Utah Valley wraps up the regular season with the Old Hammer Rivalry against Utah Tech in a critical three-game series to decide WAC Tournament seeding.
Friday's series opener is scheduled for 10 a.m. MT, with Saturday's doubleheader slated to start at 12 p.m. MT. Saturday will be Senior Day at Wolverine Softball Field, as the team will honor its six graduating seniors: student manager D'Mia Moore, UTL Laynee Betancur, INF Danyé Albritton, RHP Jorja Barrett, OF Libbie Hawker, and RHP/UTL Halle Morris. All three games, including the Senior Day ceremony following the conclusion of game three, will be broadcast on ESPN+.
This weekend's series has high stakes for both clubs, as the two teams are currently tied for 3rd place in the WAC and a half game ahead of Seattle U in 5th. The winner of the series is guaranteed a spot in the double elimination portion of the WAC Tournament bracket, while the loser would need Seattle U to also lose its series at UTA to stay in a double elimination position. Whichever school finishes in 5th will have to win a single-elimination game on Wednesday to move on to the double elimination bracket.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley's scheduled midweek game against Idaho State in Pocatello was canceled due to weather.
Over the weekend, Utah Valley took two out of three against Southern Utah, falling 7-6 in game one before taking the final two games, 4-1 and 4-0 respectively.
Avery Sapp put up two of her best pitching performances as a Wolverine, allowing just one earned run in two complete game wins. Sapp came two outs away from a shutout in game two, but was able to finish off the shutout in game three.
Sapp's efforts earned her this week's WAC Pitcher of the Week award, the first Wolverine to win a WAC weekly award this season and the first pitcher to win it since Devyn Cretz in 2021. Over her last five outings, in 32.1 innings pitched, Sapp has allowed just four earned runs — good for a 0.86 ERA — while striking out 24.
Megan Gibbs put up another solid series at the plate, going 4-for-9 with a home run, a double, three walks, and four RBIs. With her homer on Saturday, Gibbs has now tied the UVU single-season home run record of 13, and is also nine RBIs away from breaking the single-season RBI record of 52.
Amber Rodriguez led the attack at the top of the lineup, going 5-for-11 with a walk, an RBI, a stolen base, and three runs scored. Rodriguez also made a spectacular diving catch deep in left center in game two of the series that took away extra bases and kept a run off the board. Rodriguez enters the week on an eight-game hitting streak.
SERIES HISTORY VS UTAH TECH
Utah Valley and Utah Tech renew the Old Hammer Rivalry this weekend for the 5th series between the schools as D-I opponents. Utah Tech swept last season's series and clinched the WAC regular season title in the process, the school's first team conference title since moving to D-I. The sweep also eliminated the Wolverines from WAC tournament contention.
The last time the two schools played in Orem in 2022, UVU took 2 out of 3, and narrowly missed a sweep when their comeback fell short in game 3. In that series, the Wolverines took the first two games, 7-6 and 14-0, before falling 7-6 in the finale.
LAYNEE'S BLAZIN'
The last time senior UTL Laynee Betancur faced Utah Tech in 2022, she torched the Trailblazers for 12 hits in 6 games. Across those 6 games, Betancur went 12-for-17 (.706), and holds a lifetime .583 average against Utah Tech in 9 games.
GIBBS CHASING HISTORY
Entering the weekend, Megan Gibbs is tied for the UVU single-season home run record. The current record is 13, held jointly by Amanda Robinson (2012), Jaylen Watson (2015), and Britney Vansway (2017). Gibbs is also chasing the single-season RBIs record of 52, set by Vansway in 2017. She is currently at 44 RBIs.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley heads to Seattle for the 2024 WAC Tournament, set to run May 8-11. All games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
