Utah Valley hosts WAC foe UT Arlington this weekend for a three-game series at Wolverine Softball Field, the Mavericks' first-ever trip to Orem.
First pitch of Friday's doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m. MDT, with Saturday's series finale slated for a noon MDT first pitch. Follow UVU Softball on social media for updates about potential postponements with rain in the forecast this weekend.
Due to other events at the UCCU Center this weekend, the UCCU Center visitor lot will be closed to non-ADA attendees on Friday and Saturday. Fans are encouraged to park at the Browning Administration parking lot south of the UCCU Center or in the student lots north of Wolverine Softball Field.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley fell to BYU in the Crosstown Clash on Tuesday evening, 14-0, in front of a record crowd at Wolverine Softball Field. Tuesday's 575 spectators surpassed the previous record of 512, set against No. 3 Washington back in 2019.
Emma Haygood picked up a pair of hits in the loss to up her season average to .390. Haygood is in the top three on the team in most major offensive categories, including leading the team in RBIs, doubles, and slugging percentage.
Megan Gibbs has a team-high 22 walks — already ninth-most in a single season in program history — and her .505 OBP is on pace to set the team record. Gibbs hit her 40th career home run in Saturday's win, and is now two away from setting the career record.
Peyton Hall is coming off a very strong weekend at the plate, going 8-for-11 with a homer and four RBIs against Utah Tech. She and her sister, Tatum Hall, achieved the rare feat of homering in the same inning in Friday's series opener against the Trailblazers, joining ULM's Meagan and Morgan Brown as the only sisters to do that this season.
SERIES HISTORY VS UT ARLINGTON
The Wolverines and Mavericks split the four meetings last season — the teams' first meetings as conference foes. All four games were decided by one run, and three of those were decided on the final at-bat. UTA walked off the Wolverines for their two wins last year, 4-3 in 8 innings and 2-1 in 10 innings. UVU won 1-0 in the lone non-extra inning affair behind a complete game shutout by Avery Sapp and a homer from Megan Gibbs. UVU got the last laugh in a 2-1 8-inning thriller at the WAC tournament, with Megan Gibbs scoring from first on a Payge Armendariz single into the gap.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
UTA has just two hitters with a .300 average or better, but have gotten strong performances from their pitching staff with a 2.64 conference ERA and 3.57 overall to lead the team to a 20-11 record entering the weekend. Co-aces Emilie Hoelscher and Jessica Adams lead the pitching staff with a 2.62 and 2.66 ERA respectively.
ALUMNI WEEKEND ON TAP FOR ABILENE CHRISTIAN SERIES
UVU Softball will hold its 2nd-annual alumni weekend on April 4-5 during the home series against Abilene Christian. A home run derby will be held after Friday's doubleheader, and a luncheon will be held in the UCCU Center following Saturday's game.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will head to Provo for the second and final meeting in the Crosstown Clash against BYU on Tuesday, April 1. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. MDT.