March 16, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

OREM, Utah - Utah Valley will begin a busy seven games in six days stretch on Monday in the first of a three game series at Gonzaga. On Thursday the Wolverines (3-10-1) will head to Seattle for three games at Washington and a single game against Portland on Washington's field on Friday. Fans can watch the games against Washington for free at GoHuskies.com.

Utah Valley has four players on its roster from the state of Washington including high school teammates Dick Bargewell and Kevin Arendse who both hail from Burlington. Scott Croshaw is from Redmond and freshman Kai Hatch is from Bellingham.

The Wolverines have lost two straight after winning two in a row at last week's River City Classic. Utah Valley's last five losses have all been by one run, including two games where they've carried three run leads into the ninth inning. On Tuesday, BYU survived a ninth inning rally by UV to win 5-4. The Wolverines scored two in the ninth but ultimately the tying run was stranded the bases loaded to end the game

Jace Brinkerhoff is batting .383 with a home run and 16 runs batted in to lead the team with Ryan Jones hitting .367 on the season. Marcus Moore, who went the distance on the mound against BYU, leads Wolverine starters with a 3.60 ERA.

Gonzaga won the Pepsi/Johnny Quick championship with a win over Utah on Saturday in Fresno. After starting 0-4, the Bulldogs have won 10 out of 13 and sit at 10-7 on the season. Gonzaga boasts a lineup that is batting .311 as a team and has six players hitting .321 or better. The Wolverines are 2-7 all-time against Gonzaga after the teams split four games during the 2007 season.

Washington is 9-6 after a four-game sweep in Seattle over Holy Cross. The Huskies have won five out of six games overall. Washington is 4-2 all-time against Utah Valley, sweeping a three-game series during the 2006 season before the Wolverines won two out of three in Orem last season.

Portland is 12-8 and will host Southern Utah in two games prior to traveling to Seattle for single games against UV and Washington. The Pilots defeated the Wolverines 4-3 at the River City Classic on March 6th. UV is 3-1 all-time against Portland winning all three during 2004.

Following the busy week, the Wolverines will play their next seven games against in-state rivals including five straight against Utah beginning with the home opener next Tuesday, March 25th at 6pm against the Utes.