PORTLAND, Ore. – The Utah Valley University baseball team will continue a current nine-game road trip with a midweek game at the Portland Pilots on Wednesday afternoon in the Rose City.
 
The Wolverines and Pilots will play the midweek matchup at UP's Joe Etzel Field in Portland on Wednesday at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT. The contest will be streamed live on the WCC Network and live stats will also be available by visiting PortlandPilots.com.
 
Wednesday's contest will mark UVU's fifth game in the past six days and its fifth of a current nine-game road trip. Utah Valley opened the trip by dropping three games at Pac-12 foe Washington State over the weekend but responded with a 5-2 victory over Junior College foe Lower Columbia College on Monday night in Longview, Washington. The contest marked head coach Eddie Smith's return to Story Field, as he previously spent four seasons as the head man at LCC. Smith coached the Red Devils from 2014-2017 and won two NWAC conference titles and a trio of Region championships. 
 
The Wolverines officially hold a 16-31 overall record and are currently in sixth in the WAC West Division with a 9-15 conference clip. After taking last week off from conference play, UVU will return to WAC play this Friday to Sunday, May 13-15, with a three-game series at Sacramento State. 
 
In Monday's victory at JUCO foe LCC, the game stayed tight in the early stages as it was tied up at 2-2 after four innings of play. UVU then took the lead on a first-and-third double steal from Cole Jordan and Paul Vossen in the fifth and pulled away for good with an RBI single from Brandon Luna in the seventh and an insurance run on an RBI single from Spencer Olsen in the eighth. Starter Cameron Scudder gave UVU three strong innings of work and was followed by senior Bobby Voortmeyer who came on and allowed just one hit while striking out three over three shutout innings to earn the win. After two-thirds of an inning of shutout baseball from Blake Zeleny, Alex Karns came on to earn the save by tossing the final 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball to seal the win for UVU. Four Wolverines finished with two hits in the game and Luna led the way by going 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and a run scored.
 
In the non-conference series at Washington State, Mitch Moralez paced UVU by batting .462 with a pair of runs scored, while Olsen hit .444 with a homer, a double, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Coop Rust led the UVU pitching staff at WSU by surrendering just two runs on three hits while striking out three over 5.0 solid innings of work to earn a no decision. 
 
On the season, the senior outfielder Moralez continues to be one of the top hitters in the WAC as he'll enter Wednesday with a .373 average and leads the way in doubles with 12, extra-base hits (19), and on-base percentage (.407). He also has 27 runs scored, 22 RBIs, five homers, and two triples. He is also third in the WAC and 23rd nationally with 72 total hits on the year. The freshman designated hitter Olsen is next with a .345 clip and leads the team in homers with seven and ranks second in RBIs with 24. Trey Cutchen follows with a .311 clip and leads the way in runs scored with 35 and is tied for the team lead in extra-base hits with 19 (11 doubles, 2 triples, 6 RBIs). Cole Jordan tops the squad in RBIs with 25. The RHP Rust is currently leading UVU's starting rotation with a 2-6 record and a 5.62 ERA, while Nick Sims anchors the bullpen with a 5-1 record, 3.86 ERA, two saves, and 20 strikeouts over 30.1 innings of work. 
 
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS
Left-hander Andrew Hauck (1-1, 9.53 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start of the season for UVU on Wednesday and will face Portland righty Joey Gartrell (3-1, 3.52 ERA). 
 
ABOUT PORTLAND
The Pilots of the West Coast Conference are currently 26-17 on the season and in third place in the WCC with a 13-8 league record. UP swept a three-game series at Santa Clara last weekend but prior to that dropped a pair of games to fellow WAC foe Seattle U. Portland will face No. 2 Oregon State in Corvallis on Tuesday evening before hosting UVU on Wednesday afternoon. UP was picked to finish sixth in the WCC this year after going 24-26 a season ago and 14-13 in conference play. 
 
Trace Tammaro leads Portland on the year with a .348 batting average and is second in home runs with seven home runs and third in RBIs with 23. Jake Holcroft is next with a .313 clip and team-high tallies of 31 runs scored and nine doubles, while Evan Scavotto follows with a .301 average. Briley Knights paces the team in homers with eight while Sam Brown leads in RBIs with 27. Brett Gillis is UP's top starting arm, as he holds an impressive 8-1 record, 1.40 ERA, and 94 strikeouts in 70.2 innings. Peter Allegro is the top reliever, as he is 4-1 on the year with nine saves and a 2.84 ERA. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Wednesday's game will mark the 28th all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Pilots and the lone season meeting between the two. UP will enter holding a 17-10 series advantage after sweeping a four-game set in Portland last season and taking three of four the previous year in Hillsboro. UVU's last win was in the opener of a four-game set on Feb. 20, 2020 in a 6-2 win. Moralez led UVU in the game by going 3-for-5 with two RBIs while Mick Madsen drove in two more. UP also holds a 10-6 record with games played in Portland.  
 
MONDAY'S GAME AT LOWER COLUMBIA
Although UVU got the win at JUCO foe Lower Columbia College on Monday, May 9 in Longview, Washington, the NCAA will not recognize the contest for statistical purposes or as an official game. To be an officially recognized competition, an NCAA Division I team must play another countable four-year institution. The contest marked the homecoming for former LCC head man Eddie Smith and also for current UVU assistant Kade Kryzsko and student manager Michael Forgione, who both played for Smith during his time at Lower Columbia. It also featured a rare wood bats vs. metal bats, as LCC uses wooden bats and UVU uses metal.
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
The Wolverines will conclude the trip with a three-game WAC series at Sac State Friday to Sunday followed by a Monday non-conference tilt at Pacific. UVU will then return to UCCU Ballpark for its final series of the regular season, May 19-21. The series could be a big one, as both teams are currently battling for a spot in the 2022 WAC Tournament.