The Mavericks (3-1) will head to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to take on three Division II non-conference opponents at the UNLV/CMSU Tournament.
Last Weekend: The February 4-5 games at Regis University marked the earliest start in Maverick baseball history. UNO split the first day of games on Saturday before sweeping the Rangers on Sunday. UNO's
Bryan Frew,
Dane Larsen and
Lyle Lafountain were a combined 21-for-41 with 15 RBIs in the four-game series.
Last Season: Nebraska-Omaha won its first North Central Conference championship in 24 years and made it to the NCAA II Central Regional Final in 2005. Coach
Bob Herold's squad won a school record 42 games as he was named the North Central Conference Coach of the Year.
Who's Back: The Mavericks return 14 letterwinner's off of last year's 42-19 squad. First team all-NCC selections
Chad Leon,
Lyle Lafountain and
Marc Centofante each return for their senior season. The three combined for 20 home runs and 119 runs batted in 2005. UNO also returns all-NCC pick
Tim Huber for his sophomore year. Huber was 3-1 with a 1.29 earned run average in NCC play last year.
The Ballpark at BoysTown: The Nebraska-Omaha baseball team will begin its second season playing at The Ballpark at Boystown. The field is located in the heart of the BoysTown campus, located on 137th and West Dodge Road.
Coach Herold:
Bob Herold begins his seventh season as the head coach of the Mavericks. He became the third head coach in the 57-year history of UNO baseball in June, 1999, when he replaced the retiring Bob Gates.
Herold guided the Mavericks to a school record 42 wins last season and third regional appearance since 1981 while being named the NCC Coach of the Year. Herold was also named the NCC Coach of the Year in 2002, during UNO's other regional appearance in his tenure as head coach. Herold holds a 176-134-2 overall record at UNO. Herold, a native Omahan, is no stranger to Nebraska-Omaha. He was a 1971 NAIA All-American during his playing days under Coach Virgil Yelkin and served as an assistant coach for the Mavericks under both Yelkin and Gates, from 1975-78. He earned both his bachelor of general studies (1972) and his master of science (1976) degrees from UNO.
Herold played seven professional seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization, the Mexican Leagues and in Columbia, South America. In addition to his UNO coaching experience, he also served as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville in 1974 and at Creighton University, from 1985-87.
The bulk of Herold's baseball experience has been in the Kansas City Royals organization. He managed eight seasons in the Royals' farm system and guided Royal affiliates to league championships. In 1999, he was the the hitting coach for the Omaha Golden Spikes, the Royals' Class AAA Pacific Coast League affiliate.Herold and wife Sondra have three children, daughters Haley, Kiley and son Riley.
