Senior Day Set for Saturday As Mavs Host IPFW
May 7, 2014 | Baseball
Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team hosts its final home series of the season this weekend, welcoming Fort Wayne for four games, May 9-10, at the Ballpark at Boys Town. Action begins with a doubleaheader on Friday at Noon, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at Noon and Senior Day festivities for UNO's seven seniors. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com, and student broadcasters Paul Dobler and Ryan Matheny will have the call.
Quick Hits
•Omaha last took the field on Sunday, May 4, defeating South Dakota State, 6-3.
•Sophomore Tyler Fox earned his Summit League-leading eighth win of the year last Friday against the Jackrabbits.
•Sophomore Clayton Taylor saw his 24-game reaching-base streak snapped on April 30, which was the second-longest of any UNO player this year. Sophomore Alex Schultz previously had a team-leading 25-game reaching base streak from Feb. 21 to April 6.
•Head coach Bob Herold became the winningest coach in UNO baseball history on April 18, as he earned his 465th career win with Omaha's 7-0 shutout at Bradley. The victory pushed him past former coach Bob Gates (1976-99), who had 464 wins during his tenure.
•On April 12, the Mavericks swept a league doubleheader at North Dakota State with back-to-back shutouts. Omaha won the first game, 2-0 in 10 innings, before a 10-0 victory in seven innings in game two. It last achieved two shutouts in the same day on May 4, 2013 against Fort Wayne.
•UNO is 108-92 all-time against the four other teams in the Summit League.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne has compiled a record of 18-28 (10-10 Summit League) entering the weekend. The Mastodons split a four-game home series against North Dakota State last weekend, recording an 11-10 win on Friday. NDSU then swept a doubleheader from IPFW on Saturday, 11-10 and 12-0, before the Mastodons rebounded for an 8-4 win on Sunday. Head coach Bobby Pierce (New Mexico State, 2001) is in his sixth year at the helm of the IPFW program with a record of 103-210 and a career mark of 158-264 over eight seasons.
IPFW leads the all-time series against Omaha, 7-4, having swept a doubleheader by scores of 4-3 and 10-6 on April 4 at the Ballpark at Boys Town.
League Leaders
Multiple Mavericks lead the Summit League in a variety of categories, with sophomore Cole Gruber first in stolen bases (25) and Clayton Taylor on top with 37 RBI. On the mound, senior Steven Schoonover is first with a 1.41 ERA, while sophomore Tyler Fox has a league-best eight wins for the year. As a team, Omaha's four shutouts also pace its conference peers.
Taylor, Gruber, Fox Among Nation's Statistical Leaders
The NCAA's most recent statistical release on May 5 included three Mavericks ranking among the nation's best in a variety of categories. Sophomore Cole Gruber is sixth with 0.60 stolen bases per game and 12th with 25 total bags swiped. Sophomore Clayton Taylor is also 35th with a .605 slugging percentage, and sophomore Tyler Fox's eight wins on the mound rank 22nd in the country.
Palensky, Taylor Earn Academic All-District Accolades
Senior Caleb Palensky and sophomore Clayton Taylor were named to the 2014 Academic All-District 7 Baseball Team on May 1, as announced CoSIDA. It marked the first career inclusion on an academic all-district team for both Palensky and Taylor, and they now advance to the Academic All-America ballot and will be considered for national accolades later this month.
The duo make up Omaha's fifth and sixth academic all-district selections in baseball program history. UNO has had three academic all-district selections since beginning the Division I reclassification, the last being junior Alex Mortensen in 2013.
Palensky is an exercise science major with a minor in emergency management, and he carries a 3.94 grade-point average. Taylor carries a 3.80 GPA in IT innovation with a minor in marketing.
Double Digits
As a team, Omaha has produced double-digit hits in 19 games this season, including a season high of 23 hits against Chicago State on Feb. 28. UNO is 15-4 when producing 10 or more hits in a game.
On April 12 in a league doubleheader at North Dakota State, the Mavericks posted a combined 24 hits for the day. Ten of those came in a 2-0 win in the first game and 14 were tallied in a 10-0 victory in the second game.
Going the Extra Mile
When registering three or more extra-base hits in a game, UNO has gone 13-6 this season. The Mavericks notched a season-high five doubles as a team in a 12-5 win over Dartmouth on March 18, and it was their highest extra-base hit total since tallying two doubles, two triples and two homers on April 28, 2013 vs. North Dakota State.
Omaha is on pace to surpass last season's team extra-base hit total (103). At 37 games into the 2013 season, the Mavericks had 62 doubles, six triples and seven home runs, while the 2014 squad has come up with 63 doubles, nine triples and 16 homers through April 26.
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 a pair of premier games at Werner Park with Kansas State (April 1) and Nebraska (April 30). KSU and NU finished in the top 65 for RPI in 2013, ranking 16th and 64th, respectively.
The Mavericks' home schedule this season has included sweeps of Air Force and South Dakota State and a walkoff win over K-State on April 1. UNO is now 8-7 record at home.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action on May 15-17, traveling to Western Illinois for a four-game conference series to close the regular season in Macomb, Ill. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.
