Mavericks Tangle With Kansas, Fort Wayne

Wednesday, March 14

Lawrence, Kan.

3 p.m.

Omaha

Kansas

Jack Kalina and the Omaha baseball team visit Kansas and host Fort Wayne this week.

Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann

Mavericks Tangle With Kansas, Fort Wayne

Mar 13, 2018 | Baseball

Game Notes

Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team plays its last of 16 straight road games this Wednesday, March 14, visiting Kansas. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

The Mavericks then make their home debut this weekend, March 16-18, with a three-game Summit League series against Fort Wayne at Seymour Smith Park. First pitch on Friday is set for 2 p.m., followed by 2 p.m. on Saturday and Noon on Sunday. Links to live stats and audio will be available for the series.

Quick Hits
• Spencer Koelewyn threw 6.0 innings of shutout relief last week, making two mound appearances and allowing just three hits. For the week, he had a 0.00 ERA.
• Keil Krumwiede carries a six-game hitting streak into the week, which ties Thomas DeBonville and Cole Thibodeau for the longest of any Maverick this season. Last week, Krumwiede hit .357 with three RBI over four games.
• The Mavericks have generated the most runs in the fourth and seventh innings with 10 runs apiece in those frames.
• Omaha returns 12 letterwinners, including five position players who were starters last season: Adam Caniglia (51 starts in 2017), Grant Suponchick (47), Thibodeau (44), Parker Smejkal (40) and Jack Kalina (35).
• Suponchick is the Mavericks' lone returning All-Summit selection, as he was a first-team pick as a designated hitter in 2017.
• Omaha was picked fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Omaha's four captains are seniors Caniglia and Kinney, junior Cal Hehnke and sophomore Keil Krumwiede.
• Omaha is 213-275 all-time against all opponents on the schedule this year and 154-145 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled a 74-64 record in Summit League play since 2013.

Scouting the Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas is 11-4 (0-0 Big 12) after sweeping a three-game series from No. 20 St. John's last weekend, 7-4, 6-1 and 6-5 in Lawrence. Head coach Ritch Price is in his 16th season at KU, carrying a record of 476-434-3 over 16 years and a career mark of 693-662-4 over 24 seasons.

Wednesday marks the seventh meeting all-time between Omaha and Kansas, and the Jayhawks lead the series, 6-0. The two teams last met Feb. 26 in Lawrence with KU taking a 6-2 win.

Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne is 4-0 (0-0 Summit League) after a three-game weekend series at Butler last weekend, falling 8-7 in the opener and the finale along with a 5-1 win in game two. Head coach Bobby Pierce is in his 10th season at Fort Wayne, carrying a record of 178-322 over 10 years and a career mark of 233-276 over 12 seasons.

Friday marks the 35th meeting all-time between Omaha and Fort Wayne, and the Mavericks lead the series, 19-15. The two teams last met May 7, 2017 at Seymour Smith Park with the Mastodons taking a 7-5 win.

Success in Summit League Openers
Omaha has won all but one of its Summit League openers since joining the league in 2012-13, having outscored its
opponents a combined 34-18 in those five games.

Maverick Mound Notes
• Right-hander Cal Hehnke will get the start -- his third of the season -- Wednesday at Kansas. His last appearance was a season-long 5.1 innings of relief at BYU last Thursday.
• Right-hander Joey Machado (0-3) redshirted in 2017. He has started four games so far this year and has the second-lowest ERA of any starter at 4.43.
• Left-hander Spencer Koelewyn (0-1) threw 6.0 innings of shutout relief over two appearances last week at Minnesota and BYU, allowing just three hits with a 0.00 ERA. For the season, Koelewyn has a 1.93 ERA over 9.1 innings pitched.

Road Warriors
Omaha has opened the 2018 season with 16 straight road games in six different states, playing in Arizona once, Kansas three times, Georgia once, Minnesota once and Utah once. Out of the gate, the Mavericks see two 2017 NCAA Tournament teams between the third and fourth weekends, facing Ohio for a four-game series (March 2-4) and BYU for a three-game set (March 8-10).

