Utah Valley heads to Riverside, Calif., to continue WAC play, facing off with the California Baptist Lancers in a three-game series on Friday and Saturday at John C. Funk Stadium.
The Wolverines and Lancers will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 5 p.m. MDT, then wrap up the series on Saturday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available at GoUVU.com/stats.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley dropped a pair of midweeks to the Nevada Wolf Pack and BYU Cougars after taking two out of three from the Utah Tech Trailblazers to open league play over the weekend. The Wolverines are one of three teams tied atop the WAC standings at 2-1 after one week of play, along with CBU and UT Arlington.
Tatum Hall was nearly unstoppable on the last homestand, going 11-for-19 with four HRs, a triple, two doubles, 12 RBIs, and 6 runs scored. Hall leads the team in batting avg (.425), HRs (7), and SLG% (.781) and enters the series on a nine-game hitting streak.
Britney Moreno made history versus Utah Tech, breaking UVU's D-I era triples record with the 12th of her career. Entering this weekend, Moreno ranks t-3rd nationally with 5 triples this season, as well as t-13th among active D-I players in that category. With her next triple, Moreno would match the single-season record, set by Chris Jimenez in 2005, and move into the top 10 all-time in WAC history.
This weekend pits the top offense in the WAC against the top pitching staff. UVU ranks tops in the league and 15th in the nation in batting average (.358) and 45th in scoring (6.60 runs/game), while CBU has the best team ERA at 3.26.
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
Led by ace workhorse Miranda de Nava, CBU's pitching staff has been tops in the league so far this season. De Nava boasts a WAC-leading 2.67 ERA and has held hitters to a .214 batting average, but has been susceptible to giving up big hits, with 12 HRs and 18 doubles allowed. Long Beach State transfer and two-time All-Big West selection Makayla Medellin has led the Lancers offensively, posting a team-high nine HRs and 37 RBIs.
SERIES HISTORY VS CBU
These current WAC and future Big West rivals have met 20 times prior to this weekend. CBU leads the series 11-9, but UVU has won the last two. After the Lancers ended the Wolverines' season in 2024 at the WAC Tournament, UVU returned the favor last season, winning a thrilling back-and-forth elimination game in Riverside, 9-7. CBU has won the regular season series each of the last three years, winning two games to one in 2023 and 2025 in Riverside and sweeping a weather-shortened two-game series in Orem in 2024. 14 of the 20 prior meetings have been decided by three or fewer runs, and only two have been run-rules.
SOCAL WOLVERINES SHOWING OUT
Utah Valley figures to have a strong cheering section this weekend, with five players from Southern California. Those players include Amber Rodriguez (Covina), Mya Higareda (Fullerton), Emma Haygood (Garden Grove), Britney Moreno (La Habra), and Maddie McSorley (Mission Viejo). Assistant coach Marissa Chavez also hails from Covina.
WOLVERINES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Entering this week, Utah Valley ranks in the top 50 nationally in the following team and individual categories:Â
Team
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Batting average: .356, 15th NCAA, 1st WAC
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Doubles/Game: 1.70, 46th NCAA, 1st WAC
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Hits: 294, 23rd NCAA, 2nd WAC
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OB%: .429, 31st NCAA, 1st WAC
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RBIs: 122, 44th NCAA, 3rd WAC
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Scoring: 6.60 runs/game, 45th NCAA, 2nd WAC
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Sacrifice Flies: 14, 26th NCAA, 1st WAC
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SLG%: .546, 37th NCAA, 1st WAC
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Triples: 11, 20th NCAA, t-1st WAC
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Triples/Game: 0.37, 21st NCAA, 1st WAC
Individual
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will return to Utah for five games in their home state. Utah Valley will head up to Ogden on Tuesday for the final game of the season series against Weber State, then host UT Arlington for a three-game series at the weekend. UVU will then head to BYU for the final Crosstown Clash of the 2026 season on April 7.
