Mavs Welcome Western Illinois for Twinbill
May 13, 2013 | Baseball, General
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Leading Off
The Summit League-leading Omaha baseball team returns home this week, hosting Western Illinois in a doubleheader on Tuesday, May 14. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the Ballpark at Boys Town, and links to live stats and audio will be available at OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on KVNO 90.7 HD-2, with student broadcasters 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 on the slate. 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 442-301-2.
Quick Hits
•UNO sits atop the conference standings with a record of 15-5 in Summit League play, holding a one-game lead over second-place South Dakota State, which visits Omaha this weekend. The Mavericks had back-to-back weekend sweeps, taking doubleheaders from Fort Wayne (April 5) and Oakland (April 7), followed by four wins at Western Illinois (April 12-14). They then split a four-game series with North Dakota State (April 26-28), another at Fort Wayne (May 3-5) and again at Oakland (May 9-11).
•Omaha leads the all-time series against Western Illinois, 4-0.
•The Mavericks own the top four batting averages among Summit League hitters: seniors Ryan Keele (.378) and Cory Buckley (.375), sophomore Alex Mortensen (.344) and redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor (.337).
•Mortensen ties for 46th nationally with 0.36 doubles per game, and he is second in the Summit League with 15 doubles. He is also first in hits (54) and third in batting average (.344), runs (30), total bases (72) and on-base percentage (.413).
•Senior Cory Buckley's .419 batting average in conference play ranks second among league hitters, and he also tops the league with 18 runs scored in those games.
•Keele hit two home runs last weekend, and his season total of five roundtrippers ties him for the league lead with South Dakota State's Daniel Telford. Keele is also first in total bases (76) and slugging percentage (.563) and third in hits (51).
•Senior Derek Landis and junior Josh Bullock are tied for third among Summit League hurlers with six saves this year.
•Omaha's sweeps of Fort Wayne, Oakland and Western Illinois have highlighted the Mavericks' official Summit League debut as a member of the conference. All-time, UNO is now 97-83 against the five other teams in the league.
•UNO's doubleheader sweep at IPFW on May 4 was marked by two shutouts, 2-0 and 9-0. The last time Omaha had back-to-back shutouts was March 25, 2005, when the Mavericks defeated Missouri Southern, 2-0 and 2-0.
Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois is 18-29 (9-11 Summit League) after defeating North Dakota State, 8-6, on Sunday. The Leathernecks completed their first weekend sweep since 2008, and WIU finished with 14 hits in Sunday's win. JP Maestas was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two more driven in, while. Neil DeCook and Jameson Henning each had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI. Zach Burling, Brent Turner and Steve Kedroski all added a pair of hits apiece. Tyler Willman (1-5) notched his first win of the year, throwing six innings with seven strikeouts and three earned runs allowed. Head coach Ryan Brownlee (Evansville, 1997) is in his first year at Western Illinois with a record of 18-29.
Last Time Out
Omaha mounted a comeback in the eighth inning on Saturday, taking a 7-2 road victory over Oakland at OU Baseball Field. Junior Caleb Palensky finished with three hits on the day, while senior Ryan Keele was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and his conference-best fifth home run of the season. Senior Cory Buckley added another pair of hits with a run and an RBI, and freshman Alex Schultz was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two more driven in.
Sophomore Zach Williamsen earned the win, throwing 7.1 innings and allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. OU's Jake Paulson (2-8) took the loss, also tossing 7.1 innings and surrendering six runs (two earned) off eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
Rewind with the Leathernecks
Omaha continued its hot streak on April 14, defeating Western Illinois, 5-3, at Boyer Stadium. With the win, the Mavericks stretched their win streak to eight straight games and maintained their place at the top of the conference standings.
Freshman Alex Schultz starred offensively and had a hand in four of Omaha's five runs, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Senior Cory Buckley added two hits, and junior Caleb Palensky went 1-for-3 with two runs driven in.
Western Illinois was paced by Jameson Henning, who went 4-for-5 with two RBI, and Zack Burling, who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Steve Kedroski and Mark Garton chipped in two hits apiece.