The Omaha baseball team hosts its final home series of the season this weekend, welcoming Fort Wayne for four games, May 9-10, at the Ballpark at Boys Town. Action begins with a doubleaheader on Friday at Noon, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at Noon and Senior Day festivities for UNO's seven seniors. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com, and student broadcasters Paul Dobler and Ryan Matheny will have the call.
Quick Hits
•Omaha last took the field on Sunday, May 4, defeating South Dakota State, 6-3.
•Sophomore Tyler Fox earned his Summit League-leading eighth win of the year last Friday against the Jackrabbits.
•Sophomore Clayton Taylor saw his 24-game reaching-base streak snapped on April 30, which was the second-longest of any UNO player this year. Sophomore Alex Schultz previously had a team-leading 25-game reaching base streak from Feb. 21 to April 6.
•Head coach Bob Herold became the winningest coach in UNO baseball history on April 18, as he earned his 465th career win with Omaha's 7-0 shutout at Bradley. The victory pushed him past former coach Bob Gates (1976-99), who had 464 wins during his tenure.
•On April 12, the Mavericks swept a league doubleheader at North Dakota State with back-to-back shutouts. Omaha won the first game, 2-0 in 10 innings, before a 10-0 victory in seven innings in game two. It last achieved two shutouts in the same day on May 4, 2013 against Fort Wayne.
•UNO is 108-92 all-time against the four other teams in the Summit League.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne has compiled a record of 18-28 (10-10 Summit League) entering the weekend. The Mastodons split a four-game home series against North Dakota State last weekend, recording an 11-10 win on Friday. NDSU then swept a doubleheader from IPFW on Saturday, 11-10 and 12-0, before the Mastodons rebounded for an 8-4 win on Sunday. Head coach Bobby Pierce (New Mexico State, 2001) is in his sixth year at the helm of the IPFW program with a record of 103-210 and a career mark of 158-264 over eight seasons.
IPFW leads the all-time series against Omaha, 7-4, having swept a doubleheader by scores of 4-3 and 10-6 on April 4 at the Ballpark at Boys Town.
League Leaders
Multiple Mavericks lead the Summit League in a variety of categories, with sophomore Cole Gruber first in stolen bases (25) and Clayton Taylor on top with 37 RBI. On the mound, senior Steven Schoonover is first with a 1.41 ERA, while sophomore Tyler Fox has a league-best eight wins for the year. As a team, Omaha's four shutouts also pace its conference peers.
Taylor, Gruber, Fox Among Nation's Statistical Leaders
The NCAA's most recent statistical release on May 5 included three Mavericks ranking among the nation's best in a variety of categories. Sophomore Cole Gruber is sixth with 0.60 stolen bases per game and 12th with 25 total bags swiped. Sophomore Clayton Taylor is also 35th with a .605 slugging percentage, and sophomore Tyler Fox's eight wins on the mound rank 22nd in the country.
Palensky, Taylor Earn Academic All-District Accolades
Senior Caleb Palensky and sophomore Clayton Taylor were named to the 2014 Academic All-District 7 Baseball Team on May 1, as announced CoSIDA. It marked the first career inclusion on an academic all-district team for both Palensky and Taylor, and they now advance to the Academic All-America ballot and will be considered for national accolades later this month.
The duo make up Omaha's fifth and sixth academic all-district selections in baseball program history. UNO has had three academic all-district selections since beginning the Division I reclassification, the last being junior Alex Mortensen in 2013.
Palensky is an exercise science major with a minor in emergency management, and he carries a 3.94 grade-point average. Taylor carries a 3.80 GPA in IT innovation with a minor in marketing.
Double Digits
As a team, Omaha has produced double-digit hits in 19 games this season, including a season high of 23 hits against Chicago State on Feb. 28. UNO is 15-4 when producing 10 or more hits in a game.
On April 12 in a league doubleheader at North Dakota State, the Mavericks posted a combined 24 hits for the day. Ten of those came in a 2-0 win in the first game and 14 were tallied in a 10-0 victory in the second game.
Going the Extra Mile
When registering three or more extra-base hits in a game, UNO has gone 13-6 this season. The Mavericks notched a season-high five doubles as a team in a 12-5 win over Dartmouth on March 18, and it was their highest extra-base hit total since tallying two doubles, two triples and two homers on April 28, 2013 vs. North Dakota State.
Omaha is on pace to surpass last season's team extra-base hit total (103). At 37 games into the 2013 season, the Mavericks had 62 doubles, six triples and seven home runs, while the 2014 squad has come up with 63 doubles, nine triples and 16 homers through April 26.
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 a pair of premier games at Werner Park with Kansas State (April 1) and Nebraska (April 30). KSU and NU finished in the top 65 for RPI in 2013, ranking 16th and 64th, respectively.
The Mavericks' home schedule this season has included sweeps of Air Force and South Dakota State and a walkoff win over K-State on April 1. UNO is now 8-7 record at home.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action on May 15-17, traveling to Western Illinois for a four-game conference series to close the regular season in Macomb, Ill. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.
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