Friday, May 31
Los Angeles, Calif.
9 p.m.
Omaha
vs
No. 1 UCLA
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Omaha Sets Sights On Los Angeles Regional This Weekend
May 29, 2019 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 4-seeded Omaha baseball program begins competition in its first-ever NCAA Division I Regional this Friday, May 31 at 9 p.m. against No. 1 overall seed UCLA.
LEADING OFF
• Omaha advanced to an NCAA Regional for the first time in program's Division I history with a win over Oral Roberts in The Summit League Baseball Tournament Championship.
• The Mavericks fell to Oral Roberts in Saturday's championship game. From there, Omaha was forced to play in a winner-take-all elimination game, where the team won 4-0.
• In that championship game, Payton Kinney tossed 7.1 innings of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts and one hit allowed on just two days of rest. Over the tournament, he threw 13.1 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts en route to Championship MVP honors.
• Omaha and UCLA square off for the first time Friday night.
• The Mavericks have played Pac-12 competition this season, as they opened the 2019 campaign at USC, where they took one of three.
• The Bruins are the first ranked team Omaha has faced this season.
• Starter Payton Kinney recently tied a single-season program record with 11 wins.
• His 109.0 innings pitched have also set a new single-season record for the program.
• Omaha began its four-year reclassification to Division I in 2011-12 and joined The Summit League in 2012-13.
• The team won back-to-back Summit League regular-season titles in 2013 and 2014, but was not eligible for postseason play due to the reclassification to Division I.
• At 32 years of age, head coach Evan Porter is one of the four youngest Division I head coaches in the nation.
• In his first two seasons with the program, the team went 12-40 and 15-35. This season, he has more than doubled last year's win total.
• The Mavericks were picked fifth in the conference prior to the start of the season and were not predicted to make the conference tournament.
• All three Division I teams in the state of Nebraska (Omaha, Creighton, Nebraska) have qualified for NCAA Regional play.
• The other teams in the Los Angeles Regional include No. 2-seeded Baylor and No. 3-seeded Loyola Marymount. Omaha has never met either team in competition.
SCOUTING UCLA
UCLA enters the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed and host of the Los Angeles Regional. The Bruins finished the 2019 campaign with a record of 47-8 and 24-5 in Pac 12 conference play.
The program arguably had the best regular season in school history, with records for wins and conference wins.
UCLA also won the Pac-12 title for the fourth time in head coach John Savage's tenure. They enter the postseason on a 10-game winning streak, the longest since their 2013 National Championship season (11 straight wins.).
SCOUTING BAYLOR
The Baylor Bears finished 34-17 overall and 14-8 in Big 12 competition to draw the No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles Regional. BU, ranked No. 21, recently fell 5-2 against TCU in the Big 12 Tournament, which took place in Oklahoma City.
Baylor opens up against No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount in the regional for its third-straight NCAA appearance. The postseason berth also marks the first time since a stretch of four consecutive appearances between 2009-12.
SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
The LMU Lions drew the No. 3 seed in the Los Angeles Regional and will open up against No. 2 Baylor. The Lions finished 32-23 overall and earned their way into the postseason with the WCC's automatic qualifying bid over the weekend when they beat conference regular-season champion BYU, followed by a pair of victories over Saint Mary's for their first championship since a string of three straight from 1998 through 2000.
LMU is 11-19 all-time in postseason play and seek their first trip to Omaha since 1986 when they played in the College World Series.
FOLLOW THE MAVERICKS
Friday's game against UCLA is set to air live on ESPN3 at 9 p.m. (CST). Links to live stats, MavRadio and viewing are available to follow on the OMavs.com.
NCAA LOS ANGELES REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 31
Game One: (2) Baylor vs. (3) LMU - 3 p.m. CT
Game Two: (1) UCLA vs. (4) Omaha - 9 p.m. CT
Saturday, June 1
Game Three: Loser of Game One vs. Loser of Game Two (Elimination Game)
Game Four: Winner of Game One vs. Winner of Game Two
Sunday, June 2
Game Five: Winner of Game Three vs. Loser of Game Four (Elimination Game)
Game Six: Winner of Game Five vs. Winner of Game Four (Championship Game)
Monday, June 3
Game Seven (if necessary): If Winner of Game Five wins Game Six vs. Winner of Game Four
LEADING OFF
• Omaha advanced to an NCAA Regional for the first time in program's Division I history with a win over Oral Roberts in The Summit League Baseball Tournament Championship.
