After wrapping Western Athletic Conference play at Seattle U during the weekend, Utah Valley University softball heads to Oregon this week to close its 2016 regular season with a pair of midweek non-conference doubleheaders at No. 5 Oregon and Portland State. The Wolverines and top-five ranked Ducks will first do battle on Tuesday in Eugene before UVU heads to Portland to wrap its regular season at Portland State.

The UVU and UO twin bill is set for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. MT, on Tuesday, while the Wolverines and Vikings face off at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. MT, on Wednesday. Following the pair of non-conference doubleheaders, Utah Valley then returns to Seattle for the 2016 WAC Tournament that will take place May 12-14, at Seattle U's Logan Field.

Utah Valley (7-38) earned the No. 5 seed for the WAC Tournament after dropping two of three to SU this past weekend to tie the Redhawks for fifth place in the conference standings with identical 3-12 records. Seattle U won the opener of the three-game series, 6-4, before UVU responded with a four-run sixth in the nightcap of a Friday doubleheader to earn a 7-4 come-from-behind victory. SU then bounced back to take the series with an 8-3 victory on Saturday.

Tiani Hensley and Brittney Vansway both homered for the Wolverines during Friday's victory over SU, while Bryanna Fox drove home the go-ahead run with an RBI double to left in the sixth inning. Right-handed pitcher Makayla Shadle earned the victory in relief for UVU after pitching three innings of scoreless relief, including a pair of one-two-three innings as well managing to escape a bases loaded jam unscathed in the seventh.

Taleigh Williams led the Wolverines in the series by hitting .556 (5-for-9), while Vansway batted .455 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Speedster Morgan Smith also hit .300 on the weekend and set the single-season UVU stolen base record after swiping five bags in the series. Smith is now Utah Valley's single-season steals record holder with 21, as well as the program's all-time career steals leader with 58.

Vansway leads UVU on the season with a .336 average, six homers, 14 doubles and 29 RBIs. Brianna Gatlin is next with a .301 clip and 26 runs batted in. Shadle tops the pitching staff with a 4.77 ERA and a 2-7 record.

About the oppostion

The fifth-ranked Ducks enter Tuesday's twin bill with a 36-8 overall record and leading the Pac-12 with a 16-2 conference clip. Oregon has won 11 straight ballgames, which includes a trio of league sweeps over No. 17 Arizona, No. 25 Arizona State and rival Oregon State. The Ducks, who have made the NCAA Tournament six-straight times, were picked to win the Pac-12 this year after taking home the conference crown a year ago.

Koral Costa paces UO offensively with a .445 average and 11 doubles, while Nikki Udria is right behind her with a .425 clip and a team-high 14 home runs and 46 RBIs. Cheridan Hawkins and Megan Kleist lead the Ducks in the circle, as they hold respective 16-3 and 15-3 records, as well as solid earned run averages of 2.37 and 2.15.

Tuesday's doubleheader will mark the ninth and 10th all-time meetings between the Wolverines and Ducks. Oregon enters play with an unblemished 8-0 series advantage after sweeping a pair of games in Eugene last season.

The Vikings enter Wednesday's pair of contests with a 13-29 overall record and a 7-11 ledger in Big Sky play. PSU has won two of its last five ballgames after dropping two of three to Idaho State at home last weekend. Portland State currently sits in fifth in the Big Sky standings after being picked to finish seventh in league play this season.

Candice Orozco leads the Vikings with a .330 average, while Brianna Celaya is right behind her with a .325 clip and a team-high 25 RBIs. Alyssa Burk is tops on the PSU pitching staff with a 3-4 record and a 3.30 ERA.

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Wednesday's first game will mark the 21st all-time meeting between UVU and PSU. Portland State enters play with a 13-7 series advantage after defeating the Wolverines a trio of times at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational in Honolulu earlier this season.

On deck for UVU

Utah Valley will return to Seattle for the 2016 WAC Tournament May 12-14 at Seattle U's Logan Field. The fifth-seeded Wolverines open play in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday, May 12, at 11:30 a.m. MT, against the host and fourth-seeded Redhawks.

James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.

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