Mavs Meet K-State, Then Open League Slate
Apr 2, 2013 | Baseball, General
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Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team has a busy week ahead with a non-conference challenge and two doubleheaders over the opening weekend of Summit League play. On Wednesday, April 3, the Mavericks travel to Kansas State for a 6:30 tilt at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan. The game will be televised live on Fox College Sports with Brian Smoller on play-by-play and Mike Clark providing color commentary.
UNO then returns home for a Friday, April 5 doubleheader at 1 p.m. against Fort Wayne, followed by a Saturday, April 7 doubleheader against Oakland. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com, and the four home games will also be broadcast live on KVNO 90.7 HD-2 with Jared Meyer and Paul Dobler on the call.
Omaha 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 426-294-2.
Quick Hits
•Omaha was a combined 0-9 in weekend series against Kansas State, Fort Wayne and Oakland in 2012.
•The Mavericks seek their first win all-time against all three opponents this week. K-State leads the all-time series, 5-0, while IPFW and OU both have a 3-0 advantage all-time over UNO.
•The Mavs' last meeting with Kansas State came on May 6, 2012, which the Wildcats won, 10-2, in Manhattan. Omaha last faced IPFW on April 1, 2012, falling 12-7 in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Oakland on April 22, 2012, which the Golden Grizzlies took, 5-4, in Rochester, Mich.
•Omaha's weekend doubleheaders against Fort Wayne and Oakland mark the Mavericks' official Summit League debut as a member of the conference. All-time, UNO is 85-79 against the five other teams in the Summit League.
•Sophomore Alex Mortensen's .394 batting average leads all hitters in the league, and redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor is third with a .352 clip. Sophomore Zach Williamsen's 2.70 ERA is fifth among conference hurlers, and junior Josh Bullock is third with four saves on the year.
•In the latest NCAA statistical release on March 31, Mortensen was 14th among Division I hitters with 0.47 doubles per game and 56th with a .394 batting average.
Scouting the Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State is 18-10 (2-3 Big 12) through March 30 after falling 7-6 at Baylor in Waco, Texas. The Wildcats entered the ninth inning trailing by four, rallying for three runs and putting the tying run on second before BU escaped with the final out. KSU's Tanner Witt led the way with a 3-for-5 day at the plate and a run scored, while Ross Kivett went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and another driven in. The loss went to K-State starter Matt Wivinis, who gave up four runs on nine hits over 5.0 innings, striking out two and walking one.
Head coach Brad Hill (Emporia State, 1985) is in his 10th year at Kansas State with a record of 311-234-3. He holds a career mark of 729-325-3 over 19 seasons as a head coach.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne is 11-11 (0-0 Summit League) and carries a five-game win streak into this weekend. The Mastodons last took the field on April 1, defeating Anderson, 7-5, in Indianapolis, Ind., after breaking a 4-4 tie in the top of the ninth inning. Kristian Gayday finished 3-for-5 with two RBI, and Lucas Salerno was 3-for-4 with a run scored. Tyler Shepherd also went 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI, and Connor Lawhead earned the win in relief, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts over 1.2 innings.
Head coach Bobby Pierce (New Mexico State, 2001) is in his fifth year at Fort Wayne with a record of 74-161. He holds a career mark of 129-215 over seven seasons as a head coach.
Scouting the Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Oakland is 4-18 (0-0 Summit League) through games of April 2, having defeated Illinois, 6-3, on March 31 in Champaign, Ill. Todd Dunham delivered a three-run home run in the game, and Chris Van Dyke tossed 6.0 innings, allowing three runs and striking out four in the win. Russell Luxton Jr. came through with 2.0 scoreless innings to earn his second save of the season.
Head coach John Musachio (Bradley, 1996) is in his sixth year at OU with a career record of 108-178.
Last Time Out
Omaha redeemed itself in the series finale against Creighton on Sunday, posting a 4-2 win at TD Ameritrade Park. Freshman Tyler Fox (2-1) had a strong performance for the win, allowing two runs on five hits over 6.0 innings while striking out two and walking one. The loss went to Matt Warren (1-1), who gave up three runs (two earned) off five hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 3.1 innings of work. Junior Josh Bullock earned his fourth save of the season, holding Creighton scoreless with just two hits over the final 3.0 innings.
Sophomore Alex Mortensen finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, while senior Ryan Keele scored twice and was 1-for-3 with the first home run of his Maverick career. Junior Caleb Palensky also finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.
As a team, UNO totaled four runs on eight hits and capitalized on three Bluejay errors for the day.
On the Hill: Notables About the Weekend Rotation
True freshman Tyler Fox (2-1) has served as one of UNO's weekend starters over the first month of play, and he most recently earned the win over Creighton on Sunday. Fox limited the Jays to two runs on five hits over 6.0 innings, and he now has a 4.50 ERA and 13 strikeouts over six appearances.
Sophomore righthander Zach Williamsen (0-1) made his first Friday night start against Creighton last week. He has a 2.70 ERA, ranks second on the team with 13 strikeouts and has given up 14 hits over five appearances for the fewest of anyone in UNO's weekend rotation. Williamsen has thrown a season-long 6.0 innings twice this year, tying with freshman Marcus Ethen and freshman Tyler Fox for the longest outing.
Senior southpaw Cory Buckley (0-3) 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.
Senior righty Matt Tew (0-4) had the most starting appearances of any pitcher on the 2012 staff, totaling 13 starts over 14 appearances as a junior with a team-leading 38 strikeouts. This season, Tew paces Omaha's hurlers with 16 strikeouts in six appearances and four starts.
Going Streaking
Redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor carries a team-best nine-game hitting streak into Wednesday's game at Kansas State, the longest of any Mav this season. In that span, he has hit .313 with four doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.
More from Mort
Sophomore Alex Mortensen batted .600 (12-for-20) for Omaha, March 18-22, 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 .352 batting average and seven doubles, and his .485 on-base percentage is the best of any starter.
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 426-294-2. 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 41 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 -- 1-3
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 last fall 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 Tuesday, April 9, hosting Air Force at Werner Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m., and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on KVNO 90.7 HD-2 with Jared Meyer and Paul Dobler providing play-by-play and color commentary.
