OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball returns home to start an eight-game homestand this week by first hosting Tarleton State beginning Thursday, Apr. 17 at 6:05 p.m. MT. The series continues with games on Friday and Saturday. The Wolverines will also welcome BYU, Utah, and California Baptist during the home stretch.
 
BROADCAST INFO
The series with the Texans will air on ESPN+ with Jordan Bianucci and Brice Larson on the call from UCCU Ballpark. UVUstats.com will have live stats for each contest.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines dropped the season's first contest with BYU in Provo on Tuesday night. Utah Valley scored first on a high fly ball from Nate Bach that got lost in the afternoon sun and allowed a run to score from first. Dominic Longo II finished with two hits and was the only hitter to have a multi-hit game. Bach, Landon Frei, DJ Massey, and Mason Strong all recorded hits.
 
George Albrecht and Carter Krosky tossed scoreless innings of relief out of the pen after Aaron Rice went for four innings, allowing seven hits. Landon Zaborowski and Cooper Littledike also saw time on the hill in Provo.
 
SCOUTING TARLETON STATE
The Texans enter Orem with a 15-23 overall record and 3-6 in the WAC. They lost on Tuesday night, 11-3, to Texas A&M in College Station. They hit over .300 as a team and will compete with the Wolverines for the top spot in most offensive categories, including triples and stolen bases. Slade McCloud was named WAC Hitter of the Week during the first week of the season and is currently hitting .342 on the year. Tyson Drake adds some pop to the lineup, leading TSU with ten homers on the year with seven triples and six doubles.
 
On the mound, Brian Panneton gets the ball on Friday and is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA in nine starts this season, and Jake Burcham has added 44 innings pitched to the rotation. Opponents are hitting .297 against the staff, who enters with a 6.60 team ERA.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE TEXANS
The all-time series is tied at four a piece, with the first meetings in 2021 in Orem. The two teams have had bad luck when it comes to weather with multiple delays last year in Stephenville that featured UVU coming out on top to win the series. Back in 2023, the last visit by the Texans, snow forced the series to be moved to Saint George to play one game. Utah Valley has won four of the last five in the series.
 
FREI NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Frei finished the week hitting .375 with four home runs and 13 RBIs to help lead the Wolverines to their first series win over Grand Canyon since 2016. His week started with two multi-hit games against UNLV in Las Vegas. In the series finale, he went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs with a homer. He continued to swing a hot bat at GCU, where in UVU's 18-2 victory over the Lopes, he went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and two home runs.

ZABOROWSKI EARNS WATCH LIST HONOR
Utah Valley baseball freshman Landon Zaborowski was named to the Watchlist of the John Olerud Award, which is given annually to the best two-way Player in College Baseball. Entering Tuesday, the Gilbert, Ariz., native has tossed 22 2/3 innings this season in eight appearances, including two starts, and holds a 2-2 record. His season-long outing came in Greeley against Northern Colorado, where he went 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, and struck out four Bears to earn his first collegiate win. He struck out a career-high nine hitters in four innings in relief against Seattle U, limiting the Redhawks to just two hits.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will host BYU on Monday, Apr. 21, and Utah on Tuesday, Apr. 22, at UCCU Ballpark before California Baptist will come in later in the week for a three-game WAC series.