Mavs Continue Road Swing at Fort Wayne
Apr 10, 2014 | Softball
Coming off its first win over a ranked foe in the Division I era, the Omaha softball team continues an eight-game road stretch with a three-game league series at Fort Wayne this weekend. The Mavs and Mastodons begin the series with a Friday doubleheader at Noon (CT). The teams play the series finale Saturday at 10 a.m. (CT). Live stats will be available at OMavs.com.
The Mavericks
• UNO's 3-2 win at No. 19 Nebraska on Tuesday was the first win over a ranked foe in the Division I era, which began in 2011-12. It also marked the first win for the Mavs over their in-state foe in six tries since the 2012 season.
• Amber Lutmer leads the Summit League and ranks tied for seventh nationally with 14 home runs and she has a league-best 38 RBI. Lutmer is the Mavs' top hitter so far this season with a .361 batting average. She is the school-record holder for career homers (48) and is 22 RBI away from tying the career school mark of 167. Lutmer's 48 career homers rank sixth among active Division I players.
• The top three home run hitters in the Summit League are all Mavericks. In addition to Lutmer's 14 homers, Campbell Ditto has nine homers and Allie Mathewson has eight. The Mavs lead the league with 39 home runs this season.
• Mathewson hits .356 to go with her eight homers, 30 runs and 21 RBI. She has eight doubles and two triples for a team-high 18 extra-base hits. Mathewson's career .723 slugging percentage entering the week ranks 19th among active DI players. Sydney Hames is hitting .348 with one homer, eight doubles and 23 RBI. Ditto hits .294 with nine homers, 28 runs and 25 RBI.
• Dana Elsasser is 18-6 this season with a 1.99 ERA. Her 18 victories rank tied for ninth nationally and lead the Summit League. Elsasser has seven shutouts and has completed all 22 of her starts with an opponent batting average of .192. Elsasser's career 1.39 ERA entering this week ranks fourth among active DI players and her 62 wins rank 28th. Elsasser's 31 career shutouts are tied for seventh-most among active DI players.
Scouting Fort Wayne
IPFW is 27-11 overall and 6-2 in the Summit League, good for second place. The Mastodons swept South Dakota State, split two with South Dakota and took two of three from Western Illinois. The Mastodons boast three hitters currently batting over .350. Larissa Franklin leads the way at .447 with two home runs, 12 RBI and 34 runs scored. Dani Pugh hits .358 with eight home runs and 47 RBI. Ashleigh Bousquet bats .357 with four homers and 22 RBI, as well as 30 runs scored. Ace Miranda Kramer is 14-7 with a 1.79 ERA. Megan Flenniken is 13-4 with a 1.81 ERA. Kramer has earned four Summit League Pitcher of the Week awards this season, while Flenniken has two.
Series History
The two teams have never met before. Last season's series was canceled because of inclement weather in Omaha.
Up Next
Omaha makes a trip to Iowa State for a 4 p.m. game on Wednesday, April 16.
Last Time Out
LINCOLN, Neb. - Campbell Ditto's three-run homer helped the Omaha softball team finally get over the hurdle and knock off No. 19 Nebraska, 3-2, on Tuesday evening at Bowlin Stadium. The Mavericks - who had been 0-5 against NU since making the Division I transition despite losing three of the five games by one run - improved to 21-13 overall. Nebraska fell to 26-13. It also marked the Mavericks' first win over a ranked Division I foe since the transition that began in 2011-12. Ditto's three-run homer in the third inning was one of four Maverick hits, but it was a huge one. UNO took the 3-0 lead right down to the Huskers' last out, but Taylor Edwards struck for a two-run homer to make things interesting. Things then got even more interesting when Hailey Decker singled and Tatum Edwards reached on an error to put the tying run on second and winning run on first with two outs. But Elsasser collected herself and got Alicia Armstrong to ground up the middle. Elsasser reached back to her right, snagged the ball and tossed it to Amber Lutmer at first to barely beat Armstrong. Offensively, the Mavericks came out swinging and tallied three infield hits early on to grow their confidence against Taylor Edwards, the NU ace who struck out 10 Mavs and allowed just one hit in a 10-0 (5 inn.) shutout on March 26 in Omaha. Two of those infield singles - by Tara Trede and Sydney Hames - put runners on the corners for Ditto with two outs in the third. The sophomore catcher laced a line drive home run over the left field fence to spark the Mavs to the 3-0 lead. It was her ninth home run this season, second-most in the Summit League. Meanwhile, Elsasser picked up where she left off on Sunday after shutting out North Dakota State. The senior ace allowed just one hit through the first three innings and held the Husker bats at bay all game, holding them to six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Mavericks
• UNO's 3-2 win at No. 19 Nebraska on Tuesday was the first win over a ranked foe in the Division I era, which began in 2011-12. It also marked the first win for the Mavs over their in-state foe in six tries since the 2012 season.
