Utah Valley makes its first-ever trip to the Peach State this weekend as the Wolverines will compete at the Georgia Classic, hosted by the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. 

Utah Valley will play five games across the three-day tournament, including two against Appalachian State and one apiece against Georgia, Syracuse, and Buffalo. 

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

• Friday, Feb. 21: vs Syracuse at 11 am MT; vs App State at 1:30 pm MT

• Sat., Feb 22: vs Buffalo at 8:30 am MT; vs App State at 4 pm MT

• Sun., Feb 23: vs No. 9 Georgia at 1:30 pm MT

All five games will have live stats at GeorgiaDogs.com. Sunday's game will be shown on SEC Network+, which can be accessed via the ESPN app with an ESPN+ subscription.

This weekend's trip to Georgia is a homecoming of sorts for a trio of Wolverines. Megan Gibbs grew up in nearby Lilburn, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. Angelique Mann is from Tallahassee, Fla., about 5 hours south of Atlanta. Assistant coach Renae Koppenhafer played two years of college softball at D-II Augusta University from 2010-12.

LAST TIME OUT

The Wolverines had a tough weekend at the Littlewood Classic, going winless with a pair of one-run losses to North Dakota and Arizona State.

Gibbs hit a pair of home runs on the weekend, inching her way closer to the UVU career home run record. Gibbs now sits in sole possession of second place all-time with 38, and needs four more home runs to break the record of 41, currently held by Amanda Robinson (2011-14). 

Freshman Tatum Hall has provided a steady presence in the lineup through the first two weeks. Hall has a team-best nine hits so far this season, and hit her first collegiate home run last weekend against No. 25 Washington. Hall enters the week riding a five-game hitting streak, and has a hit in all but two games so far this season. 

Junior 1B Emma Haygood has had a breakout start to the season. Haygood hit her first collegiate homer against North Dakota and is tied for the team lead with 7 RBIs.

HISTORY VS THE OPPOSITION

• Syracuse: Never played (UVU 1-3 all-time vs ACC opponents)

• App State: Never played (UVU 0-2 all-time against Sun Belt opponents)

• Buffalo: 1-0 all-time (Last: 3/7/08, UVU won 6-5)

• Georgia: Never played (UVU 1-2 all-time vs SEC opponents)

GOLDEN CONNECTION BETWEEN THOMSON AND BALDWIN

Utah Valley head coach Cody Thomson and Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin were on the USA Softball staff together at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where Team USA won its 10th gold medal in the competition. Thomson was the pitching coach on that staff, helping guide the team to a perfect 6-0 record and allowing just eight runs during the tournament.

UP NEXT

Utah Valley will stay in Georgia for a doubleheader against the Georgia State Panthers on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for the team's final tuneup before conference play. The Wolverines will be off for 10 days before heading to Riverside, Calif., to open up the WAC season at California Baptist on March 7.