Junior Steven Schoonover picked up the win on the mound, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over 5.0 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. WIU starter Mason Pingel took the loss, surrendering three runs on four hits with one strikeout over 2.0 innings. The save went to senior Derek Landis, who struck out two and gave up just two hits over 1.1 scoreless innings.
Keele Honored as Summit League Player of the Week
Senior outfielder Ryan Keele was honored as Summit League Player and Pitcher of the Week awards for his performance May 6-12, the conference office announced Monday.
Keele captures his second straight Player of the Week award and third this season after leading Omaha to a 4-1 record. In a 6-5 win over Iowa, the senior had two hits, a walk and stolen base. In the game two win at Oakland, he went 3-for-6 with a double, home run and a pair of RBI. He added a hit in game one of the series along with two hits each in games three and four. For the week, Keele batted .500 (10-for-20) with five RBI, four runs scored, three walks, two homers, a double and stolen base. He had an .850 slugging percentage and .565 on-base percentage for the week.
Omaha, which leads the Summit League standings, has had a total of seven weekly conference award winners this season. Keele was previously named Summit League Player of the Week on March 18 and May 6, junior Brett Bass earned the honor on April 8, and senior Tyler Splichal garnered the same recognition on April 29. Senior Matt Tew was honored as Summit League Pitcher of the Week on April 8.
Call on Casey
Junior reliever Dylan Casey has made a strong impression in his first season on the Maverick pitching staff, posting a 3-0 record with one save and a 2.29 ERA in 11 appearances. Opposing batters are hitting just .260 against Casey, who has 20 strikeouts with just seven walks for a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He made two appearances over North Dakota State two weeks ago, picking up the Sunday win. Over both games combined, Casey held the Bison to five total hits in 3.2 scoreless innings and tied his career best of four strikeouts in the last contest.
Fresh Faces Seeing the Field
Twenty-nine Mavericks have seen the field this 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.
Senior Ryan Keele, who redshirted in 2012 after transferring from Northwestern State, is leads the team with a .378 batting average, while redshirt freshman Clayton Taylor (.337) also sits above the .300 mark.
Mortensen Named First-Team Academic All-District
Sophomore Alex Mortensen earned Capital One Academic All-District 7 distinction, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced May 3. The team was selected by a vote of sports information directors whose institutions are located within CoSIDA District 7, which includes the states of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming
Mortensen's inclusion on the team marks his first academic all-district honor. As a first-team honoree, he advances to the Academic All-America ballot and will be considered for national accolades later this month. Mortensen is Omaha's fourth academic all-district selection in baseball program history and the first to garner such recognition as a Division I student-athlete. The Mavericks' last academic all-district pick was Tyler Splichal, who earned third-team accolades in 2011.
A native of Omaha and a product of Millard North, Mortensen has been a two-year starter and moved into the starting catching role this season. He ranks ninth nationally with 0.45 doubles per game, and he leads the Summit League with a .352 batting average and 15 doubles. Mortensen is also second among conference hitters in slugging percentage (.492) and third in hits (44) and total bases (62).
Mortensen carries a 3.93 grade-point average with a major in business management. He is a member of the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List and participates on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
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 442-301-2. 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 25 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.
Falcone Nearly Flawless vs. Hawkeyes
In UNO's 9-6 victory over Iowa on March 16, 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.
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 has played at three different venues around town: Westside High School for its first home series in March, followed by time split between Werner Park and the Ballpark at Boys Town.
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 -- 0-1
Big Ten -- 4-4
Great West -- 1-4
Missouri Valley -- 1-3
Mountain West – 1-1
SEC – 0-1
Southland – 0-1
WAC – 0-1
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.
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.
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.
Phillies Call Up Former Maverick Cloyd
Former Maverick Tyler Cloyd was called up from the Philadelphia Phillies' Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley last week, making his 2013 season debut against the Diamondbacks. He kept Arizona hitless from the second to sixth innings during his start, going 6.1 innings with two hits and two runs allowed with four strikeouts.
Cloyd made his Major League debut last fall, as he was called up by the Phillies on Aug. 29. He 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 Thursday, May 16, hosting South Dakota State for the first contest of a four-game weekend series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at the Ballpark at Boys Town, and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on KVNO 90.7 HD-2, with student broadcasters Jared Meyer and Paul Dobler on the call.
