Utah Valley softball makes its third trip of the season to California, heading to Cathedral City for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Wolverines (3-7) are slated to play five games, including two against Power 5 competition.

Utah Valley's first game is against the Cal Golden Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. MT. The Wolverines will then take on Long Beach State later that night at 9:30 p.m. MT. Saturday's slate includes a tilt with Portland State at 6:30 p.m. MT before facing off with No. 19 Texas A&M at 8:30 p.m. MT. Utah Valley closes out the weekend with a Sunday matinee against the San Diego Toreros at 12:30 p.m. MT. 

Rain is in the forecast for this weekend in Cathedral City. Any updates regarding game times, postponements, and reschedulings will be posted on the UVU Softball social media channels, as well as the Mary Nutter social media channels. 

The Wolverines are looking to bounce back from a rough weekend in San Diego that saw the team go 1-4 at the five-game Campbell/Cartier Classic. Utah Valley lost two games by one run, to UC Riverside and LMU. The Wolverines also held No. 24 Oregon to two runs through five innings before the Ducks erupted for seven in the sixth. 

Brooke Saili and Katie Zuniga have been a solid one-two punch in the circle for the Wolverines. In two starts in San Diego, Saili allowed just three earned runs, while Zuniga capped off the weekend by allowing just one run in a complete game loss. 

Junior outfielder Libbie Hawker has been the table-setter, batting mostly in the leadoff spot this season. Hawker has reached base in eight out of 10 games thus far, including hits in six of 10 games. Hawker is tied for the team lead in hits at nine with freshman infielder Brittney Moreno. 

BROADCAST INFO

Each game this weekend will be broadcast on FloSoftball, which requires a subscription for access. Live stats will also be available at UVUStats.com.

ABOUT CAL (2ND MEETING, 0-1 ALL-TIME)

The Golden Bears are off to a strong start to the season with a 9-2 record. That record includes wins over Utah State, LMU, and a pair of wins over both Long Beach State and San Diego, who UVU will face later this weekend. Cal is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. 

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE (8TH MEETING, 1-6 ALL-TIME)

The Beach (4-6) have played a tough non-conference schedule to date that has included seven games against P5 competition. LBSU has picked up wins over Kansas and NC State in the young season and will play No. 9 Washington on Friday afternoon before facing Utah Valley. The Beach missed out on the postseason by one game in 2022, finishing behind Big West champion Cal State Fullerton.

ABOUT PORTLAND STATE (25TH MEETING, 8-16 ALL-TIME)

The Vikings (4-6) are coming off a 2-3 weekend at the Littlewood Classic in Arizona, where PSU picked up wins over Oregon State and DePaul. This will be the first of three meetings this season between the Wolverines and Vikings, as the two sides will meet next weekend at the Utah Tech Invitational in St. George. UVU and PSU met twice last season, with the Vikes picking up the win in both games. 

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (FIRST MEETING)

The 19th-ranked Aggies (9-2) may have the toughest slate of games this weekend, with games against No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Oklahoma, as well as perennial power BYU. Texas A&M picked up a pair of ranked wins over No. 15 Arizona and No. 20 UCF this past weekend in Florida.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO (9TH MEETING, 3-5 ALL-TIME)

The Toreros (2-10) got back in the win column on Monday with a 3-2 victory over crosstown rival UC San Diego. USD has had four losses by two or fewer runs, including defeats at the hands of Utah Tech and reigning Big West champs Cal State Fullerton. The Wolverines and Toreros last met in 2017 — also at Mary Nutter — in an extra-inning thriller that ended in a 10-9 San Diego victory.

UP NEXT

Following this weekend's trip to Southern California, the Wolverines will head to their final non-conference tournament in St. George, Utah at the Utah Tech Invitational. Utah Valley will face off against Oregon State, Portland State, UNLV, and Idaho State.