Utah Valley continues its homestand with a four-game weekend, starting with a three-game series against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Friday and Saturday before welcoming the Iowa State Cyclones to Orem for a Sunday matinee.
Friday's doubleheader against the Jacks is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. MT, with Saturday's series finale slated for 1 p.m. MT. Sunday's game against the Cyclones is scheduled for an 11 a.m. MT first pitch. All four games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
This weekend, UVU Softball will be hosting its first-ever Alumni Weekend at Wolverine Softball Field. On Friday, UVU Softball alum Linnah Rebolledo will be recognized for her achievements playing with the Mexico National Team and Charros de Jalisco in the Liga Mexicana de Softbol. Last month, Rebolledo and Jalisco won the inaugural LMS title.
Prior to Saturday's game, the 2014 WAC Tournament Championship team will be honored in an on-field ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of their title. The 2014 team was the first in UVU history to earn an NCAA automatic bid.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley dropped its midweek game against the Utah State Aggies, falling 10-5 at Wolverine Softball Field on Tuesday.
Megan Gibbs hit her 11th home run of the year, tying her personal best for a single season. Last weekend at UTA, Gibbs also became just the ninth Wolverine to reach 100 career RBIs, and is also just the sixth to reach that milestone during her junior season.
Payge Armendariz continued her strong pitching in the circle, tossing 2.2 innings of relief and allowing just one ER while striking out two. Over her last two outings, Armendariz has pitched 12 innings, allowing three ER and striking out seven.
Ry Binne and Amber Rodriguez have proven to be a solid one-two punch at the top of the Wolverine batting order. In WAC games, both are hitting .300 or better, and Binne enters the weekend riding a five-game hitting streak. Binne and Rodriguez also lead the team in stolen bases with seven and three respectively.
GIBBS CHASING HISTORY
Entering the weekend, Megan Gibbs sits three home runs shy of setting the UVU single-season record. The current record is 13, held jointly by Amanda Robinson (2012), Jaylen Watson (2015), and Britney Vansway (2017).
SERIES HISTORY VS SFA
This weekend marks the first official meetings on the softball diamond between Utah Valley and SFA. The two schools were scheduled to meet as non-conference opponents to start the 2021 season prior to the Lumberjacks joining the WAC, but those games were canceled due to COVID-19.
SERIES HISTORY VS IOWA STATE
Sunday's game against the Cyclones will be just the third official meeting between the two teams. The all-time series is tied 1-1, including ISU's 12-1 win in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Opening Day. UVU won the first meeting in 2017, a 1-0 pitchers duel in St. George, Utah. ISU and UVU also played in 2016 in Long Beach, Calif., but that game was called in the fourth inning due to rain. The Wolverines were winning 5-1 at the time.
Iowa State is just the third out-of-state Power 5 team to play a road game at Wolverine Softball Field, joining Washington and Oklahoma State. UW has made the trek to Orem twice (2005 and 2019), while OK State played a doubleheader at WSF in 2015. Utah Valley is winless in those four games.
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will hit the road for their next five games, starting with a trip up I-15 to Ogden to take on the Weber State Wildcats on Tuesday. UVU will then head down to Cedar City for a three-game series at Southern Utah next Saturday and Sunday.
