Utah Valley kicks off a five-game homestand with a Tuesday showdown under the lights against in-state rival Utah State. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Wolverines (16-21, 9-7 WAC) return home from a quick three-game road trip to Texas, and will not leave the Mountain time zone for the remainder of the regular season. UVU has 13 games remaining this season, including eight at home. Utah Valley will only leave the state for one more game, a road matchup at Idaho State in Pocatello on May 1.
LAST TIME OUT
UVU lost its weekend series at UT Arlington, two games to one. The Wolverine pitching staff had arguably its best weekend of the season, but the bats weren't able to back up the strong pitching.
All three games were decided by a single run, including two extra-inning losses. In the series, UVU pitchers allowed five earned runs. UTA won games one and three, 4-3 in eight innings and 2-1 in 10 innings. UVU won game two, 1-0.
Avery Sapp had her best outing of her young career on Friday, pitching a complete game shutout to win game two. Sapp allowed just three hits and struck out five to secure the first complete game shutout by a UVU freshman since 2012. It was also the first time UVU shut out an opponent this season.
Megan Gibbs provided all the offense Sapp needed in Friday's 1-0 win, blasting her 10th home run of the season down the left field line. Gibbs now has 30 home runs in her career, and also became the 9th player in UVU Softball history to reach 100 career RBIs with her home run on Friday.
Payge Armendariz took the tough-luck loss in Saturday's series finale. Armendariz pitched 9.1 innings and allowed just two ER while striking out five. Armendariz tied for the second-longest pitching outing in UVU softball history, falling just two outs shy of breaking the record of 9.2 innings pitched. Armendariz also provided the only scoring of the game, picking up an RBI double. Armendariz has 10 doubles in her last eight games.
SERIES HISTORY vs UTAH STATE
Utah State leads the all-time series 27-14, including winning the only meeting last season, 3-0 in Orem. Utah Valley was supposed to make the return trip up to Logan late last season, but that game was snowed out.
UVU's last win in the series came in 2022 at home. The Wolverines rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the seventh to take a 3-2 win, punctuated by a Linnah Rebolledo walk-off single that scored Laynee Betancur and Danyé Albritton.
Utah State is one of five teams on UVU's schedule this season that has won at least one softball national championship. USU won the 1980 and 1981 AIAW national titles. The other four are Oklahoma, Washington, Fresno State, and Arizona State.
FAMILIAR FACES
Tuesday's game will feature reunions on both sides. Senior OF Libbie Hawker will be facing her former team, where she spent her first two collegiate seasons. Former Wolverine Katie Zuniga will also be returning to her old stomping grounds as a member of the Aggies. Zuniga spent the 2020-2023 seasons at Utah Valley, where she appeared in 103 games, and finished her UVU career with the best Walks/7 innings ratio (1.36) in program history, the 6th-most innings pitched (375.1), 8th-most strikeouts (162) and 7th-most complete games (20). Zuniga graduated from UVU last spring with her bachelor's degree in Communications, and is currently working on her master's in sports management at Utah State.
ALUMNI WEEKEND ON TAP
UVU softball will be holding its first-ever Alumni Weekend this weekend against Stephen F. Austin. UVU will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 2014 WAC Tournament Championship with a pregame ceremony and unveiling a new WAC Champions banner on the outfield wall.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley hosts WAC foe Stephen F. Austin on Friday and Saturday for the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Wolverines will then host Big 12 foe Iowa State on Sunday morning.
