Mavs Continue Road Swing With Hawkeyes
Mar 15, 2013 | Baseball, General
Complete Release
Live Stats (Sat | Sun | Mon)
Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team hits the road for its second Big Ten series this week, facing Iowa for a three-game set that was moved to Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan. The series begins on Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m., followed by a second game on Sunday, March 17 at 1 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Monday, March 18 at 10 a.m. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
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 422-287-2.
Quick Hits
•The all-time series between UNO and Iowa is tied, 1-1, after the Mavericks won 3-1 in Iowa City last season.
•The Mavericks have committed just four errors over their first nine games. Their .992 fielding percentage through games of March 10 ties for third nationally with Lamar, behind only Dartmouth (1.000 over three games) and UC Irvine (.993 over 16 games).
•UNO also ranks 32nd nationally with 2.14 doubles per game.
•Individually, sophomore Brett Miller ties for 35th in the country with 0.50 doubles per game. Freshman Tyler Fox is 42nd among Division I pitchers with a 0.90 earned-run average and 44th with a 0.80 WHIP.
•A season-high six Mavericks were plunked with pitches in Wednesday's 10-9 win at Minnesota.
•When leading off an inning, Omaha batters are hitting a combined .488. Junior Brett Bass is 8-for-14 (.571) when leading off.
•Redshirt freshman Connor Messinger has come through when UNO runners are in scoring position, going 4-for-7 (.571), and he is 6-for-13 (.462) when trying to advance runners.
•Omaha's 13-2 win over North Dakota last Sunday marked the highest run total since a 13-1 win over Bucknell on March 16, 2012 in Lakeland, Fla.
•UNO has held its opposition to an 0-for-5 showing when the bases are loaded this year.
•The Mavs are 2-0 on the season when scoring first.
Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa is 7-6 (0-0 Big Ten) and carries a three-game win streak into the weekend, having most recently defeated West Virginia, 6-4, on March 10. Freshman Blake Hickman delivered a two-run single in the top of the 12th inning to guide the Hawkeyes to victory in the final game of the Snowbird Classic. Four Hawkeyes -- Hickman, Taylor Zeutenhorst, Taylor Kaufman and Jake Mangler all posted multi-hit efforts. Hickman went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI, Zeutenhorst went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, a triple, two runs scored, and an RBI, Kaufman went 3-for-5 with a run scored, and Mangler went 2-for-6 with an RBI, extending his hit streak to six games.
Head coach Jack Dahm (Creighton, 1990) is in his 10th year at Iowa. He holds a career record of 503-557-2 over 20 years of coaching.
Last Time Out
Omaha picked up its second win of the season on Wednesday, defeating Minnesota in 11 innings in a 10-9 at the Metrodome. Caleb Palensky sent an RBI double to right center in the top of the 11th, scoring Ryan Keele to break the 9-9 tie.
Steven Schoonover (1-0) earned the win in relief, throwing 3.0 innings of scoreless ball with three hits, one strikeout and no walks. Billy Soule (0-1) took the loss, surrendering one run on six hits over 3.1 innings of work with two strikeouts and a walk.
As a team, Omaha pounded out 15 hits in the extra-innings win, while Minnesota had 14 as a squad. Clayton Taylor finished a flawless 3-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI and a walk, while sophomore Alex Mortensen went 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored and another driven in. Senior Ryan Keele, junior Brett Bass and freshman Cole Gruber each tallied two hits on the day, and Keele scored twice and drove in two runs as well.
Rewind with Iowa
UNO last faced Iowa on March 28, 2012, defeating the Hawkeyes 3-1 at Duane Banks Field. The Maverick pitching staff starred, limiting Iowa to just four hits for the night. Starter Andrew Reck earned the win, allowing one run over six innings with three strikeouts and a walk. Cole Volkers relieved Reck for one inning, striking out a pair of batters in the seventh. But it was Zach Williamsen who put it away for UNO, as he entered the game in the eighth with a no-outs, bases-loaded jam and went on to strike out the side. Williamsen held the Hawkeyes hitless over the last two innings and totaled four Ks en route to his first career save.
The loss was tagged to Patrick Lala, who gave up one unearned run on one hit over 2.2 innings of relief. Lala struck out three and issued one walk.
Colby McCord finished 3-for-5 with a run scored and another driven in, while Caleb Palensky went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
On the Hill
•True freshman Tyler Fox has served as UNO's game three weekend starter over the first two weekends of play, and he earned his first career win over North Dakota State last Saturday. Fox allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, striking out three and walking two over 5.0 innings of work. He threw an identical 5.0 innings against Penn State the week before, which is the longest outing of any Maverick pitcher this year.
•Senior lefthanded pitcher Cory Buckley, who has been UNO's game two weekend starter, 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. On Saturday, Buckley fanned five North Dakota batters, which ties sophomore Zach Williamsen and senior Matt Tew for the most of any pitcher on the UNO staff
•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. This season, Tew leads the staff again with 10 Ks in three appearances.
Going Streaking
Sophomore Alex Mortensen carries a team-best five-game hitting streak after the midweek series at Minnesota. Mortensen has batted .476 (10-for-21) over the five-game span, tallying three doubles, five runs scored, two driven in and a pair of walks drawn. In addition, Mortensen has reached base at least once in eight straight games this season, the longest streak of any UNO player.
Senior Tyler Splichal, junior Brett Bass, freshman Cole Gruber tie Mortensen for UNO's longest individual hitting streak this year, as each previously held a five-game stretch of their own.
Fresh Faces
Twenty-nine Mavericks have seen the field in the first two weeks of the season, 16 of whom are newcomers. Six true freshmen have made their way into the lineup: Cole Gruber, Alex Schultz, Collin Leif, Sam Murphy, Marcus Ethen and Tyler Fox.
Redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor leads all Maverick hitters with a .600 batting average, three doubles and five walks drawn, as well as a .739 on-base percentage. Sophomore transfer Brett Miller matches Taylor and sophomore Alex Mortensen for the team lead with three doubles on the year.
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 422-287-2. 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 needs 43 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 last 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 entering this season.
MAVERICKS VS. OTHER CONFERENCES IN 2013
Big 12 -- 0-0
Big Ten -- 1-2
Great West -- 1-2
Missouri Valley -- 0-1
Mountain West -- 0-0
Southland -- 0-1
WAC -- 0-1
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
In its first year as a member of the Summit League, Omaha was picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll released by the conference office last 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.
Kids Growing Up In the Heartland
The 2013 Omaha roster is loaded with local talent. Twenty of the 35 players hailing from 14 high schools in seven Nebraska cities, including five from Millard West High School and four from Bellevue East High School.
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.
On to the Next One
Omaha returns to action March 19-20, traveling to Air Force for a two-game midweek series in Colorado Springs, Colo. Tuesday's game is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch, followed by a 2 p.m. start time on Wednesday. Links to live stats for both games will be available on OMavs.com.
