Mavericks Open Season in Lone Star State
Feb 28, 2013 | Baseball, General
Complete Release
Live Stats
The Omaha baseball team kicks off the 2013 season this weekend, traveling to San Antonio, Texas for the UTSA Tournament and its second straight season opener in the state of Texas. UNO opens the weekend at Wolff Stadium with host UTSA on Friday, March 1 at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday matchup with Stephen F. Austin at 2 p.m. The tournament finale comes on Saturday, March 3 at Noon against Penn State. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com for all three games.
UNO is in its second year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2012-13 and officially joined The Summit League in July 2012 with a full regular-season conference schedule ahead. The Mavericks are led by head coach Bob Herold, who is in his 14th year at the helm of the UNO program with a career record of 420-280-2.
Quick Hits
•In its first year of reclassifying to NCAA Division I, UNO completed the 2012 season with an overall record of 12-36.
•The Mavs return four position starters and 12 total letterwinners from the 2012 squad.
•Friday night starter Matt Tew had the most starting appearances of any pitcher on the 2012 staff. The senior right-hander had 13 starts over 14 appearances in his junior season, and he had a team-leading 38 strikeouts.
•UNO's roster includes 19 newcomers and three redshirt freshmen.
•Senior lefthanded pitcher Cory Buckley returns after being granted a medical redshirt in 2012. Buckley suffered a season-ending injury in a collision while playing in the outfield at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The senior compiled a record of 1-2 on the mound with 5.62 ERA and 10 strikeouts, and he hit .244 with three doubles in 12 games played.
Scouting the UTSA Roadrunners
UTSA (6-3, 0-0 WAC) last took the field on Feb. 26 against Texas-Pan American, snapping a three-game losing skid with a 7-1 win over the Broncs at Roadrunner Field. In his first career start, left-hander Nolan Trabanino allowed just one run, scattered four hits and struck out four in 7.1 innings of work. Riley Good was 4-for-4 with a stolen base and a pair of runs scored, while RJ Perucki was 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, two RBI and three runs.
Head coach Jason Marshall (Texas A&M, 1996) is in his first year with at UTSA. Friday marks the first meeting in program history between UTSA and Omaha.
Scouting the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Stephen F. Austin (2-4, 0-0 Southland) last took the field on Feb. 27 in its home opener against Louisiana Tech, posting a 10-5 win over in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Lumberjacks were led by Jordon Lenaburg's two home runs that were part of a 14-hit outburst. SFA starter Kevin Bishop struck out five batters in seven innings of work for his first win of the season. He allowed five hits and two earned runs.
Head coach Johnny Cardenas (TCU, 1998) is in his fifth year at Stephen F. Austin and has a career record of 122-112. SFA leads the all-time series with Omaha, 2-10.
Scouting the Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State (1-5, 0-0 Big Ten) last took the field on Feb. 24 against Liberty, falling 6-1. Patton Taylor made the start, throwing three innings with four strikeouts, five hits and four earned runs. Elliot Searer crossed for Penn State's only run of the game on a sacrifice fly from Taylor Skerpon.
Head coach Robbie Wine (Oklahoma State, 2002) is in his ninth year at Penn State with a career record of 215-260. Sunday marks the first meeting in program history between PSU and Omaha.
Palensky, Mortensen Earn Preseason Recognition from College Sports Madness
Junior Caleb Palensky and sophomore Alex Mortensen earned preseason all-league recognition from College Sports Madness, the online publication announced on Jan. 21. Both players were named to the All-Summit Second Team.
In 2012, Mortensen's .292 batting average as a freshman was fourth on the team, and he finished with a squad-leading 26 RBI, nine doubles, one triple and a team-best four home runs. Palensky hit .250 in his sophomore year with nine doubles, two triples, two homers and 17 RBI, and he drew a team-leading 19 walks.
Herold at the Helm
Head Coach Bob Herold is in his 14th year as the skipper of the Nebraska Omaha baseball program in 2013, having compiled a career record of 420-280-2. Herold earned his 400th career win on April 22, 2011 against Fort Hays State, becoming the third coach in school history to reach the milestone. He joined Bob Gates (464-473) and Virgil Yelkin (439-196) in the prestigious club, and Herold now needs 45 more wins to pass Gates as the all-time winningest coach in UNO history.
Over his Maverick career, Herold has guided Omaha to seven NCAA Division II postseason appearances and three conference championships.
