Game Notes

    The UNO softball team will finish off the regular season this Wednesday with a doubleheader at Drake, beginning at 5 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa. After that, the Mavs will compete in the Great West Conference Tournament May 13-14 in Farmers Branch, Texas. UNO has clinched the No. 2 seed for the event and will play Houston Baptist in the first round.   
 
Series History
    The all-time series between UNO and Drake is tied at 2-2. The last time the two teams met was April 24, 1997 in Des Moines. UNO took game one of that two-game set, 2-1, before Drake bounced back to win game two, 4-1.   

Scouting Drake (23-27, 14-10 MVC)
    Drake is coming off a three-game sweep at Evansville over the weekend. The Bulldogs are led by Hayley Nybo, who is hitting .313 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs. Torey Craddock also has seven home runs to go with 27 RBIs and a .275 average. Amy Pierce hits .289 with a team-high 29 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. Drake's pitching staff goes two deep. Jordan Gronewold holds a 16-19 record with a 2.91 ERA. Rebekah Schmidt is 7-8 with a 3.21 ERA.   

Elsasser On Fire
    Sophomore pitcher Dana Elsasser has been in the zone of late, dropping her ERA to 0.80, which leads all Division I pitchers. Elsasser's ERA against Division I teams only is 0.96, which is still the best among DI pitchers. Elsasser has compiled a 13-7 record this season while also earning two saves when called upon in relief. Opponents are hitting just .179 against her this year, and Elsasser has eight shutouts in her last 14 starts. She has allowed just one earned run in her last seven starts.

Mavs Among Nation's Best in ERA
    Although UNO can't officially count in NCAA statistics because of its transition to Division I, the Mavericks would rank eighth nationally with a 1.31 ERA. Oklahoma leads the nation with a 1.01 ERA. Dana Elsasser ranks first among DI pitchers with a 0.80 ERA.

Hot Bats
    In the 12 games since UNO lost twice to North Dakota on March 25, the Mavs have hit .298 at the plate and have outscored opponents 62-14. Amber Lutmer is leading the way with 17 hits during the stretch - nine of them home runs - and a .486 average. Lutmer also has 28 of the Mavs' 59 RBIs in that span. Molly Negrete is hitting .429 since the GWC Cluster, and Lauren Larson is hitting .350.

Lutmerjack
    Amber Lutmer hit back-to-back grand slams in an 11-0 win over South Dakota on April 4. Her eight RBIs in the game matched the school record, which has been reached four times in school history, most recently by Jenifer McDowell in 2007. Lutmer has hit nine home runs and has 28 RBIs in her last 12 games. The sophomore has upped her team-leading home run total from two to 11 in the last four weeks and now ranks eighth in school history in career home runs with 22.

Next Up
    The Mavs will compete in the Great West Conference Tournament May 13-14 in Farmers Branch, Texas. UNO has clinched the No. 2 seed for the event and will play Houston Baptist in the first round.