Utah Valley continues its homestand and opens conference play this weekend, welcoming the Utah Tech Trailblazers to Orem for the Old Hammer Rivalry series this Friday and Saturday at Wolverine Softball Field.

The Wolverines and Trailblazers will play a single game on Friday starting at 4 p.m. MT, then play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats at GoUVU.com/stats.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley opened the home season on Tuesday with a decisive 9-1 run-rule win over the Weber State Wildcats. Six different players had multiple hits, led by Britney Moreno and Angelique Mann at the top of the lineup. 

Moreno went 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs, and two runs scored, while Mann went 2-for-2 with a double, three RBIs, two walks, and a run. Megan Sterzer went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored while also providing some stellar defense with an outfield assist to cut down a runner trying to stretch a single into a double.

QUICK HITTERS
Utah Valley enters conference play winners of four straight and 11 of its last 14. At 17-8, UVU is off to its best start entering conference play in the WAC era (since 2014). UVU has scored four or more runs in all but five games so far this season (all losses), and hold a 17-3 record when reaching that threshold. 

The Wolverines have played from ahead most of the season, scoring first in 17 games (15-2) and scoring in the first inning 13 times (11-2). With its next win, Utah Valley will match its win total from all of last season (18). The Wolverines have already surpassed their win total from the 2025 regular season (15).

R-Jr. Ry Binne enters the weekend on an 11-game hitting streak, the longest on the team this season and the longest since Peyton Hall's 11-game streak during the 2024 season. After starting the year 0-for-8, Binne is 18-for-34 (.529) since.

Sr. Britney Moreno reached a pair of milestones in Tuesday's win over WSU. Moreno became the 6th player in program history to reach 100 runs scored for their career, and also equalled the program's career triples record with her 11th. Moreno already has four triples this season, and is one away from tying the team's full-status D-I single-season record (since 2010).

So. RHP Lily Riley enters conference play as the top pitcher statistically in the WAC, leading the league in wins (10) and ERA (2.07), while ranking second in strikeouts (56). Riley also ranks 19th nationally in wins and 66th in ERA.

SCOUTING THE TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Tech enters the weekend with a 10-18 record. The Trailblazers have played 10 games against teams Utah Valley has also faced: four against Weber State, one against Utah, one against Utah State, two against UC Davis, and two against UNLV. Utah Tech has a 5-5 record against those opponents, while Utah Valley is 6-1. Kinley Pappas has been one of the top hitters in the nation so far this season for UTU, ranking 14th nationally with 11 doubles so far this season and a team-high 26 RBIs.

SERIES HISTORY VS UTAH TECH
The longtime JUCO rivals have met 18 times since UTU began its transition to D-I prior to the 2021 season. The series is tied at 9 games apiece entering this weekend. The Blazers won two of three in St. George last year, sweeping a doubleheader before UVU rolled to a 14-0 win in the finale. Emma Haygood had a HR and 3 RBIs, while Tatum Hall and Bailey Marvin each drove in 2 in the win. Utah Valley is 7-2 in the D-I era at home against the Blazers, including a sweep to close out the 2024 regular season in the last meetings in Orem.

SWIPERS KEEP SWIPING
Utah Valley stole its 38th base of the season in Tuesday's win over WSU, already surpassing the team's totals from each of the last three seasons. The Wolverines have their most stolen bases since swiping 61 in 2022, and already have the 10th-most for a full season in program history.

WOLVERINES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Entering this weekend, Utah Valley ranks in the top 50 nationally in the following team categories: 

• Batting Average: .361, 15th NCAA, 1st WAC

• Doubles: 48, 36th NCAA, 1st WAC

• Doubles/Game: 1.92, 20th NCAA, 1st WAC

• Fielding %: .974, 39th NCAA, 2nd WAC

• Hits: 250, 29th NCAA, 2nd WAC

• OB%: .433, 27th NCAA, 1st WAC

• RBIs/Game: 6.04, 46th NCAA, 1st WAC

• Scoring: 6.92 runs/game, 36th NCAA, 1st WAC

• SLG%: .551, 31st NCAA, 1st WAC

• Sac Flies: 12, 31st NCAA, 1st WAC

• Triples: 9, 25th NCAA, t-1st WAC

• Team W/L%: .680, 49th NCAA, 2nd WAC

UP NEXT
Utah Valley will wrap up the homestand with a pair of tough midweek matchups. The Wolverines will host defending Mountain West champions Nevada on Monday at 5 p.m. MT before welcoming crosstown rival BYU to Orem on Tuesday at 6. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available at GoUVU.com/stats.