coby Morales is next with a .306 clip, while Will Simpson paces the team in the power numbers with seven home runs, 13 extra-base hits, 22 runs scored, and 20 RBIs. Calvin Kirchoff is the team's top starting pitcher, as he holds a 2-1 record, 4.02 ERA, and 30 strikeouts over 40.1 innings. Stefan Raeth is Washington's top arm out of the pen, as he'll enter Monday with a 4-2 record, two saves, a 1.46 ERA, and 56 strikeouts over 37.0 innings. Colton McIntosh also has good numbers, as he has a team-high three saves and a perfect 0.00 ERA over 7.1 innings. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Monday's contest will mark the 14th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Huskies. UW holds a 9-4 series advantage, but UVU split a four-game series at Husky Ballpark the last time these two teams met up in March of 2020, just before the COVID shutdown. That series, UVU shutout the Huskies twice with a 1-0 seven-inning complete-game shutout from former Wolverine Jaxson Otis and a combined 7-0 shutout from Jesse Schmit and Cole Yocum. 
 
ON DECK FOR UTAH VALLEY
The Wolverines will next return home for a three-game league series against in-state foe Dixie State as part of the Old Hammer Rivalry Thursday to Saturday, April 14-16, at UCCU Ballpark. UVU will then head to Southern California the following week for a midweek game at UC Riverside on April 20 before facing California Baptist for a three-game WAC series April 22-24.