**Friday's and Saturday's game times at the Great West Conference Cluster have been changed because of wet field conditions on one of the fields intended for use during the tournament.

UNO will now play Utah Valley in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the Mavs will face Houston Baptist in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Sunday's schedule remains the same, with UNO playing North Dakota at 10 a.m.

Live stats will be available for Saturday's games against Houston Baptist.

Game Notes

Series History
    UNO played North Dakota in a non-conference game earlier this season. The Mavs lost to the Fighting Sioux, 2-1, at the Ramada Inn UNI-Dome Classic in Ames, Iowa on Feb. 12. The Mavs own a 43-2 record over North Dakota all-time, most of the games coming when both were schools were members of the North Central Conference. UNO has never played Utah Valley or Houston Baptist.

Scouting the Opponents
    Utah Valley (13-5-1) is led by Amanda Robinson, who bats .407 with a team-leading 15 RBIs and four home runs. Kylee Brinkerhoff is hitting .370. Tiffany Mills has an 8-3 record in the circle with a 2.24 ERA and four shutouts. Cassie Herrera has started six games and has a 2-1 record and 4.57 ERA. The Wolverines have won nine of 11.
    Houston Baptist (9-14) has lost nine of its last 12 games after starting 6-5. Michaela Granchelli is the top hitter, batting .349. Melissa Herman hits .333 with a team-best 15 RBIs and three doubles. Kendall Stiefel has a 2.13 ERA and 3-5 record in the circle, while Keely Shuler is 3-4 with a 2.47 ERA.  
    North Dakota (8-19) is led by Kenna Olsen's .382 batting average. Olsen also has a team-high 16 RBIs to go with two home runs. Cami Bennett also hits .382 and has seven extra-base hits and 10 RBIs. Michelle Frank has started 13 of North Dakota's 27 games and has a 2-10 record and 4.95 ERA.

Hinton It Out of the Park
    Senior outfielder Katelyn Hinton produced some much-needed power for the Mavericks at the Rebel Spring Games last weekend. Hinton had two home runs, three doubles, seven RBIs and five runs scored. She hit .292 on the week but had a .667 slugging percentage and .346 on-base percentage. Both of Hinton's homers came on the same day. Her three-run first inning shot against Wagner broke open a 5-0 lead, and her two-run fourth inning blast gave UNO a 3-0 lead over Manhattan on March 13.

Freshman Peterson Fills Big Shoes
    The Mavs needed someone to step up and replace injured senior shortstop Molly Feichtinger, and freshman Tonya Peterson has embraced the challenge. Peterson has a team-best .345 batting average and is second on the squad with 11 RBIs. She's also scored nine runs of her own and has a team-high .446 on-base percentage, which has earned her the leadoff spot in the lineup the past five games.

Leading After Two
    When leading after two innings this year, the Mavericks are 8-1, a testament to the pitching staff's performance when playing with a lead. The Mavs' only loss when leading after two innings came at Nebraska on March 20. UNO led 1-0 through three innings, but the Huskers came back to win 2-1.

Shut Out No Longer
    After failing to earn a shutout in the opening 13 games of the season, the Mavs broke that slump in a big way at the Rebel Spring Games with three shutouts in a four-game stretch. All three Maverick starters pitched a shutout as well, as the Maverick staff allowed just three earned runs total in the eight games in Florida. Maverick ace Dana Elsasser allowed just one earned run in four complete games for an ERA of 0.25. Elsasser gave up just nine hits in 106 batters faced for a .094 opponent batting average. Freshman Kat Barrow finished 2-1 with a 0.70 ERA. Barrow gave up three hits and struck out eight in her first career shutout, a 2-0 win over Bucknell. Junior college transfer Ashton Hughes went 1-0, allowing just two hits to Rider in her first career shutout, a 3-0 win.

Mavs Aim for Third Different Conference Tournament Title in Five Years
    In 2012, the UNO Maverick softball team will have a rare opportunity to capture a third conference tournament title in the last five years playing in three different conferences. That's because the Mavs - who won a Division II North Central Conference title in 2008 and a Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association title in 2011 - will spend one year in the four-team Great West Conference before moving on to The Summit League in 2013. The Mavs will get their chance at the Great West Conference Tournament on May 13-14 in Farmers Branch, Texas. Before then, the Mavericks will make the most of their first year as a Division I softball program, beginning with four Division I tournaments in a five-week span.

Mavs' Young Pitching Staff Will Grow Up Quickly in 2012
    As if jumping from Division II to Division I wasn't enough, the UNO softball team will also have to replace two All-American pitchers who graduated after the 2011 season - Beth Haley and Lindsey Slocum - UNO's Nos. 1 and 2 options for the past two seasons. Early on, the Mavs' will turn to their lone returner, sophomore Dana Elsasser. The Hershey, Neb., native was 10-1 last year with a 1.18 ERA. Elsasser threw four shutouts and completed seven of her 12 starts. The Mavs added two new pitching prospects in the offseason in junior college transfer Ashton Hughes (Western Nebraska Community College) and freshman Kat Barrow (Kearney, Mo.). The trio will replace Haley and Slocum, who combined for a 37-10 record last year and 82.2 percent of the Mavs' innings pitched.

