OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball returns home this weekend for their first four home games of the year. UVU finished last year 15-7 at UCCU Ballpark while winning their final six home games. They return home for their first of 25 games at home after playing their first eight in California.
 
The weekend begins with a three-game series against the University of Portland with a doubleheader starting at 12:05 p.m. MT, with the second game taking place approximately 40 minutes after game one. The series continues Saturday, Mar. 2, at 2:05 p.m. MT. The weekend wraps up with a game on Monday, Mar. 4, at 2:05 p.m. MT against WCC foe Gonzaga.
 
BROADCAST INFO
All four games will air on ESPN+ with a radio call on GoUVU.com. Jordan Bianucci and Brice Larsen will call the action. Live stats will be available on UVUStats.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines lost their series last weekend against Saint Mary's in Moraga. Calyn Halvorson continued his fast start and is now hitting .500 on the year (13-for-26) to lead the Western Athletic Conference. Utah Valley tagged SMC pitching for seven home runs and has 13 through the first two weekends of the season. Daniel Dickinson and Nate Bach each homered twice in the series.
 
On the mound, Ethan Fowlks tossed 5.1 innings to pick up his second win of the season. The Wolverine bullpen was aided by Jacob Beltran, who made two appearances without allowing a run, while Aaron Rice added two innings of relief work. Senior Nick Sims struck out five Gaels in his appearance on Sunday. He tied Devin Nelson (2014) for 14^th all-time with 54 appearances. He can move into a tie for 12^th place with Devin Smith and Marcus Moore with an appearance this weekend.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
The Pilots dropped their series last weekend to Southern California. They have struggled offensively and are hitting only .203 as a team. Individually, Brady Bean leads the team with a .368 average. Redshirt junior Nick Brink was named West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week after he struck out ten Trojans in six innings last weekend. Portland is making their first trip to Orem since 2016, but these two are familiar foes having played at least once each of the past four seasons.
 
ABOUT THE ZAGS
Utah Valley and Gonzaga will play on Monday for the first time since 2015. The Bulldogs are 1-6 this year, but their one win came on Sunday against No. 6 Vanderbilt in Nashville. Max Coupe leads the team with a .389 average this year, closely followed by Peyton Miller's .333 batting average.
 
EARLY LEADERS IN THE WAC
UVU has some near the top of the WAC leaders early this season; Halvorson is third in hits, with Dickinson and Isaac Lovings tied for second in homers with three. Burke Camper has eight walks this season and is tied for third. On the pitching side, Fowlks is tied for the conference lead in wins.
 
UP NEXT
The Wolverines embark on a five-game road trip, including a three-game weekend to open WAC play with Sacramento State running Mar. 8-10. They will continue the trip with games against UC Davis (Mar. 11) and Pacific (Mar. 12).