• The Mavericks fell to Oral Roberts in Saturday's championship game. From there, Omaha was forced to play in a winner-take-all elimination game, where the team won 4-0.
• In that championship game, Payton Kinney tossed 7.1 innings of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts and one hit allowed on just two days of rest. Over the tournament, he threw 13.1 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts en route to Championship MVP honors.
• Omaha and UCLA square off for the first time Friday night.
• The Mavericks have played Pac-12 competition this season, as they opened the 2019 campaign at USC, where they took one of three.
• The Bruins are the first ranked team Omaha has faced this season.
• Starter Payton Kinney recently tied a single-season program record with 11 wins.
• His 109.0 innings pitched have also set a new single-season record for the program.
• Omaha began its four-year reclassification to Division I in 2011-12 and joined The Summit League in 2012-13.
• The team won back-to-back Summit League regular-season titles in 2013 and 2014, but was not eligible for postseason play due to the reclassification to Division I.
• At 32 years of age, head coach Evan Porter is one of the four youngest Division I head coaches in the nation.
• In his first two seasons with the program, the team went 12-40 and 15-35. This season, he has more than doubled last year's win total.
• The Mavericks were picked fifth in the conference prior to the start of the season and were not predicted to make the conference tournament.
• All three Division I teams in the state of Nebraska (Omaha, Creighton, Nebraska) have qualified for NCAA Regional play.
• The other teams in the Los Angeles Regional include No. 2-seeded Baylor and No. 3-seeded Loyola Marymount. Omaha has never met either team in competition.
SCOUTING UCLA
UCLA enters the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed and host of the Los Angeles Regional. The Bruins finished the 2019 campaign with a record of 47-8 and 24-5 in Pac 12 conference play.
The program arguably had the best regular season in school history, with records for wins and conference wins.
UCLA also won the Pac-12 title for the fourth time in head coach John Savage's tenure. They enter the postseason on a 10-game winning streak, the longest since their 2013 National Championship season (11 straight wins.).
SCOUTING BAYLOR
The Baylor Bears finished 34-17 overall and 14-8 in Big 12 competition to draw the No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles Regional. BU, ranked No. 21, recently fell 5-2 against TCU in the Big 12 Tournament, which took place in Oklahoma City.
Baylor opens up against No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount in the regional for its third-straight NCAA appearance. The postseason berth also marks the first time since a stretch of four consecutive appearances between 2009-12.
SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
The LMU Lions drew the No. 3 seed in the Los Angeles Regional and will open up against No. 2 Baylor. The Lions finished 32-23 overall and earned their way into the postseason with the WCC's automatic qualifying bid over the weekend when they beat conference regular-season champion BYU, followed by a pair of victories over Saint Mary's for their first championship since a string of three straight from 1998 through 2000.
LMU is 11-19 all-time in postseason play and seek their first trip to Omaha since 1986 when they played in the College World Series.
FOLLOW THE MAVERICKS
Friday's game against UCLA is set to air live on ESPN3 at 9 p.m. (CST). Links to live stats, MavRadio and viewing are available to follow on the OMavs.com.
NCAA LOS ANGELES REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 31
Game One: (2) Baylor vs. (3) LMU - 3 p.m. CT
Game Two: (1) UCLA vs. (4) Omaha - 9 p.m. CT
Saturday, June 1
Game Three: Loser of Game One vs. Loser of Game Two (Elimination Game)
Game Four: Winner of Game One vs. Winner of Game Two
Sunday, June 2
Game Five: Winner of Game Three vs. Loser of Game Four (Elimination Game)
Game Six: Winner of Game Five vs. Winner of Game Four (Championship Game)
Monday, June 3
Game Seven (if necessary): If Winner of Game Five wins Game Six vs. Winner of Game Four
Players Mentioned
RHP
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