Complete Release

The Nebraska Omaha baseball team (1-7) completes a week-long trip to the Pacific Northwest with a three-game series at Seattle, Feb. 28 - March 1 in Seattle, Wash. Tuesday and Wednesday's games at Bannerwood Park are both set for 4:30 p.m. (CT), followed by Thursday's contest at 4 p.m. (CT). Links to live stats, live video and live audio will be available on OMavs.com, with Yano Mangiameli providing play-by-play and commentary for all games.

Nebraska Omaha is in its first year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2011-12 and will officially join The Summit League next year with a full conference schedule in 2013. The Mavericks are led by Head Coach Bob Herold, who is in his 13th year at the helm of the UNO program with a career record of 409-251-2.

Briefly
•This weekend marks the first meeting in program history between Nebraska Omaha and Seattle.
•UNO's mid-week rotation includes junior righthanders Derek Landis (0-0) and Matt Tew (0-1) and redshirt freshman righty Zach Williamsen. Landis and Williamsen will both make their first starts of the season, with Williamsen the only Maverick hurler who has picked up a win so far.
•Former Maverick righthanded pitcher Joe Holtmeyer was drafted in the 22nd round (No. 682 overall) of the 2011 Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. Holtmeyer was the fifth Maverick drafted under Head Coach Bob Herold and the highest pick of any player during the Herold era at UNO. The Mavericks will look for a capable starter to take Holtmeyer's spot in the pitching rotation this season.

Last Time Out
UNO is coming off a four-game series at Washington State over the weekend, which the Cougars swept in their opening weekend at home. WSU took the Friday doubleheader with scores of 13-4 and 12-6, and the two squads combined for 49 hits over both games. The Mavs were scheduled to play again on Saturday, but weather prompted officials to reschedule it as a Sunday doubleheader. On Sunday, game one was suspended in the fifth inning due to snow, and the series was finally finished Monday afternoon with WSU wins of 7-1 and 5-3. The Mavericks immediately departed Pullman for Seattle to face the Redhawks.

For the weekend, sophomore Beau Suponchick batted .385 (5-for-13) with four runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base. Sophomore Caleb Palensky and senior Brady Hohl also managed five hits apiece, and freshman Alex Mortensen and Mark Waldron each added four more. Hohl also chipped in two runs and three RBI.

Scouting the Seattle Redhawks
Seattle enters this week's series with a record of 3-4, having lost its last three games at Sacramento State last weekend by scores of 9-6, 6-5 and 8-7.

Seattle is in its final year of reclassification to NCAA Division I and currently competes as an independent institution. In 2012-13, the Redhawks will officially join the Western Athletic Conference.

Both the UNO baseball and men's basketball teams have faced SU in competition this season.

Mortensen Makes Strong Debut
True freshman Alex Mortensen has had an outstanding start to his Maverick career, as he leads the team with a .350 batting average over the first eight games. Mortensen has a team-high three doubles, as well as a team-best five RBI, a .500 slugging percentage and a .435 on-base percentage.

In the opening weekend at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, he went 3-for-6 at the plate over three games. The Millard North product started twice, putting up a double and two RBI while scoring once. In Saturday's nightcap, Mortensen entered the game as a pinch hitter, drawing a bases-loaded walk that scored Tyler Splichal and gave the Mavs the 2-1 win. On Sunday, Mortensen added a 2-for-3 effort in the series finale.

Mavs Open Division I Era at Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Nebraska Omaha began its first Division I season with a four-game series at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, going 1-3. After the Friday opener was rained out, the Mavericks began with a Saturday doubleheader, falling 3-0 before taking a 2-1 win in the nightcap. On Sunday, the Islanders won both games, 3-2 and 7-2.
    
Junior infielder Tyler Splichal had six hits and batted .375 for the weekend with an RBI and a run scored. He also tallied the game-winning run on Saturday. In the same game, redshirt freshman Zach Williamsen (1-0) made his career debut on the mound and earned his first victory in relief. Williamsen tossed 3.0 innings of scoreless ball, allowing just two hits.

Mavericks Reclassify to Division I
Nebraska Omaha announced in March 2011 its plan to reclassify from NCAA Division II to Division I, beginning with the 2011-12 school year. UNO, which was previously a member of the MIAA, accepted an invitation to join The Summit League and will compete as a full-fledged member with a regular-season conference schedule in 2012-13.

Hohl to Lead Nebraska Omaha in Senior Season
Senior infielder Brady Hohl's outstanding play earned him a slew of awards to cap his junior season in 2011. The Omaha native and product of Millard North was selected as a second-team all-region honoree by Daktronics, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Rawlings/the American Baseball Coaches Association. Hohl started all 55 games of his junior season, batting a team-leading .408 with 59 runs scored, 35 RBI, 11 doubles and five homers. He also drew a team-leading 23 walks and had a team-high 15 stolen bases.