• Amber Lutmer leads the Summit League and ranks tied for seventh nationally with 14 home runs and she has a league-best 38 RBI. Lutmer is the Mavs' top hitter so far this season with a .361 batting average. She is the school-record holder for career homers (48) and is 22 RBI away from tying the career school mark of 167. Lutmer's 48 career homers rank sixth among active Division I players.
• The top three home run hitters in the Summit League are all Mavericks. In addition to Lutmer's 14 homers, Campbell Ditto has nine homers and Allie Mathewson has eight. The Mavs lead the league with 39 home runs this season.
• Mathewson hits .356 to go with her eight homers, 30 runs and 21 RBI. She has eight doubles and two triples for a team-high 18 extra-base hits. Mathewson's career .723 slugging percentage entering the week ranks 19th among active DI players. Sydney Hames is hitting .348 with one homer, eight doubles and 23 RBI. Ditto hits .294 with nine homers, 28 runs and 25 RBI.
• Dana Elsasser is 18-6 this season with a 1.99 ERA. Her 18 victories rank tied for ninth nationally and lead the Summit League. Elsasser has seven shutouts and has completed all 22 of her starts with an opponent batting average of .192. Elsasser's career 1.39 ERA entering this week ranks fourth among active DI players and her 62 wins rank 28th. Elsasser's 31 career shutouts are tied for seventh-most among active DI players.
Scouting Fort Wayne
IPFW is 27-11 overall and 6-2 in the Summit League, good for second place. The Mastodons swept South Dakota State, split two with South Dakota and took two of three from Western Illinois. The Mastodons boast three hitters currently batting over .350. Larissa Franklin leads the way at .447 with two home runs, 12 RBI and 34 runs scored. Dani Pugh hits .358 with eight home runs and 47 RBI. Ashleigh Bousquet bats .357 with four homers and 22 RBI, as well as 30 runs scored. Ace Miranda Kramer is 14-7 with a 1.79 ERA. Megan Flenniken is 13-4 with a 1.81 ERA. Kramer has earned four Summit League Pitcher of the Week awards this season, while Flenniken has two.
Series History
The two teams have never met before. Last season's series was canceled because of inclement weather in Omaha.
Up Next
Omaha makes a trip to Iowa State for a 4 p.m. game on Wednesday, April 16.
Last Time Out
LINCOLN, Neb. - Campbell Ditto's three-run homer helped the Omaha softball team finally get over the hurdle and knock off No. 19 Nebraska, 3-2, on Tuesday evening at Bowlin Stadium. The Mavericks - who had been 0-5 against NU since making the Division I transition despite losing three of the five games by one run - improved to 21-13 overall. Nebraska fell to 26-13. It also marked the Mavericks' first win over a ranked Division I foe since the transition that began in 2011-12. Ditto's three-run homer in the third inning was one of four Maverick hits, but it was a huge one. UNO took the 3-0 lead right down to the Huskers' last out, but Taylor Edwards struck for a two-run homer to make things interesting. Things then got even more interesting when Hailey Decker singled and Tatum Edwards reached on an error to put the tying run on second and winning run on first with two outs. But Elsasser collected herself and got Alicia Armstrong to ground up the middle. Elsasser reached back to her right, snagged the ball and tossed it to Amber Lutmer at first to barely beat Armstrong. Offensively, the Mavericks came out swinging and tallied three infield hits early on to grow their confidence against Taylor Edwards, the NU ace who struck out 10 Mavs and allowed just one hit in a 10-0 (5 inn.) shutout on March 26 in Omaha. Two of those infield singles - by Tara Trede and Sydney Hames - put runners on the corners for Ditto with two outs in the third. The sophomore catcher laced a line drive home run over the left field fence to spark the Mavs to the 3-0 lead. It was her ninth home run this season, second-most in the Summit League. Meanwhile, Elsasser picked up where she left off on Sunday after shutting out North Dakota State. The senior ace allowed just one hit through the first three innings and held the Husker bats at bay all game, holding them to six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C/IF
/ Softball
OF/IF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballWednesday, August 26
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
