Mavericks Open Season at Snowbird Classic
Feb 20, 2014 | Baseball
Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team opens the 2014 season this weekend, traveling to the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla., for an eight-game, 10-day trip. As available, links for live stats will be posted on OMavs.com.
The Mavericks begin with Milwaukee on Friday, Feb. 21, followed by Northwestern on Saturday, Feb. 22 and Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 23. After an off day, UNO returns to action against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, Feb. 25, then plays Chicago State on Thursday, Feb. 27. The Mavs finish with two games on Friday, Feb. 28 with Villanova and Chicago State again, then Western Michigan on Saturday, March 1.
Quick Hits
•UNO was previously scheduled to open the 2014 season last weekend with a four-game series against Tennessee and Purdue in Knoxville, Tenn. The trip was cancelled due to snowy conditions in Knoxville and travel issues.
•The Mavericks return 20 letterwinners from 2013, including eight who saw the field as position starters and three returning starting pitchers. Fifteen newcomers are also on the 2014 roster.
•A two-year starter and first-team All-Summit honoree, junior Alex Mortensen will miss the 2014 season due to injury.
•After going 20-6 in Summit League play last year, UNO is 100-84 all-time against the four other teams in the league.
•Entering this weekend's Snowbird Classic, Omaha has a combined record of 39-27 when playing in Florida during the Bob Herold era.
Scouting the Snowbird Classic Field
Beginning on Friday, Omaha will play eight games at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Mavericks have never faced four of their tournament opponents: Milwaukee, St. Bonaventure, Villanova and Western Michigan. They are a combined 5-4 against the other three against whom they have already played: Northwestern (0-1), Iowa (4-3) and Chicago State (1-0).
UNO most recently played Iowa on May 7, 2013, taking a 6-5 win in Iowa City. It previously faced Chicago State and Northwestern at the 2012 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla., defeating CSU by a score of 8-4 before falling 3-1 to NU later the same week.
Picked to Win It
Omaha is favored to repeat as the Summit League's regular-season champion in a preseason vote among the league's head coaches, the conference office announced Feb. 6.
The Mavericks received three first-place votes and a total of 15 points. South Dakota State came in second with 12 points and one first-place vote while North Dakota State had 10 points for third place. Western Illinois received the final first-place vote and totaled eight points, followed by Fort Wayne with five points.
UNO capped 2013 with an overall record of 27-22 and a league mark of 20-6. After being picked last in the 2013 preseason coaches poll, the Mavericks won the regular-season title in just their first year as a member of the league and their second year as a Division I school. It marked UNO's first Division I conference championship in any sport.
Four All-League Picks Highlight 2014 Roster
Four All-Summit selections from the 2013 squad highlight Omaha's 2014 roster: first-team picks in senior infielder Tyler Splichal and junior catcher Alex Mortensen and second-team selections in sophomore infielder Clayton Taylor and senior outfielder Brett Bass.
After taking a medical redshirt in 2012, Splichal came back for his junior season in 2013 to hit .274 with 25 runs scored, five doubles and 19 RBI. He was hit by a pitch 14 times, which led the league, and was third in the conference with 10 sacrifice hits. Splichal finished the year with 12 multi-hit games, including one with five hits, and he was named Summit League Player of the Week on April 29.
Mortensen was among the conference leaders in multiple categories, ranking second in doubles (15), fourth in hits (57) and total bases (75) and fifth in batting average (.318). His 15 multi-hit games were third on the team, and he completed his second season as a Maverick with a team-leading 32 runs scored and 27 RBI.
Taylor made his debut season as a Maverick a memorable one, ranking third in the league with a .352 batting average. He added 20 runs scored, eight doubles, 18 RBI and eight stolen bases, and his 23 walks drawn were fifth among conference players.
Bass, who transferred from Iowa Western, had an immediate impact for UNO, hitting .301 with 26 runs scored, five doubles, 22 RBI and a team-leading 11 stolen bases. His 59 hits for the season ranked third in the Summit League, and he tied with Keele for a team-best 18 multi-hit games. Bass was honored as Summit League Player of the Week on April 8.
Head coach Bob Herold was named the 2014 Summit League Coach of the Year by his peers after guiding Omaha to a 20-6 league record and a 27-22 overall mark. The Mavericks won the regular-season title in just their first year in the league and their second year as a Division I school, and it marked UNO's first Division I conference championship in any sport. Omaha led the conference in league games with a .332 team batting average and were second as a pitching staff with a 3.82 ERA.
On the Hill: Notables About the Weekend Rotation
Sophomore righty Tyler Fox (0-0) will open for the Mavericks against Milwaukee on Friday. As a true freshman in 2013, Fox went 6-2 with a 3.99 ERA over a staff-leading 56.1 innings pitched and limited his opponents to a .263 batting average.