Offensive Firepower Returns for UNO
    Senior catcher Lauren Larson will lead the way offensively after hitting .320 last year and knocking 10 home runs out. Larson was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year as well with a .977 fielding percentage behind the plate. The Mavs will also lean on Katelyn Hinton and Amber Lutmer at the plate. Hinton hit .288 last year, drove out seven homers and had 13 doubles to rank second on the team. She also scored a team-high 40 runs. Hinton was a second-team All-MIAA selection last season, as was Lutmer, who led the Mavs in home runs as a true freshman with 11 and in RBIs with 42. Lutmer finished with a .312 batting average. All-MIAA honorable mention pick Ashley Lynch,  Mollie Jones, Molly Negrete, Lindsay Redding and Emma Wright also return as veteran hitters from last season.

Injury Bug Bites Mavs
    The Mavs will be without last year's starting shortstop and leading hitter, Molly Feichtinger, to begin the 2012 season. The senior is out indefinitely to recover from nagging offseason injuries. Feichtinger, the Mavs' leadoff hitter last year, had a team-best and MIAA-best .423 average and was an All-MIAA Second-Team and All-Region Second-Team selection.

Great West Conference Welcomes UNO for 2012 Season
    The University of Nebraska Omaha softball program has accepted a one-year invitation to join the Great West Conference as an associate member for the 2012 season. The Mavericks, in the midst of reclassifying from NCAA Division II to the Division I Summit League, will be a part of the four-team Great West Conference for one year before beginning Summit League regular-season conference play in 2013.
    “We are very excited to be able to play in the Great West Conference this upcoming season,” Head Coach Jeanne Scarpello said. “This is a great opportunity for our student-athletes to not only be able to compete for a trophy this season, but also to earn weekly and all-conference awards. Although we won't be able to battle for a spot in the NCAA Tournament this year, we are thrilled that our great class of seniors will have a chance to end their careers in a competitive tournament atmosphere.”
    UNO joins Houston Baptist, North Dakota and Utah Valley in the Great West Conference for softball. The Mavs replace South Dakota, who left the GWC after the 2011 season to begin regular-season conference play in The Summit League in 2012. The four teams will all gather in Farmers Branch, Texas, on March 23-25, 2012, for an event in which each team will play the other three teams to determine seeding for the GWC Softball Championship, which will take place May 13-14 in Farmers Branch, hosted by Houston Baptist.

Mavs Picked Fourth in GWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
    The UNO softball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Great West Conference preseason coaches' poll. The league's last two champions - Houston Baptist and North Dakota - shared the top spot in the rankings with 12 points apiece. Utah Valley came in third with 11 points, while newcomer UNO tallied five points in the poll. The Mavs will play one year in the Great West Conference before beginning Summit League play next season. The 2012 Great West Conference champion will be crowned at the GWC Softball Tournament held May 13-14, at Farmers Branch, Texas, hosted by Houston Baptist.

2012 GWC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rk.    Team (First-place votes)    Points
T1.     Houston Baptist (1)    12
T1.     North Dakota (1)    12
3.     Utah Valley (2)    11
4.     Nebraska Omaha    5

New Division, New Conference, New Home
    In addition to the jump to Division I and the one-year contract with the Great West Conference, the Mavericks will also call a new ballpark home in 2012. The Mavs will begin play at the brand new Westside Field at Westbrook on March 20, when Nebraska visits for a 3 p.m. game. In all, UNO will host six opponents at its new digs, four of which will be doubleheaders. South Dakota will be the only Summit League foe the Mavericks host this year in a doubleheader on April 4.

Mavericks Add Six New Talents in 2012
    Six student-athletes are new to the UNO program this season. Kat Barrow (RHP, Kearney, Mo.), Mara Eeman (OF, Ralston, Neb.), Lindsay Gilliland (OF, Liberty, Mo.), Tonya Peterson (IF, Omaha, Neb.) and Kiley Thalken (IF, Bennington, Neb.) will all join the team as freshmen. In addition, junior college transfer Ashton Hughes (RHP, Regina, Saskatchewan) will be a first-year Maverick in 2012.
    “Not only are these six players athletic, but they are also quality students in the classroom,” Scarpello said. “We look forward to working with all of these young ladies. They all have strong work ethics along with a strong desire to win. They are a perfect fit to keep the winning tradition here at UNO going and take us to another level.”

Bright Future Ahead with 2013 Signing Class
    University of Nebraska Omaha softball head coach Jeanne Scarpello has signed seven recruits to national letters of intent to join the Mavericks in the 2012-13 school year. All seven of the Maverick signees are high school seniors, representing Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.
    The Mavs picked up four signees from their home state. Tania Carroll and Bailey Schulenberg, state champion teammates at Lincoln Southwest, will bring their all-state credentials to the Maverick outfield. Sydney Hames, an all-state product of Bennington, will join the Mavericks, as will Yutan native Tara Trede, who broke numerous school records at Bishop Neumann High School.
    UNO also picked up three out-of-state recruits. Kansas City, Kan., native Jesslyn Buie was a standout hitter and starting pitcher at Saint James Academy, and she will join fellow Kansan Campbell Ditto, of Wamego, who was homeschooled through high school but brings an impressive resume of athletic accomplishments. The final member of the class is Kayla Wyatt, a pitcher from Purcell, Okla. Wyatt is Purcell High School's all-time winningest pitcher with a 90-18 record and 16 career no-hitters.

Next Up
    The Mavs will play their home opener on Wednesday, March 28 in a doubleheader against Nebraska-Kearney at 1 p.m. It will be UNO's first games at the new Westside Field at Westbrook.