Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team plays its first midweek game of the year on Tuesday, Feb. 24, traveling to Wichita State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan., and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
    
Quick Hits    
•Omaha's combined no-hitter against Chicago State last Saturday came at the hands of senior right-handers Zach Williamsen and Tyler Hamer. It was the first no-hit effort by a Maverick pitching staff since April 9, 2004 and the third under head coach Bob Herold.
•Juniors Cole Gruber, Alex Mortensen and Clayton Taylor have all reached base in every game this season.
•The Mavericks return 19 letterwinners and five All-Summit selections from a year ago: Taylor, Gruber, juniors Tyler Fox and Alex Schultz and senior Daniel Jewett. Fox was also tabbed 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year.
•UNO's five returning all-conference selections are the most of any team in the Summit League.
•Omaha opens the year with 15 straight road games, its most since 15 in 2012.
•UNO ended the 2014 season on a seven-game win streak, and in two years in the Summit League, the Mavericks have compiled a 35-15 record in conference play.
•UNO is 114-91 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 231-230 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Wichita State Shockers
Wichita State enters the week with a record of 3-3 (0-0 MVC) after going 2-1 in a three-game home series against Texas State last weekend. The Shockers lost seven All-MVC players from last season's team but return junior outfielder Daniel Kihle, who was second-team all-conference after batting .313.

Todd Butler (McNeese State, 1991) is in his second season at WSU with a record of 34-31. He holds a career mark of 124-114 over five years.

Omaha leads the all-time series against Wichita State, 6-3. The two squads last met on March 6, 2013, when the Shockers earned a 5-3 midweek win in Wichita.

The Century Mark
Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox and senior right-handed Zach Williamsen both issued their 100th career strikeout in last weekend's series with Chicago State. Fox's came on Friday, while Williamsen's was his final of five Ks on Saturday.

Williamsen Earns First Weekly League Award of 2015
Senior right-handed pitcher Zach Williamsen was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week for his performance Feb. 16-22, the conference office announced Monday. The honor is his first of the season and the second of his career.

Williamsen (1-1) collected the accolade after earning his first win of the season in a combined no-hitter over Chicago State. He threw 5.0 hitless innings in the start, allowing just one walk with a season-high five strikeouts.

Last Weekend
Omaha went 2-1 in a neutral-site series with Chicago State last weekend, defeating the Cougars 6-1 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday before falling 6-4 on Sunday.

Junior Cole Gruber batted a team-leading .500 (5-for-10) for the weekend with a double, two runs scored, three RBI and three walks drawn. He opened the series by going 3-for-4 at the plate, driving in a pair of runs.

Hamer the Hammer
Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Hamer has thrown the most innings of any relief pitcher in the Maverick bullpen this season. Over two appearances, the Elburn, Ill., native has tossed 7.0 innings and surrendered just one hit with three walks and a team-leading eight strikeouts. He holds a 0.00 earned-run average, and opponents are hitting just .043 against him.

Last Saturday, Hamer was part of UNO's no-hit shutout of Chicago State, going 3.0 innings with a walk and four Ks.
    
What Does the Fox Say?
Right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox is back for his junior season in 2015 after earning Summit League Pitcher of the Year plaudits as a sophomore. The Thornton, Colo., native was outstanding on the mound last year, recording a league-leading nine wins to go 9-1 with a 2.59 ERA. He tallied 57 strikeouts in a team-high 78.2 innings pitched and finished a perfect 5-0 in league play with a 2.40 ERA in seven appearances. Conference foes struggled at the plate against Fox, batting just .255 for the year.

Last Friday, Fox picked up his first win of the season against Chicago State. He limited the Cougars to just three singles over 5.0 scoreless innings.

Going the Extra Mile
When registering three or more extra-base hits in a game, UNO went 14-7 last season, and the Mavericks have started the 2015 in similar fashion with a 2-0 mark. The 2014 Omaha squad finished with 107 extra-base hits, the most of any team since registering 159 in 2011, the Mavericks' last year in Division II.

Turning to the Bullpen
Omaha's bullpen has traditionally held its own late in the game, as the Mavericks are 411-34-1 in the Bob Herold era when leading after the sixth inning. UNO was 25-4 in such games in 2014 and 23-1 in the 2013 season, both of which were years in which the Mavericks went on to win Summit League regular-season titles. This season, they are 2-0 when leading after the sixth.

Offense Keying Wins
In the last three seasons in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Omaha has gone a combined 43-7 when outhitting its opponent. In 2014, the Mavericks were 21-2 when registering more hits than its opposition, up from 20-5 in 2013. This year, UNO has started out 2-0 in such games.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 394-68-1 when outhitting the other team.

Herold at the Helm
Head Coach Bob Herold is in his 16th year as the skipper of the Omaha baseball program in 2014, having compiled a career record of 481-325-2. Herold earned his 400th career win 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 with Omaha's 7-0 shutout at Bradley on April 22, 2014, he officially became the winningest coach in UNO history with his 465th victory.

Over his Maverick career, Herold has guided Omaha to seven NCAA Division II postseason appearances and four conference championships. In 2013 and 2014, he was honored as Summit League Coach of the Year.

Herold's most recent draft pick was right-handed pitcher Joe Holtmeyer, who was taken 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 Herold and the second-highest pick of any player during the Herold era.

Herold is assisted by assistant coaches Chris Gadsden, in his 16th year, and Evan Porter, in his third year, as well as volunteer assistant coach Brian Strawn, who is in his first year.

Double Digits
As a team, Omaha produced double-digit hits in 22 games last season, including a season-high 23 hits against Chicago State on Feb. 28, 2014. Last year, UNO was 18-4 when producing 10 or more hits in a game, similar to its mark of 18-6 for double-digit hits in 2013. Already this season, the Mavericks are 1-0 with a double-digit hit total.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2015 schedule includes 56 games against 20 different opponents, and the team will play in 11 states and three time zones across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from 12 other conferences: the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big Sky, Big Ten, Colonial, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Southland, Sunshine State and WAC.

Two foes -- North Dakota State and Nebraska -- were 2014 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. NDSU, which finished fifth in the Summit League's regular-season standings and went on to win the tournament championship for a berth to the NCAA Tournament, lost to Oregon State and UNLV in the Corvallis Regional. Nebraska played in the Stillwater Regional, where it defeated Binghamton and lost twice to Cal State Fullerton.

Additionally, three opponents finished in the top 100 for RPI in 2014: Nebraska (No. 32), Creighton (No. 70) and Oral Roberts (No. 96).

The Mavericks have never faced six of their 2015 opponents: Saint Leo, Boston College, Northeastern, Mount St. Mary's, Oral Roberts and Incarnate Word. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 231-230 against all teams on the slate this season.

Next Up
Omaha travels to Port Charlotte, Fla., for six games at the 2015 Snowbird Classic. The Mavericks open the tournament against Saint Leo on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. (CT).