OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball travels south to renew the Old Hammer Rivalry with Utah Tech this weekend in a three-game series. The series starts on Friday, Apr. 4 at 6:05 p.m. MT before a game on Saturday, Apr. 5 at 2:05 p.m. MT, and wraps up on Sunday, Apr. 6 at 12:05 p.m. MT. The road trip continues with games in Las Vegas against UNLV on Apr. 7 and Apr. 8.
BROADCAST INFO
Friday and Saturday's contests in St. George will air free of charge on WAC International. Viewers will need to create a free account to sign-in and watch. Sunday's finale will air on ESPN+. Live stats are available on Utahtechtrailblazers.com.
The two games in Las Vegas against the Rebels will air on UNLV Athletics' YouTube page, and live stats will be available on Stat Broadcast.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines are coming off their first series win over Abilene Christian. Utah Valley won the series opener 9-7 and the series finale 7-2. The Wildcats scored eight runs in the ninth inning to come back and win the middle of the game of the series.
The Utah Valley offense hit .352 last weekend against the Wildcats.
DJ Massey finished 6-for-10 (.600), but the offense continued to see success with
Brody Block (.444),
Jayden Smith (.417), and
Luke Iverson (.417), all finishing over .400 for the series. Iverson finished with a team-high two home runs, including a grand slam in Saturday's contest, for eight RBIs during the weekend.
On the mound, the Wolverines starting staff all went five-plus innings, with Friday starter
Corbin Kirk struck out eight hitters, allowing six scattered hits and two runs. On Sunday,
Jacob Heppner had probably his best outing at UVU, pitching 5 2/3 with eight strikeouts and limiting ACU hitters to a .150 average.
SCOUTING THE TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Tech is 15-13 and 1-2 in WAC play and is well-rested after not playing last weekend; they last played on Mar. 25, when they defeated Utah 12-8. Friday starter Cade Montgomery has been the staff's ace, going 4-0 this season while holding one of the top ERAs in the country at 1.24. Ryan Martinez and Dakoda West are both solid in the rotation.
Kyle McDaniel has been their top hitter of the season, but Aaron Perez, Andrew Pyle, and Ryan Kroepel have been the cornerstones of the Utah Tech offense this season. Keep a close eye on this series, as UTU has wins over in-state rivals BYU and Utah this season.
ALL-TIME VS. UTAH TECH
The rivalry was renewed in 2021 when the Trailblazers joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The series all-time is tied at 13-13, with both teams holding long streaks. UVU has won the last four meetings, but Utah Tech won the last series at Bruce Hurst Field back in 2023.
ABOUT THE REBELS
UNLV is currently 14-14 and will host in-state foe Nevada this weekend before hosting the Wolverines. The Rebels offense is hitting a .285 clip this season and is led by Dean Toigo with a .380 batting average and nine homers this season. The pitching staff holds a 5.59 ERA, with hitters to a .262 batting average this season.
ALL-TIME VS. UNLV
This will be the fifth meeting between the two teams, with each winning two. The Wolverines have won the last two, both in 2022. The host, Rebels, won the first two meetings in 2014 and 2017.
IVERSON NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's
Luke Iverson was named WAC Hitter of the Week for his performance against Portland and Abilene Christian last week. He hit .438 last week with three home runs and 11 RBIs while hitting a homer in three consecutive games.
WELCOME HOME
The Old Hammer Rivalry will bring home four Wolverines who call the St. George area home. Iverson (St. George),
Landon Frei, Carsten Herman, and
Mason Strong are all from Santa Clara.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will continue their road trip at UNLV on Apr. 7-8 before they go to Grand Canyon for a three-game series Apr. 11-13 against the first-place Lopes. It will mark UVU's first visit to GCU since the 2022 season.
