Mavs, Jays Tangle in Weekend Series
Mar 28, 2013 | Baseball, General
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Leading Off
After 10 straight road games, the UNO baseball team returns to Omaha this weekend for a three-game series with crosstown rival Creighton, March 29-31. Friday's game is set for 6 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park, followed by a Saturday contest at 1 p.m. at Werner Park. The series finale is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park. Friday and Sunday's tilts are both CU home games, while Saturday's is UNO's home game. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com, and all three games will also be broadcast live on KVNO 90.7 HD-2 with student broadcasters Jared Meyer and Paul Dobler on the call.
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 425-292-2.
Quick Hits
•Creighton leads the all-time series with UNO, 54-53, since 1947. The two squads split last year's series, with Omaha taking the first game, 3-2, and Creighton winning the second contest, 6-1, both at TD Ameritrade Park.
•The Jays have a 9-1 advantage in the last 10 games of the CU-UNO series.
•In last year's win over Creighton, sophomore Alex Mortensen finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI. After scoring the Mavs' first run in the seventh, he added a two-run single in the eighth that scored the tying and go-ahead runs to put Omaha up 3-2.
•As a team, UNO tops the Summit League with a .291 batting average.
•Mortensen's .407 batting average leads all hitters in the league, while sophomore Zach Williamsen's 2.12 ERA is third among conference hurlers. In addition, junior Brett Bass is fourth in batting average (.338), and junior Josh Bullock is third with three saves on the year.
•In the latest NCAA statistical release on March 24, the Mavericks' .974 fielding percentage tied for 35th nationally with North Carolina, TCU, Vanderbilt, California and Portland. They were also 40th in the country with 2.06 doubles per game.
•Individually, Mortensen was 14th among Division I hitters with a .436 batting average and 21st with 0.47 doubles per game. Senior Tyler Splichal and freshman Cole Gruber were tied for 31st with 0.31 sacrifice bunts per contest.
•When leading off an inning, Omaha batters are hitting a combined .425. Bass is 14-for-30 (.467) when leading off, and redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor is 13-for-20 (.650).
•Senior Ryan Keele has led the way when trying to advance runners, hitting .641 (25-for-39). Freshman Cole Gruber is 21-for-37 (.568) and Bass is 21-for-38 (.553) in those situations.
Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Creighton is 12-5 (2-1 MVC) after taking two of three games in its opening conference series at Evansville last weekend. On Saturday, the Jays finished it off with a 6-2 win, and three CU relievers -- Matt Warren, Mark Winkelman and Bryan Sova -- combined for 6.2 innings of scoreless ball. Warren earned the win, allowing three hits over 3.2 innings of work. At the plate, Mike Gerber went 3-for-5 and scored twice, and Reagan Fowler was 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Head coach Ed Servais (UW-LaCrosse, 1981) is in his 10th year at Creighton with a record of 339-200. He holds a career mark of 521-283-1 over 18 seasons as a head coach.
Last Time Out
Omaha concluded its 10-game road stretch on Wednesday afternoon, falling 11-4 to Missouri at Taylor Stadium. The win went to MU reliever Griffin Goodrich (2-0), who threw 3.0 hitless, scoreless innings with one walk. The loss went to freshman Tyler Fox (1-1), who surrendered one run on three hits with a walk over 2.0 innings.
Junior Brett Bass finished 2-for-5 with a run scored, while freshman Cole Gruber went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Freshman Alex Schultz and redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor both finished 1-for-3 and each scored once, and senior Tyler Splichal added another run.
Rewind with Creighton
UNO baseball team closed its first season of Division I competition on May 9, 2012, falling 6-1 to Creighton at TD Ameritrade Park. CU's Erik Mattingly (1-3) earned the win, keeping UNO hitless with one strikeout in the first inning. Andrew Reck took the loss, going four innings in his start. He surrendered five runs – three earned – on seven hits, while striking out three with just one walk.
Mark Waldron finished 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Brady Hohl, Colby McCord, Jeff McNichols and Alex Mortensen each contributed a single.
Creighton was led by Brad McKewon and Nick Judkins, who both went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Judkins added an RBI. Chance Ross was also 1-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, and Mike Gerber was 1-for-4 with two runs driven in. As a team, the Bluejays totaled nine hits to UNO's five.
On the Hill: Notables About the Weekend Rotation
Sophomore righthander Zach Williamsen will make his first Friday night start against Creighton this week. Williamsen is 0-1 with a 2.12 ERA over five appearances, and he is second on the team with 12 strikeouts. He has thrown a season-long 6.0 innings twice this year, tying with freshman Marcus Ethen for the team's longest outing.
Senior southpaw Cory Buckley, who has been UNO's game two weekend starter, returned this year 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. Against North Dakota last month, Buckley fanned five batters, which ties Williamsen and senior Matt Tew for the most of any pitcher on the UNO staff.
True freshman Tyler Fox righty has served as UNO's game three weekend starters over the first month of play, and he earned his first career win over North Dakota on March 9. Fox allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, striking out three and walking two over 5.0 innings of work.
Going Streaking
Redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor and junior Brett Bass both carry a team-best six-game hitting streak into Friday's game at Creighton. In that span, Bass has hit .414 with four doubles, five runs scored and four RBI, while Taylor has hit at a .350 clip with three doubles and a pair of runs scored. Bass also has the Mavericks' longest streak of reaching base with 11 straight games.
Redshirt freshman Connor Messinger holds UNO's longest individual hitting streak this year, as he previously held a seven-game stretch, March 9-21.
More from Mort
Sophomore Alex Mortensen batted .600 (12-for-20) over five games last week for Omaha, helping the Mavericks to a pair of road wins against Iowa and Air Force. He also scored six runs and had five RBI, two walks, four doubles and UNO's first home run of the season. Mortensen achieved four multi-hit performances, including back-to-back games with four hits each.
Keele Named Summit League Player of the Week
Senior Ryan Keele was named Summit League Player of the Week for his performance March 11-17, the conference
office announced March 18. The honor was the first of his Maverick career, and he became the first UNO player to earn a Summit League weekly award.
Over four games last week, Keele led UNO to a pair of wins over Big Ten opponents and a 2-2 record for the week. In the 9-6 win over Iowa, he went 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. The senior outfielder added four hits in the two-game midweek set at Minnesota, with two of those coming in the 10-9 extra-inning victory Wednesday, along with two RBI and two runs scored. For the week, Keele native hit .533 (8-for-15) with five runs scored, four RBI, two walks, a double and stolen base.
Falcone Nearly Flawless
In UNO's 9-6 victory over Iowa, the win went to junior reliever Anthony Falcone, who threw 3.2 innings of hitless relief and allowed no walks. He entered the game in the sixth inning and was nearly flawless over 3.2 innings, holding the Hawkeyes to nine straight groundouts before the ninth-inning leadoff reached on an error and one batter was hit by a pitch in the last inning.
Fresh Faces
Twenty-nine Mavericks have seen the field in the first month 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 is second among all Maverick hitters with a steady .381 batting average, six doubles and nine walks drawn, as well as a .527 on-base percentage.
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 425-292-2. 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 42 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 earlier this month, 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 -- 3-3
Great West -- 1-4
Missouri Valley -- 0-1
Mountain West -- 1-1
SEC -- 0-1
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) round 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.
On to the Next One
Omaha returns to action on Wednesday, April 4, traveling to Kansas State. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan., and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on Fox College Sports.
