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GWC Tournament Central

Great West Conference Tournament
Dates: May 13-14, 2012
Times: 12:30 p.m. & TBD
Location: Farmers Branch, Texas
Complex: Oran Good Park

    With the regular season concluded, the UNO softball team will now turn its attention to the Great West Conference Tournament, set for May 13-14 in Farmers Branch, Texas at Oran Good Park.
    The No. 2 seed Mavericks will open play in the four-team double-elimination tournament against host and No. 3 seed Houston Baptist at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 13. The Mavs are guaranteed two games on Sunday. If the Mavs win their first game, they will play the winner of the Utah Valley/North Dakota game at 5:30 p.m., with the winner of that advancing to the championship game. If the Mavs lose their first game, they will play the loser of the Utah Valley/North Dakota game in an elimination game at 3 p.m. On Monday at 10 a.m., the semifinal loser and the elimination game winner will meet for the other berth in the championship, which is set for 1 p.m. If necessary, a deciding game will take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 1 p.m. game.
    Live stats will be available for all games at OMavs.com. The live stats link for the Mavs' second game on Sunday will not be available until after the conclusion of the first round games. A live audio broadcast hosted by Houston Baptist will be available at OMavs.com for any game in which Houston Baptist is participating.
    The tournament will mark the end of the season for the Mavericks, regardless of the final outcome. UNO is ineligible for postseason play until 2015-16 as part of its Division I transitional school status.

Mavs Earn No. 2 Seed at Great West Conference Tournament
    The Mavericks posted a 3-3 record at the Great West Conference Cluster, good for the second overall seed in the conference tournament. Playing three doubleheaders in three days against the other conference teams, the Mavs came out with the second-best record in the group. Utah Valley went 5-1 to earn the top seed. Houston Baptist and North Dakota each went 2-4, with HBU taking the tiebreaker and the No. 3 seed. North Dakota will be the fourth seed. The conference tournament will be played like a double-elimination regional. UNO will play Houston Baptist in the first round. The Mavs swept Houston Baptist at the GWC Cluster, 5-0 and 3-2 (8 innings).

Mavs Aim for Third Different Conference Tournament Title in Five Years
    The Mavs 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. UNO made the most of its first Division I season, playing 34 of 39 games against Division I teams. The Mavs finished the regular season with an 18-16 record against Division I teams.

Series History
    UNO and Houston Baptist met for the first time ever this year at the Great West Conference Cluster in Farmers Branch, Texas on March 24. UNO took both games, 5-0 and 3-2 (8 inn.). The Mavs split the doubleheader with Utah Valley in the first-ever meetings between the teams. UNO is 45-4 all-time against North Dakota, including a 2-3 record against UND this year.

Previewing the Tournament Field
    Utah Valley enters as the top seed after posting a 5-1 record at the Great West Conference Cluster in March. The Wolverines are 29-25-1 overall. Jamie North hits .313 to lead UVU. Amanda Robinson (11 home runs, 36 RBIs) and Krystin Jachim (10 homers, 30 RBIs) provide most of the power in the lineup. Tiffany Mills is the top pitcher with a 16-16 record and a 2.57 ERA. Mills also has eight saves this season. The Wolverines have lost six of their last eight.
    Houston Baptist is the third seed with a 14-31 overall record and 2-4 GWC record. Michaela Granchelli is the only Husky hitting over .300 (.305) and she has 18 RBIs. HBU has hit just 10 home runs this season, with Kate Maddock knocking out four of them. Four Huskies have started at least seven games in the circle this year. Keely Shuler possesses a 2.03 ERA and a 5-8 record, while Kendall Stiefel is 5-9 with a 2.11 ERA. HBU is 1-10 in its last 11 games.
    North Dakota took the fourth seed with an 18-27 record and 2-4 GWC record. Kenna Olsen leads the conference with a .421 batting average. She also has five home runs and 27 RBIs. Caralyn Chewning hits .364 with a team-high 16 doubles and 35 runs scored. Michelle Frank is 9-13 in the circle with a 4.55 ERA. Emma Gronseth is 6-6 with a 6.46 ERA. UND has not played since being swept by UNO on April 22.

Elsasser On Fire
    Sophomore pitcher Dana Elsasser has been in the zone of late, dropping her ERA to 0.81, which leads all Division I pitchers. Elsasser's ERA against Division I teams only is 0.96, which would rank third among DI pitchers. Elsasser has compiled a 13-8 record this season while also earning two saves when called upon in relief. Opponents are hitting just .178 against her this year, and Elsasser has eight shutouts in her last 15 starts. She has allowed just two earned runs in her last eight 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 seventh nationally with a 1.42 ERA. Their 1.52 ERA against Division I teams only would rank 10th. Hawaii leads the nation with a 1.04 ERA.

Hot Bats
    In the 14 games since UNO lost twice to North Dakota on March 25, the Mavs have hit .284 at the plate and have outscored opponents 62-20. Amber Lutmer is leading the way with 18 hits during the stretch - nine of them home runs - and a .439 average. Lutmer also has 28 of the Mavs' 59 RBIs in that span. Molly Negrete is hitting .390 since the GWC Cluster, and Lauren Larson is hitting .340.

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 14 games. The sophomore now ranks eighth in school history in career home runs with 22.  

Mavs' Young Pitching Staff Will Grow Up Quickly in 2012
    As if jumping from Division II to Division I wasn't enough, UNO had 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 turned 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.). Barrow was solid in her freshman season with a 1.77 ERA and an 8-6 record. Hughes went 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA in nine appearances. Elsasser grasped the ace role though, throwing eight shutouts in 21 starts and garnering a 0.81 ERA with a 13-8 record and two saves. As a staff, the Mavs allowed opponents to hit just .205 on the season.
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, in the 2012 season. The senior is out after enduring 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.

Mavs Picked Fourth in GWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
    UNO was 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.

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 began play at the brand new Westside Field at Westbrook on March 28, when Nebraska-Kearney visits for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. 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.