Junior righty Zach Williamsen (0-0) is slated to start against Northwestern on Saturday. The Omaha native compiled a record of 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA last season, striking out 42 batters over 56.0 innings of work.
Junior transfer Tyler Hamer (0-0) will start Sunday's game against Iowa. The right-hander joined the Mavericks this season after beginning his career at Illinois and Des Moines Area Community College.
Herold at the Helm
Head Coach Bob Herold is in his 15th year as the skipper of the Nebraska Omaha baseball program in 2013, having compiled a career record of 447-302-2. 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 (464-273) and Virgil Yelkin (439-196) in the prestigious club, and Herold needs 20 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 four conference championships. In 2013, he was honored as Summit League Coach of the Year.
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 15th year, and Evan Porter, in his second year, as well as volunteer pitching coach Dan McGinn, who is in his 14th year.
Looking Back at 2013
•Omaha had six All-Summit selections a year ago with first-teamers Ryan Keele, Cory Buckley, Tyler Splichal and Alex Mortensen and second-teamers Clayton Taylor and Brett Bass. Head coach Bob Herold was also honored as the 2013 Summit League Coach of the Year after leading the Mavericks to the first Division I conference championship of any UNO team in school history.
•UNO's .307 batting average ranked 15th nationally for Division I programs. Its .386 on-base percentage was 32nd.
•The Mavericks owned four of the top five batting averages among Summit League hitters last season: departed seniors Buckley (1st -- .391) and Keele (2nd -- .385), Taylor (3rd -- .352) and Mortensen (5th -- .318). Keele and Buckley both finished in the top 20 nationally for batting average, and Keele's .572 slugging percentage was 66th in the country.
•Splichal was listed as the 62nd toughest hitter to strike out in the NCAA, as he had just 13 strikeouts in 168 at-bats last season.
•Taylor had a .464 on-base percentage that ranked 46th nationally in his inaugural season, during which time he was also named a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball.
•Sophomore Cole Gruber's 0.29 sacrifice bunts per game was 21st among Division I players, and his 13 total sac bunts was 42nd.
•Departed senior Derek Landis finished fifth among Summit League hurlers with seven saves in 2013.
Home Sweet Home
The 2014 season will see the Omaha baseball team play 20 home contests, including 14 conference tilts. UNO will play at two venues, with 17 games at the Ballpark at Boys Town and three premier games at Werner Park with Kansas State (April 1), Creighton (April 2) and Nebraska (April 30). The trio of KSU, NU and CU all finished in the top 65 for RPI in 2013, ranking 16th, 31st and 64th, respectively.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2014 schedule includes 50 games against 18 different Division I opponents, and the team will play in seven states across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from 10 different conferences: the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West and WAC.
Two foes -- South Dakota State and Kansas State -- were 2013 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. SDSU, which finished second to UNO in the Summit League's regular-season standings and went on to win the tournament championship for a berth to the NCAA Tournament, lost to Oregon and San Francisco in the Eugene Regional. K-State nearly knocked off Oregon State in game three of the Corvallis Super Regional, rallying for two runs in the eighth inning before the Beavers snagged a 4-3 win.
The Mavericks have never faced six of their 2014 opponents -- Milwaukee, St. Bonaventure, Villanova, Western Michigan, Grand Canyon and Dartmouth -- and they hold a combined all-time record of 171-194 against all teams on the slate this season.
Mavs Earn Preseason Recognition from College Sports Madness
Seven Mavericks earned preseason all-league recognition from College Sports Madness, the online publication announced on Feb. 3. Seniors Brett Bass and Tyler Splichal, junior Alex Mortensen and sophomore Clayton Taylor were all named to the first team, while sophomores Tyler Fox and Alex Schultz were second-team honorees. Freshman Mark Handberg was projected Freshman of the Year, and head coach Bob Herold was picked as Coach of the Year.
No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its third year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2013-14 and its second as a member of the Summit League. In 2013, the Mavericks played their first full season as a member of the conference, finishing 20-6 in league play after leading the standings all year.
UNO is ineligible for the Summit League Tournament and NCAA Tournament until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule through its transitional years. It is, however, eligible to contend for the league's regular-season championship, which the Mavericks won last season.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action March 7-9, traveling to Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz. The series begins with a 7:30 p.m. (CT) first pitch on Friday, followed by a 2:30 p.m. (CT) game on Saturday. The weekend closes on Sunday with a single game at 2:30 p.m. Links to live stats will be available for all games on OMavs.com.