Herold's most recent draft pick was righthanded pitcher Joe Holtmeyer, who was taken in the 22nd round (No. 682 overall) of the 2011 Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. Holtmeyer was the fifth Maverick drafted under Herold and the second-highest pick of any player during the Herold era.
Herold is assisted by assistant coaches Chris Gadsden, in his 14th year, and Evan Porter, in his first year, as well as volunteer pitching coach Dan McGinn, who is in his 13th year.
Home Sweet Home
After playing just five games at home last year, the 2013 season will see the Omaha baseball team play 24 home contests, including 14 conference tilts. UNO will play at three different venues around town: Westside High School for its first home series next weekend, followed by time split between Werner Park and the Ballpark at Boys Town.
Welcome to The Summit League
The 2013 season marks UNO's first year with a full regular-season Summit League schedule. UNO will play all five of its Summit League foes, once in Omaha and once on the road. Although the Mavericks will appear in the Summit League standings, they cannot qualify for the Summit League Championship or the NCAA Tournament until 2015-16.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2013 schedule includes 56 games against 17 different Division I opponents, and the team will play in 12 states across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from eight different conferences: Big 12, Big Ten, Great West, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Southland, the Summit League and Western Athletic (WAC).
Two foes were 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers: Missouri and Creighton. CU played in the Los Angeles Regional, while MU was sent to the Tucson Regional.
The Mavericks have never faced three of their 2013 opponents -- UTSA, Penn State and Western Illinois -- and they hold a combined all-time record of 195-195 over all teams on the slate this season.
MAVERICKS VS. OTHER CONFERENCES IN 2013
Big 12 -- 0-0
Big Ten -- 0-0
Great West -- 0-0
Missouri Valley -- 0-0
Mountain West -- 0-0
Southland -- 0-0
WAC -- 0-0
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
Omaha was picked to finish sixth in the Summit League Preseason Poll released by the conference office earlier this month.
North Dakota State was favored to capture its first Summit League Baseball Tournament title in a preseason vote among the league's six head coaches. The Bison received five first-place votes and a total of 25 points. South Dakota State placed second with 17 points, followed closely by Oakland who received the final first-place vote and 16 points. Western Illinois (15 points), Fort Wayne (nine points) and league newcomer Omaha (eight points) rounded out the poll.
Former Maverick Cloyd Makes MLB Debut With Philadelphia Phillies
Former Omaha baseball player Tyler Cloyd made his Major League debut on Aug. 29, as he was called up by the Philadelphia Phillies. Cloyd debuted against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park, giving up three runs on seven hits over six innings of work, striking out five and walking two. Cloyd became just the second Maverick to play in the Majors, joining Bruce Benedict, who played 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
A native of Bellevue, Neb., and the Phillies' 18th-round pick in the 2008 Draft, Cloyd also went 15-1 overall in the Minor Leagues last season. His stint with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs resulted in a 12-1 record with a 2.35 earned-run average, which led all pitchers the International League.
Cloyd lettered two seasons at UNO (2006-07), earning third-team All-America honors and first-team all-region recognition in his final season. A two-time All-NCC honoree, he was twice named NCC Most Valuable Pitcher.
Senior Trio Named Independent All-Conference
Three former Maverick players were named to the 2012 Independent Baseball All-Conference Teams, College Sports Madness announced last May. Colby McCord was a first-team honoree, while Brady Hohl and Mark Waldron were second-team selections.
McCord batted a team-leading .366 with 18 doubles, three home runs, 20 RBI and 27 runs scored. He topped the Mavericks with 18 multi-hit games and finished his career ranked ninth in school history for career games played (163) and 11th in doubles (33).
Hohl capped his senior campaign with a .297 batting average, 12 doubles, two home runs, 22 RBI and 24 runs scored, as well as a team-high 14 stolen bases. He also completed his career among the best in school history in multiple categories: third in hits (218) and at-bats (632), fifth in games started (159) and runs scored (140), sixth in games played (181) and seventh in doubles (37).
Waldron hit .272 for the season with eight doubles, a home run, 24 runs scored, 21 driven in and 16 walks drawn. He was honored by College Sports Madness as Independent Player of the Week on March 20.
Up Next for the Mavericks
Omaha returns to action on Wednesday, March 6, traveling to Wichita State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan., and links to live stats, video and audio will be available on OMavs.com.