DeBonville Named to Summit League Players to Watch List
Junior Thomas DeBonville was included on the Summit League's Players to Watch List released Feb. 8. The transfer was a two-time all-conference and all-region pick at Eastern Arizona College and ranked fifth nationally among junior college players for stolen bases (39) in 2017. He hit .419 last season with five doubles, six triples, two homers and a .597 slugging percentage.

DeBonville joined the Omaha lineup on Feb. 24 and has started all 12 games since then, hitting .277 with three doubles, a triple, a team-leading eight runs scored and six RBI.

Welcome, Freshmen
Four Maverick freshmen have seen time in Omaha's starting lineup over the first month of play.

Max Gamm has started all 15 games at second base and has scored a team-leading eight runs, and Braden Rogers has started all 15 contests at first base. Tyler Daugherty has started 12 games between center field and right field, and Hughes has seen seven games started as a DH.

2018 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2018 schedule includes 54 games, and the team plays in 11 states against schools from six other Division I conferences. Four opponents – Ohio, BYU, Oral Roberts and Nebraska – played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Entering the season, Omaha had never faced just one of its opponents -- Ohio. The Mavericks hold a combined all-time record of 213-275 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Thibodeau On the Move to Third
After starting 43 games at second base as a freshman, sophomore Cole Thibodeau has made the move to third base in his sophomore campaign. In the opening weekend of play vs. Northwestern, Thibodeau hit .455 with three runs and a team-leading four RBI for the series. For the season, he has batted .250 over 15 games a team-high eight runs scored, seven RBI and 10 walks.

In 2017, Thibodeau ranked sixth nationally and led the Summit League with 14 sacrifice hits last season, helping Omaha as a team to 10th in the country and first in the conference for sac bunts (52). For the year, he batted .273 with 26 runs scored and had 11 multi-hit games.

Porter in Second Season as Head Coach
Head coach Evan Porter enters his second year as the skipper of the Omaha baseball program in 2018. Porter assumed duties last season after serving four years as an assistant coach. One of the most decorated players in UNO history, Porter was four-year starter at shortstop from 2005-09 and a two-time All-American. He was also a three-time all-region selection from 2007-09, earning awards from Daktronics and Rawlings/ABCA. Additionally, Porter was a two-time All-NCC pick (2007-08) and was first-team All-MIAA in 2009.

Porter's name runs through the Omaha record books, as he remains the program's all-time leader in games played (239), at-bats (869), hits (323), doubles (75), home runs (43), runs batted in (249) and total bases (527). His 97 hits recorded as a senior were a UNO single-season record that still stands.

A member of the UNO squad that earned a berth to the 2007 NCAA Division II College World Series, Porter was part of two Maverick teams (2006, 2008) that set a school record with 45 wins. During his time, UNO made four straight NCAA regional appearances and won the 2008 NCC championship.

Following his senior campaign, Porter was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round. He has played professionally overseas for the Solingen Alligators in Germany (2010), Gothenburg Sharks in Sweden (2011), Victoria Park Reds in Australia (2011-12), ADO AamigoO Lakers in Holland (2012) and Sölvesborg Firehawks in Sweden (2014, 2016).

Porter is assisted by assistant coaches Chris Gadsden, in his 19th year, and Brian Strawn, in his second year, as well as pitching coach Brett Swain, who is in his second year.

Double Digits
Omaha produced double-digit hits in back-to-back games to open the season vs. Northwestern, with 18 in game one of the doubleheader sweep and 10 in game two. They added a 12-hit performance March 2 vs. Ohio, then a 14-hit showing March 10 at BYU.

Last season, the Mavericks had 10 or more hits in 15 games, going 9-6.

Over the last seven years of Division I play, UNO is a combined 99-44 when keying at least 10 hits.

Up Next
Omaha welcomes Oral Roberts for a three-game weekend series, March 23-25, at Seymour Smith Park. Friday's opener is set for 4 p.m., followed by 2 p.m. on Saturday and Noon on Sunday. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.