At long last, Utah Valley opens the 2025 home season with a three-game series against preseason WAC favorites Grand Canyon this Friday and Saturday at Wolverine Softball Field.

Weather permitting, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday and a single game Saturday. Friday's doubleheader is slated to begin at 2 p.m. MDT, with Saturday's finale scheduled for 12 p.m. MDT. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats at UVUStats.com.

LAST TIME OUT

Utah Valley lost a tight game on Wednesday in Logan, falling 9-8 to the Utah State Aggies. The game was a back-and-forth affair, with the Aggies rallying to win in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh.

Emma Haygood built off another strong weekend at the plate with a 2-for-5 game that included her second home run of the season. Haygood has 10 hits over her last five games.

Peyton Hall broke out of a slump with a 4-for-4 game with two RBIs. Her sister, Tatum Hall, pitched in on the offensive side, going 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs. Tatum Hall has reached base safely in six straight games, and in 15 of her last 16 games.

SERIES HISTORY VS GCU

The Lopes hold a 29-4 advantage all-time, but the series has been much closer since Cody Thomson took over in 2022. Since then, the Wolverines are 3-8 against GCU, and are the only WAC team to beat the Lopes each of the last three seasons.

SCOUTING THE LOPES

Grand Canyon comes into the weekend with a 20-3 record, are winners of eight straight, and are currently receiving votes in each of the major national polls. The Lopes are led by preseason WAC Player of the Year Savannah Kirk, who holds a .513 batting average and is a perfect 23-for-23 on stolen bases. Grand Canyon has picked up wins over P4 teams Oregon State, Iowa State, Washington, and Arizona State, and nearly knocked off No. 3 Florida. This weekend will be GCU's first true road games of the season.

SOMETHING IN THE PURPLE

Entering the weekend, junior Britney Moreno has three career home runes, and all have come either against Grand Canyon or at GCU Softball Stadium. Moreno's first career homer came in a 3-1 win at Wolverine Softball Field in 2023, then her second came a year later in an 8-2 win in Phoenix. Earlier this year, Moreno hit a grand slam against Washington in Phoenix.

BUT CAN SHE GET ON BASE?

Through the first 21 games of the year, Megan Gibbs is on pace for the best full-season on-base percentage in program history. Gibbs enters the weekend with a .500 OBP, .016 ahead of the pace set by Madison Carr in 2022. 

UP NEXT

Utah Valley will host in-state rival Weber State on Monday before heading to St. George next weekend to face Utah Tech in the Old Hammer Rivalry. The Wolverines will not leave Utah until April 11 when the team heads to Stephenville, Texas to face Tarleton State.