Omaha Announces 2017 Baseball Slate
Nov 23, 2016 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha baseball program has released its 2017 season schedule, head coach Evan Porter announced Wednesday. The Mavericks' regular-season slate includes 55 games, including 21 home contests.
Omaha will play 19 of its home games at J.J. Isaacson Field at Seymour Smith Park. Two more home games – against Nebraska and Creighton – will be played at Werner Park.
Omaha opens the 2017 season with a four-day tournament trip to Las Vegas, Nev., facing UNLV, UC Davis and St. Mary's for four games, Feb. 17-20. The road swing continues with a visit to Kansas (Feb. 21) before taking on national power Louisville (Feb. 24-26). The Mavericks have a single midweek game at Wichita State (March 1), then continue south to face Incarnate Word (March 3-5) for a three-game series before a return to KU on March 8 caps the away stretch.
Omaha makes its home debut with a non-conference series with Northern Colorado (March 10-12), visits Kansas State (March 15) for a midweek tilt and returns home for its Summit League opener against South Dakota State (March 17-19). The Mavericks make a second trip to K-State (March 21), then head to the eastern swath of the Summit League for a series at Fort Wayne (March 24-26).
UNO kicks off a lengthy homestand with Air Force (March 28) and hosts a weekend series with North Dakota State (March 31-April 2). The Mavericks welcome in-state rival Nebraska to Werner Park on April 5, then host back-to-back league series with Western Illinois (April 7-9) and defending Summit League champion Oral Roberts (April 14-15).
The following week, the Mavericks head to Air Force (April 18-19) for a rematch. The two-game set kicks off a nine-game road swing, which continues with travel to North Dakota State (April 21-23), a return visit to Nebraska (April 25) and another weekend series at Western Illinois (April 28-30).
Omaha plays a home series with Fort Wayne (May 5-7), then hosts its home finale with Creighton (May 9) at Werner Park. The regular season concludes with seven straight road contests, including a three-game jaunt to Oral Roberts (May 12-14), a single game at Iowa (May 16) and a final series at South Dakota State (May 18-20).
The 2017 Summit League Championship, which builds its field from the top four teams in the regular-season standings, is set for May 24-27 in Tulsa, Okla.
“We want to be playing our best baseball by the end of the season, and our non-conference games support that goal,” Porter said. “In particular, our first two weekends at UNLV and Louisville will be an outstanding experience for our players in big-time baseball atmospheres.
“As a whole, our 2017 schedule is designed to prepare us for competing at a high level in the Summit League, which has great competition among its members. Our primary goal, as always, remains challenging for a conference championship.”
Over the regular season, UNO will play in 12 states against schools from 10 other Division I conferences. The schedule has two opponents from the Big 12, Big Ten and Mountain West and one each from the ACC, Big West, West Coast Conference, Missouri Valley, BIG EAST, Southland and WAC. Four opponents – Louisville, Nebraska, St. Mary's and Oral Roberts – played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Porter enters his first year at the helm of the Omaha program. UNO returns 19 letterwinners from the 2016 squad, including first-team All-Summit honoree Ryan Cate.
Omaha will play 19 of its home games at J.J. Isaacson Field at Seymour Smith Park. Two more home games – against Nebraska and Creighton – will be played at Werner Park.
Omaha opens the 2017 season with a four-day tournament trip to Las Vegas, Nev., facing UNLV, UC Davis and St. Mary's for four games, Feb. 17-20. The road swing continues with a visit to Kansas (Feb. 21) before taking on national power Louisville (Feb. 24-26). The Mavericks have a single midweek game at Wichita State (March 1), then continue south to face Incarnate Word (March 3-5) for a three-game series before a return to KU on March 8 caps the away stretch.
Omaha makes its home debut with a non-conference series with Northern Colorado (March 10-12), visits Kansas State (March 15) for a midweek tilt and returns home for its Summit League opener against South Dakota State (March 17-19). The Mavericks make a second trip to K-State (March 21), then head to the eastern swath of the Summit League for a series at Fort Wayne (March 24-26).
UNO kicks off a lengthy homestand with Air Force (March 28) and hosts a weekend series with North Dakota State (March 31-April 2). The Mavericks welcome in-state rival Nebraska to Werner Park on April 5, then host back-to-back league series with Western Illinois (April 7-9) and defending Summit League champion Oral Roberts (April 14-15).
The following week, the Mavericks head to Air Force (April 18-19) for a rematch. The two-game set kicks off a nine-game road swing, which continues with travel to North Dakota State (April 21-23), a return visit to Nebraska (April 25) and another weekend series at Western Illinois (April 28-30).
Omaha plays a home series with Fort Wayne (May 5-7), then hosts its home finale with Creighton (May 9) at Werner Park. The regular season concludes with seven straight road contests, including a three-game jaunt to Oral Roberts (May 12-14), a single game at Iowa (May 16) and a final series at South Dakota State (May 18-20).
The 2017 Summit League Championship, which builds its field from the top four teams in the regular-season standings, is set for May 24-27 in Tulsa, Okla.
“We want to be playing our best baseball by the end of the season, and our non-conference games support that goal,” Porter said. “In particular, our first two weekends at UNLV and Louisville will be an outstanding experience for our players in big-time baseball atmospheres.
“As a whole, our 2017 schedule is designed to prepare us for competing at a high level in the Summit League, which has great competition among its members. Our primary goal, as always, remains challenging for a conference championship.”
Over the regular season, UNO will play in 12 states against schools from 10 other Division I conferences. The schedule has two opponents from the Big 12, Big Ten and Mountain West and one each from the ACC, Big West, West Coast Conference, Missouri Valley, BIG EAST, Southland and WAC. Four opponents – Louisville, Nebraska, St. Mary's and Oral Roberts – played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Porter enters his first year at the helm of the Omaha program. UNO returns 19 letterwinners from the 2016 squad, including first-team All-Summit honoree Ryan Cate.
Players Mentioned
UTL/RHP
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