Omaha Baseball Heads to Missouri State Before Facing Western Illinois at Home

Tuesday, May 2

Kansas City, Mo.

6:30 p.m.

Omaha

Missouri State

Photo by: Garrett Hawkins

Omaha Baseball Heads to Missouri State Before Facing Western Illinois at Home

May 1, 2023 | Baseball

Game_Notes_at_Missouri_State___vs._WIU.pdf

Leading Off
The Mavericks (16-20, 5-10) will take on a tough midweek opponent this Tuesday at Missouri State (26-16) before another key Summit League series vs. Western Illinois (5-33, 2-10) over the weekend.

Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday: 6:30 p.m. at Missouri State at the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy
Friday: 7 p.m. vs. Western Illinois at Tal Anderson Field
Saturday: 7 p.m. vs. Western Illinois at Tal Anderson Field
Sunday: 1 p.m. vs. Western Illinois at Tal Anderson Field

Around the Horn

The Mavericks began last week with a close loss at home vs. Nebraska, followed by a 1-2 series loss at St. Thomas.
Now at 5-10 in the Summit League, Omaha begins the week in a three-way tie for fourth in the standings with St. Thomas and Northern Colorado.
Mike Boeve went 2-for-4 vs. Nebraska, officially raising his career average vs. Power 5 schools above .300 (.303), as well as increasing his career average vs. Nebraska to .400.
With three hits in the series vs. St. Thomas, Boeve officially climbed to 10th all-time on Omaha's career hits list with 187.
In game one vs. St. Thomas, Preston Tenney earned his team-leading fifth win of the year as he worked out of trouble in multiple innings to hold the Tommies to three runs while stranding seven base runners.
Luke Gainer earned his second save of the year with four innings in relief for Tenney, holding St. Thomas scoreless through the first three.
Though they cooled off in games two and three, Omaha's bats started off hot in Minnesota as all nine members of the starting lineup recorded at least two combined runs and RBIs in the 13-4 rout. Devin Hurdle, Eduardo Rosario, and Drew Lechnir all had two runs and two RBIs in the game.
Speaking of Lechnir, he was the only Maverick to get a hit in all three games at St. Thomas as he had Omaha's only hit in game two. Overall, he went 5-for-11 in the series with three RBIs and two runs.
Matt Goetzmann and Hurdle both saw their 11-game hitting streaks end on Saturday. Despite this, Goetzmann still managed to increase his batting average from .156 before the streak to .250 after the series, while Hurdle saw his average go from .278 to .394.
Charlie Bell struck out three more batters on Sunday, giving him 98 in his career. Should he top 100 this weekend he will join Caleb Riedel as the only two active Mavericks with 100 career strikeouts.
With 13 runs in game one at St. Thomas, the Mavericks now have 9 games this season with at least 10 runs scored. They are 8-1 in those games.
Tuesday's game will not be played at Missouri State's usual stadium, instead taking place at the Urban Youth Academy owned by the Kansas City Royals and MLB. Admission is free, but donations of youth baseball/softball equipment is welcome.
Saturday also marks Senior Day for the Mavericks, with Alex Potter, Brennen Bales, Eduardo Rosario, Eddie Satisky, Jackson Gordon, Will Reetz, Drew Reetz, and Wyatt Sellers being honored in the ceremony.

Scouting Missouri State
The Bears begin the week at 26-16 after sweeping Valparaiso over the weekend, outscoring them 25-11.

Missouri State's offense is led by Spencer Nivens, who paces the team in nearly every category including AVG (.366), OPS (1.122), home runs (12), triples (four), and runs (43). Also leading the way is Zack Stewart who is first on the team with 50 RBIs and 15 doubles, along with a .327 AVG and .998 OPS. Nick Rodriguez rounds out the Bears' top three with a .313 AVG and .879 OPS.

Their pitching staff is led by Brandt Thompson and his 2.54 ERA and .228 BAA. Midweek starters Tyler Tscherter (3.71ERA) and Forrest Barnes (4.91 ERA) have also seen decent success. Garrett Ferguson leads the bullpen with a 2.57 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, though, the rest of the relievers with at least five appearances all own ERAs above 4.50.

13-time MVC Coach of the Year Keith Guttin is one of the longest tenured head coaches in the NCAA as he is in his 41st season leading the Bears. His 1366 career wins are the third most among active Division I coaches and has culminated in 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's first ever College World Series appearance in 2003.

Scouting Western Illinois
The Leathernecks are currently 5-33 overall and 2-10 in the Summit League after getting swept by North Dakota State, losing each game by at least 10 runs. They will also play Lindenwood before coming to Omaha.

One of the top hitters in the Summit League, Nick Mitchell boasts a .388 AVG and 1.100 OPS along with 22 RBIs, 28 runs scores, and 11 doubles. Jake Allgeyer has also been a strong presence in the WIU lineup, hitting .295 and leading the team with four home runs and 24 RBIs.

Western Illinois' pitching staff has struggled this season, coming out to a 8.64 staff ERA and 2.10 WHIP. Jake Armstrong leads all starters with a 5.37 ERA, while Jack Bell's 6.35 ERA is the best among relievers.

Tayler Sherriff is in his first season as Interim Head Coach at WIU after spending his first season with the team last year as the team's pitching coach. He spent his previous three seasons as a pitching coach at Spalding University.