OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball heads to Phoenix for a three-game WAC series against first-place Grand Canyon. The series begins on Friday, Apr. 11 at 8:00 p.m. MT / 7:00 p.m. MST from Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark. The series continues on Saturday, Apr. 12 at 8:00 p.m. MT / 7:00 p.m. MST before the series concludes on Sunday, Apr. 12 at 1:00 p.m. MT / Noon MST.
 
BROADCAST INFO
The entire series will air on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on UVUstats.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines are coming off a series split with the UNLV Rebels in Las Vegas. Landon Frei continued his hot streak with the bat, going 5-for-10 in the series with a home run and seven RBIs while adding three doubles. In the series finale, Aaron Rice had his best start at Utah Valley by tossing a complete game four-hitter with seven strikeouts to help them to a 13-1 victory.
 
In their last WAC series against Utah Tech. The Wolverines swept the Trailblazers behind an 8-for-12 performance from Frei, who tallied four doubles and a home run for five of his eight hits going for extra bases. Utah Valley as a team hit .347 with a on base percentage of .472. Mason Strong finished 6-for-12 in the series with a homer and six RBIs.
 
The Utah Valley pitching staff had a team ERA of 1.44, including a complete game from Jacob Heppner, who earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors, allowing only two Trailblazer hits and limiting hitters to a .095 average. Carston Herman returned to where his college career started, earning his second save after tossing three innings, limiting Utah Tech to just one hit.
 
SCOUTING THE LOPES
Grand Canyon is in first place in the Western Athletic Conference with an 8-1 record and a 22-11 overall record. Utah Valley is near the top of the WAC offensive leaderboards, with GCU a close second. They enter, hitting .294 as a team led by Josh Wakefield at a .418 clip. It's not just Wakefield as reigning WAC Hitter of the Week; Michael Diaz earned both conference and national honors this week and is hitting .302 with eight home runs. Eli Paton and Eddy Pelc add power to the lineup, each hitting seven homers.
 
On the mound, Utah native Isacc Lyon will get the ball on Friday night and is 3-2 with a 3.53 ERA. The Lopes are deeper on the mound and hold a team ERA of 4.37. Walter Quinn would get the ball in the late innings, having tallied seven saves this season.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE LOPES
Grand Canyon has the series edge at 25-9 all-time, having won each since the 2016 season when the Wolverines defeated the Lopes in Phoenix. Utah Valley went on to win the WAC Tournament and made their first appearance in an NCAA regional.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley travels to BYU on Tuesday, Apr. 15, for a 6:00 p.m. MT contest before returning home to open their longest home stand of the season with Tarleton State on Apr. 17 before also welcoming in Cougars, Utah, and California Baptist.