Summer loving sports

The summer is fast approaching. The weather is heating up and the local public pools will soon be open. Some of us will head our ways back home from Washington to New York. Others will have the luxury of going on a cruise for a few weeks or “visiting” family in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. But for the lucky ones who get to stay in beautiful Utah County, we need not forget that sports live on, even through the summer.

I could easily turn your attention to the Jazz, who are actively vying for a spot in the playoffs come the end of April, but even that will be short lived. I can even turn your attention to the semi-professional team, the Salt Lake Bees, who will be playing all summer. But why leave Utah County to watch some quality sports when we have the UVU baseball team and softball team chugging along their games?

The UVU baseball team will have games at home against in-state rivals Utah (April 16) and BYU (April 30). They will also hold a plethora of home games against conference rivals Houston Baptist (April 11-13), Chicago State (April 26-28) and NYIT (May 9-11). All-important games, all happening at UVU. The UVU softball team will also hold a few games in the summer at home. They will host conference rival Santa Clara from April 27-28 and then Weber State right after. All this considering, this is also the final season in which UVU will be playing in the Great West Conference before they make their move to the WAC.

Alright, so their games will only last through May. What to do when the real summer hits in June and July? The Orem Owlz, a Single-A affiliate of the Angels of Anaheim, play on our home field at Brent Brown Ballpark. The Orem Owlz had players like Mike Trout and Mike Trumbo on their roster before sending them off to the big leagues. With the season under way at the end of June, this should leave plenty of room in your busy summer schedule to cheer on a local team. And Caleb Bushyhead is returning. With a name like that, who wouldn’t want to come to the park?

At the end of the summer, the women’s soccer team returns to action, and this time in a new conference. With returning players like Haley Curtis and Lauren Sack, the team can pull off a great Western Athletic Conference victory at the end of the season but the start is just as important.

The summer is not all fun and games. Alright, it is all fun of games. But have some of that fun at the UVU games because the student athletes will.