Omaha Welcomes Fort Wayne in Summit Opener
Mar 23, 2017 | Softball
Leading Off
Omaha returns home for a three-game series at Westside Field at Westbrook, welcoming Fort Wayne, March 25-26, for the first weekend of Summit League play. Saturday's doubleheader begins at noon, followed by game two at 2 p.m. and Sunday's game is set for 11 a.m. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
- Omaha is 9-20 (0-0 Summit League) overall after dropping a road contest at Nebraska Wednesday afternoon, 15-11.
- UNO played three nationally rated teams during tournament play this season, going 1-2. The Mavericks defeated No. 16 Utah but lost a doubleheader to No. 9/10 Oklahoma and a single game to No. 16/17 LSU.
- The Mavericks are hitting .438 over their last two games, including one triple, three home runs and four doubles with 16 RBI.
- Six different Omaha players are hitting .500 or better over the past two games led by senior Lia Mancuso's .556 average.
- Senior Lizzie Noble is hitting .500 with one double, one home run and three RBI during that span.
- Freshman Hailey Bartz hit a grand slam against Nebraska on Wednesday, the first of her career.
- Mancuso leads the team with 11 stolen bases and nine multiple hit games. She has also reached base in nine straight games.
- Junior Kelly Pattison and freshman Kaitlynn Hunt each have a team-best six-game hitting streak.
- Pattison leads the team with six multiple-RBI games and has eight multi-hit games.
- DJ Sanchez is in her first year leading the Omaha softball program.
- The Mavericks opened the year with 27 straight road games.
- UNO returns seven letter winners, including four position starters: Mancuso, Noble, Pattison and Warren. Clanton and Roecker return to the circle this season for the Mavericks.
- Three All-Summit selections highlight the Mavericks' returning corps: Mancuso, Roecker and Warren.
- Omaha was picked second in the Summit League preseason Coaches' Poll.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne enters this weekend's series with a 7-22 (0-0 Summit League) record after stopping Toledo on Wednesday, 9-7.
Lauren Watson leads the team with a .379 average with a double, seven RBI and eight stolen bases. Caitlyn DeLong leads the team with four homers and 16 RBI. The Mastodons have used five pitchers this season led by Bailey Benefiel's 3-9 record and a 4.85 ERA.
Head coach Germaine Fairchild is in her third year at Fort Wayne with a 21-107 record and is 314-464-1 in 16 years. This weekend marks the 10th all-time meeting between Omaha and Fort Wayne. UNO leads the all-time series, 7-2, and won the last meeting 21-11 in Fort Wayne on April 3, 2016.
Looking Back
Omaha fell 14-6 in six innings to New Mexico State in its home opener Tuesday. Lia Mancuso finished the game 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, and Lizzie Noble went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in a run. Kaitlynn Hunt finished 2-for-2 with a triple and two runs scored, while Hailey Bartz went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Kelly Pattison knocked out her fourth home run with a solo shot in the fifth.
The Mavericks then dropped a 15-11 decision to instate foe Nebraska Wednesday evening. Bartz finished 2-for-5 on the day, hitting a home run and driving in four. Noble went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, two runs scored and two RBI. Mancuso and Pattison each finished with three hits.
Success in Summit League Openers
Omaha has won four straight Summit League openers since joining the league in 2012-13, having outscored its opponents a combined 13-5 in those four games. UNO has not lost an opening series during that span, going 10-1 in those games.
RPI Power
In the latest RPI rankings, Omaha has reached its highest ranking in the past two seasons. UNO is the highest ranked team in the Summit League, coming in at 131. The next closest team is North Dakota State at 152.
Reaching the Summit
Entering the first weekend of Summit League play, Lia Mancuso leads the conference with 11 stolen bases and is second with a .371 batting average. Kelly Pattison is third with 20 RBI and fifth with four home runs and a .341 average. Laura Roecker leads the conference with two saves and is fifth in wins.
What Makes Up the Mavericks?
- UNO returns much of its offensive production from last season, as this year's returners accounted for 45.3 percent of the Mavericks' hits, 49 percent of their runs scored, 50.6 percent of their homers, 48.8 percent of their RBI and 80.6 percent of their stolen bases in 2016.
- Omaha's returning pitchers threw 87.6 percent of the team's innings pitched last year, 93.3 percent of its victories, and 91.8 percent of its strikeouts.
- The Mavericks return two of their top five hitters from a year ago: Lia Mancuso (.333) and Nicole Warren (.309).
- Warren had 204 at-bats in her junior season, the most of any hitter on the team.
- Warren's 20 home runs last season set a Summit League single-season record and was one short of tying the team record of 21 set in 2006 by Leslie Svoboda.
- UNO's 2017 roster includes four seniors, three juniors, two sophomores, two redshirt freshman and four freshmen.
- The Mavericks hail from four different states. Eleven are from Nebraska, two are from Iowa, and one apiece are out of Illinois and Missouri.
Sanchez in Charge
Head coach DJ Sanchez enters her first season at the helm of the Omaha softball program in 2017. Sanchez spent four seasons leading St. Gregory's University (Okla.), before coming to Omaha last summer.
In her four seasons at SGU, she compiled a 172-47 overall record, an 81-25 mark in the Sooner Athletic Conference and advanced to the NAIA post-season four times. The Cavaliers won their conference championship last season and twice earned a spot in the NAIA World Series.
Joining Sanchez is first-year assistant coach Ryan Wondrasek. Wondrasek previously worked with Coach Sanchez at St. Gregory's University, where he helped the Cavaliers become one of the top offensive and defensive teams in the country.
Summit League Preseason Poll Released
Omaha was picked second in the 2017 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll; the conference office announced Feb. 2. The league's coaches picked defending league champion North Dakota State as the league's favorite after collecting six first-place votes and 36 total points. Omaha claimed the final first-place tally and placed second with 27 points. Western Illinois came in third with 25 votes, while South Dakota (23) was fourth. South Dakota State (19), IUPUI (11) and Fort Wayne (five) rounded out the poll.
2017 Slate Takes Mavericks Coast to Coast
Omaha's 2017 schedule includes 51 games, and the team will play in nine states against schools from 17 other Division I conference. Six opponents – LSU, Nebraska, North Dakota State, Oklahoma, Tulsa, and Utah – played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. LSU and Oklahoma advanced to the Women's College World Series with the Sooners claiming the national title.
Getting it Done in the Classroom
The Omaha softball team registered the second-highest grade point average among NCAA Division I programs for the 2015-16 academic year, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced. The Mavericks, who had the 11th-highest team GPA in 2014-15, registered a 3.643 team GPA last year. They trailed only Grand Canyon (3.670) in Division I.
Among the Summit League schools, Western Illinois (19th), North Dakota State (59th) and South Dakota State (72nd) all made the list.
Earning NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors were Abbie Clanton, Campbell Ditto, Sydney Hames, Lia Mancuso, Lizzie Noble, Kelly Pattison, Kourtney Pock, Laura Roecker, Bailey Schulenberg, Kylie Schwarting, Tara Trede and Nicole Warren.
Mavericks Sign Six
Head coach D.J. Sanchez announced Lexi Burchfield (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound), Aubrey Hacke (Highland, Ill./Highland), Halley Jones (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park), Madison Otte (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast), Kayla Peak (Olathe, Kan./Olathe North) and Alexa Sedlak (Gretna, Neb./Gretna) have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Omaha softball program in 2017-18.
Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, April 1, opening a three-game Summit League series against Western Illinois. First pitch is set for noon at Westside Field at Westbrook and links to live stats are available on OMavs.com.