Hohl grabbed further attention during summer ball, playing for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots of the Alaska Baseball League. He was named to the All-ABL All-Star Team and batted .302 with a team-leading 26 RBI, 20 runs, seven doubles and a pair of home runs. Hohl was the third-ranked hitter in the league during ABL play.

Mavs Return All-Conference Infield Trio
Nebraska Omaha has three players on its roster who have previously earned all-conference recognition in the Mavs' former league in Division II, the MIAA. Senior infielder Brady Hohl was a two-time All-MIAA honoree, taking a first-team award in 2011 and a second-team nod in 2010. Last season, Hohl topped the Mavericks with a .408 batting average while starting all 55 games at shortstop and third base. He led UNO with 59 runs scored, 23 walks and 15 stolen bases while adding 35 RBI, 11 doubles and five home runs.

Junior infielder Tyler Splichal was a second-team All-MIAA selection in 2010 and was voted MIAA Freshman of the Year that same season. As a freshman, Splichal had a team-best .410 batting average, and he followed up in 2011 with a .322 effort with 13 doubles, five homers, 35 runs scored and 29 RBI.

Sophomore infielder Caleb Palensky garnered All-MIAA honorable mention accolades after his freshman campaign, when he was also named the 2011 MIAA Freshman of the Year. Palensky started 47 games at second base, batting .366 with a team-leading 14 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 36 RBI and 35 runs scored.

Herold at the Helm
Head Coach Bob Herold is in his 13th year as the skipper of the Nebraska Omaha baseball program in 2012, having compiled a career record of 409-251-2. Herold earned his 400th career win last season on April 22, 2011 against Fort Hays State, becoming the third coach in school history to reach the milestone. He joined Bob Gates (464-273) and Virgil Yelkin (439-196) in the prestigious club, and Herold now needs 56 more wins to pass Gates as the all-time winningest coach in UNO history.

Over his Maverick career, Herold has guided Nebraska Omaha to seven NCAA Division II postseason appearances and three conference championships.

New Kids on the Block
UNO's 2012 roster features 13 new faces, with nine true freshmen and four transfers. The Maverick freshmen include Papillion La-Vista South teammates Tyler Lane, Joe Mancuso and Justin Paul, as well as in-state products Alex Mortensen (Millard North), Clayton Taylor (Mount Michael), Sam Raetz (Lincoln Pius X) and Max Ayoub (Grand Island). Jared Patton comes to UNO from Basehor-Linwood High School in Kansas, and Cole Volkers played at Alta Loma High School in California.

Ryley Cidlik (Kansas State) and Bellevue East product Ryan Keele (Northwestern State) have both transferred from Division I universities. Dylan McGill comes from Southeast Community College, while Steven Schoonover joins the program after beginning his career at Yakima Valley Community College.

After the first two weekend series of the season, seven newcomers have seen playing time: Mortensen, Mancuso, Patton, Lane, Schoonover, McGill and Cidlik.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
UNO's 2012 schedule of 49 games, its first as a reclassifying institution, is composed entirely of Division I competition.  The team will play in 12 different states and all four time zones across the country. The slate matches UNO with one independent school and opponents from 12 different conferences: The Summit League, Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, West Coast, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Southland, Mountain West, Great West, Patriot League and Northeast.

Three Summit League squads -- IPFW, North Dakota State and Oakland -- will give the Mavs their first taste of future conference competition, which begins officially in 2013.

The Mavericks are in the midst of a 15-game road stretch before their first home game against BYU on March 12.

Maverick Opponents by Conference
Conference        Opponents                                                  Record vs. Conference in 2012
Big 12                   2 -- Missouri, Kansas State                        0-0
Big Ten                  3 -- Northwestern, Iowa, Minnesota           0-0
Great West           2 -- Northern Colorado, Chicago State     0-0
Missouri Valley     3 -- Bradley, Creighton, Indiana State       0-0
Mountain West     1 -- UNLV                                                      0-0
Northeast              1 -- Long Island                                            0-0
Ohio Valley           1 -- Jacksonville State                                 0-0
Pac-12                  1 -- Washington State                                 0-4
Patriot League     2 -- Army, Bucknell                                       0-0
Southland             1 -- Texas A&M Corpus Christi                   1-3
Summit League   3 -- IPFW, North Dakota State, Oakland   0-0
West Coast          1 -- BYU                                                         0-0
Independent         1 -- Seattle                                                     0-0

UNO Finishes Final Year in Division II Among Nation's Best
UNO finished the 2011 season ranked 10th nationally in team batting average in the NCAA's final Division II statistical rankings released last June. The Mavericks, who compiled a team batting average of .332, were also 16th in home runs per game (0.91), 12th in total home runs (50), 13th in total hits (578) and 12th in slugging percentage (.487).

Next Up for the Mavs
UNO returns to action on Tuesday, March 6, traveling to Missouri for a single game in Columbia, Mo. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Taylor Stadium, and links to live stats, live video and live audio will be available on OMavs.com.