The Omaha baseball team opens the 2014 season this weekend, traveling to the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla., for an eight-game, 10-day trip. As available, links for live stats will be posted on OMavs.com.
The Mavericks begin with Milwaukee on Friday, Feb. 21, followed by Northwestern on Saturday, Feb. 22 and Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 23. After an off day, UNO returns to action against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, Feb. 25, then plays Chicago State on Thursday, Feb. 27. The Mavs finish with two games on Friday, Feb. 28 with Villanova and Chicago State again, then Western Michigan on Saturday, March 1.
Quick Hits
•UNO was previously scheduled to open the 2014 season last weekend with a four-game series against Tennessee and Purdue in Knoxville, Tenn. The trip was cancelled due to snowy conditions in Knoxville and travel issues.
•The Mavericks return 20 letterwinners from 2013, including eight who saw the field as position starters and three returning starting pitchers. Fifteen newcomers are also on the 2014 roster.
•A two-year starter and first-team All-Summit honoree, junior Alex Mortensen will miss the 2014 season due to injury.
•After going 20-6 in Summit League play last year, UNO is 100-84 all-time against the four other teams in the league.
•Entering this weekend's Snowbird Classic, Omaha has a combined record of 39-27 when playing in Florida during the Bob Herold era.
Scouting the Snowbird Classic Field
Beginning on Friday, Omaha will play eight games at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Mavericks have never faced four of their tournament opponents: Milwaukee, St. Bonaventure, Villanova and Western Michigan. They are a combined 5-4 against the other three against whom they have already played: Northwestern (0-1), Iowa (4-3) and Chicago State (1-0).
UNO most recently played Iowa on May 7, 2013, taking a 6-5 win in Iowa City. It previously faced Chicago State and Northwestern at the 2012 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla., defeating CSU by a score of 8-4 before falling 3-1 to NU later the same week.
Picked to Win It
Omaha is favored to repeat as the Summit League's regular-season champion in a preseason vote among the league's head coaches, the conference office announced Feb. 6.
The Mavericks received three first-place votes and a total of 15 points. South Dakota State came in second with 12 points and one first-place vote while North Dakota State had 10 points for third place. Western Illinois received the final first-place vote and totaled eight points, followed by Fort Wayne with five points.
UNO capped 2013 with an overall record of 27-22 and a league mark of 20-6. After being picked last in the 2013 preseason coaches poll, the Mavericks won the regular-season title in just their first year as a member of the league and their second year as a Division I school. It marked UNO's first Division I conference championship in any sport.
Four All-League Picks Highlight 2014 Roster
Four All-Summit selections from the 2013 squad highlight Omaha's 2014 roster: first-team picks in senior infielder Tyler Splichal and junior catcher Alex Mortensen and second-team selections in sophomore infielder Clayton Taylor and senior outfielder Brett Bass.
After taking a medical redshirt in 2012, Splichal came back for his junior season in 2013 to hit .274 with 25 runs scored, five doubles and 19 RBI. He was hit by a pitch 14 times, which led the league, and was third in the conference with 10 sacrifice hits. Splichal finished the year with 12 multi-hit games, including one with five hits, and he was named Summit League Player of the Week on April 29.
Mortensen was among the conference leaders in multiple categories, ranking second in doubles (15), fourth in hits (57) and total bases (75) and fifth in batting average (.318). His 15 multi-hit games were third on the team, and he completed his second season as a Maverick with a team-leading 32 runs scored and 27 RBI.
Taylor made his debut season as a Maverick a memorable one, ranking third in the league with a .352 batting average. He added 20 runs scored, eight doubles, 18 RBI and eight stolen bases, and his 23 walks drawn were fifth among conference players.
Bass, who transferred from Iowa Western, had an immediate impact for UNO, hitting .301 with 26 runs scored, five doubles, 22 RBI and a team-leading 11 stolen bases. His 59 hits for the season ranked third in the Summit League, and he tied with Keele for a team-best 18 multi-hit games. Bass was honored as Summit League Player of the Week on April 8.
Head coach Bob Herold was named the 2014 Summit League Coach of the Year by his peers after guiding Omaha to a 20-6 league record and a 27-22 overall mark. The Mavericks won the regular-season title in just their first year in the league and their second year as a Division I school, and it marked UNO's first Division I conference championship in any sport. Omaha led the conference in league games with a .332 team batting average and were second as a pitching staff with a 3.82 ERA.
On the Hill: Notables About the Weekend Rotation
Sophomore righty Tyler Fox (0-0) will open for the Mavericks against Milwaukee on Friday. As a true freshman in 2013, Fox went 6-2 with a 3.99 ERA over a staff-leading 56.1 innings pitched and limited his opponents to a .263 batting average.
Junior righty Zach Williamsen (0-0) is slated to start against Northwestern on Saturday. The Omaha native compiled a record of 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA last season, striking out 42 batters over 56.0 innings of work.
Junior transfer Tyler Hamer (0-0) will start Sunday's game against Iowa. The right-hander joined the Mavericks this season after beginning his career at Illinois and Des Moines Area Community College.
Herold at the Helm
Head Coach Bob Herold is in his 15th year as the skipper of the Nebraska Omaha baseball program in 2013, having compiled a career record of 447-302-2. 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 (464-273) and Virgil Yelkin (439-196) in the prestigious club, and Herold needs 20 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 four conference championships. In 2013, he was honored as Summit League Coach of the Year.
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 15th year, and Evan Porter, in his second year, as well as volunteer pitching coach Dan McGinn, who is in his 14th year.
Looking Back at 2013
•Omaha had six All-Summit selections a year ago with first-teamers Ryan Keele, Cory Buckley, Tyler Splichal and Alex Mortensen and second-teamers Clayton Taylor and Brett Bass. Head coach Bob Herold was also honored as the 2013 Summit League Coach of the Year after leading the Mavericks to the first Division I conference championship of any UNO team in school history.
•UNO's .307 batting average ranked 15th nationally for Division I programs. Its .386 on-base percentage was 32nd.
•The Mavericks owned four of the top five batting averages among Summit League hitters last season: departed seniors Buckley (1st -- .391) and Keele (2nd -- .385), Taylor (3rd -- .352) and Mortensen (5th -- .318). Keele and Buckley both finished in the top 20 nationally for batting average, and Keele's .572 slugging percentage was 66th in the country.
•Splichal was listed as the 62nd toughest hitter to strike out in the NCAA, as he had just 13 strikeouts in 168 at-bats last season.
•Taylor had a .464 on-base percentage that ranked 46th nationally in his inaugural season, during which time he was also named a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball.
•Sophomore Cole Gruber's 0.29 sacrifice bunts per game was 21st among Division I players, and his 13 total sac bunts was 42nd.
•Departed senior Derek Landis finished fifth among Summit League hurlers with seven saves in 2013.
Home Sweet Home
The 2014 season will see the Omaha baseball team play 20 home contests, including 14 conference tilts. UNO will play at two venues, with 17 games at the Ballpark at Boys Town and three premier games at Werner Park with Kansas State (April 1), Creighton (April 2) and Nebraska (April 30). The trio of KSU, NU and CU all finished in the top 65 for RPI in 2013, ranking 16th, 31st and 64th, respectively.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2014 schedule includes 50 games against 18 different Division I opponents, and the team will play in seven states across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from 10 different conferences: the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West and WAC.
Two foes -- South Dakota State and Kansas State -- were 2013 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. SDSU, which finished second to UNO in the Summit League's regular-season standings and went on to win the tournament championship for a berth to the NCAA Tournament, lost to Oregon and San Francisco in the Eugene Regional. K-State nearly knocked off Oregon State in game three of the Corvallis Super Regional, rallying for two runs in the eighth inning before the Beavers snagged a 4-3 win.
The Mavericks have never faced six of their 2014 opponents -- Milwaukee, St. Bonaventure, Villanova, Western Michigan, Grand Canyon and Dartmouth -- and they hold a combined all-time record of 171-194 against all teams on the slate this season.
Mavs Earn Preseason Recognition from College Sports Madness
Seven Mavericks earned preseason all-league recognition from College Sports Madness, the online publication announced on Feb. 3. Seniors Brett Bass and Tyler Splichal, junior Alex Mortensen and sophomore Clayton Taylor were all named to the first team, while sophomores Tyler Fox and Alex Schultz were second-team honorees. Freshman Mark Handberg was projected Freshman of the Year, and head coach Bob Herold was picked as Coach of the Year.
No Longer the Newcomers
Omaha is in its third year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2013-14 and its second as a member of the Summit League. In 2013, the Mavericks played their first full season as a member of the conference, finishing 20-6 in league play after leading the standings all year.
UNO is ineligible for the Summit League Tournament and NCAA Tournament until 2015-16 but will play a full regular-season conference schedule through its transitional years. It is, however, eligible to contend for the league's regular-season championship, which the Mavericks won last season.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action March 7-9, traveling to Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz. The series begins with a 7:30 p.m. (CT) first pitch on Friday, followed by a 2:30 p.m. (CT) game on Saturday. The weekend closes on Sunday with a single game at 2:30 p.m. Links to live stats will be available for all games on OMavs.com.
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