OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha softball teams wraps up its eight-game home stand this weekend, welcoming defending Summit League champions North Dakota State for three Summit League games.  The series starts with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 28 with games set to start at noon and 2:00 p.m.  The series will wrap up on Sunday, March 29 with a single game starting at 11:00 a.m.  Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.

Leading off for Omaha

• As a team, the Mavericks are batting .252 on the season, but own a .311 average in Summit League play.
• Omaha is off to its best home start since starting the transition to Division I status in 2011-12.
• UNO has outscored its opponents 126-102 this season which ranks second overall in league play.  Among its 15 wins this season, Omaha has recorded four run-rule victories, five come-from-behind wins and two decisions in its favor in extra innings.
• Omaha has smashed 25 homeruns this season and allowed only 12.
• Over the past five games, Omaha pitching has a 5-0 record with three earned runs on 14 hits with 32 strikeouts.  During that span, Maverick pitchers have thrown three one-hitters.
• Head coach Jeanne Scarpello is three wins away from earning her 650th career victory in 16 seasons of leading the Maverick program.

D.Y.K.?  (Did You Know?)

1. Pitcher Kat Barrow went 3-0 last week for Omaha.  Barrow pitched 23 innings allowing 12 hits and three earned runs with 21 strikeouts.
2. Pitcher Jaylee Hinrichs was 2-0 last week with a pair of one-hitters and was named the Summit League Pitcher of the week for the second time this season.  Hinrichs pitched in 11 innings allowing two hits and no earned runs with 12 strikeouts.
3. Allie Mathewson hit .412 last week with a pair of doubles and four RBIs.  Mathewson also stole a base and scored four runs.
4. Nicole Warren hit two homeruns last week and drove in four runs.  Warren hit .286 for the week.
5. Campbell Ditto hit a walk-off two-run home run to clinch game one against Northern Colorado last week.

About the Mavericks

Omaha wraps up an eight-game home stand this weekend with a three game series against defending Summit League champs, North Dakota State.  The Mavericks have opened its home slate with an unblemished 5-0 record after sweeping Northern Colorado in a midweek non-conference series and Fort Wayne in its conference opener over the weekend.

Three Mavericks are hitting above .300 and sophomore Lia Mancuso leads the offensive charge with a .329 average.  Campbell Ditto leads the squad with six homeruns, while Allie Mathewson has five on the season.  Ditto and Mathewson are also one-two in slugging percentage, while Mathewson leads the Mavs with ten stolen bases.  Tonya Peterson is batting .315 on the season and has a team high 21 RBIs with a .534 slugging percentage.

Collectively, the Mavericks are hitting .253 with 27 doubles, four triples, 25 homeruns and 120 RBIs.  Omaha has a .415 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .335.  UNO is 31-for-35 in stolen base attempts and has drawn a total of 68 walks.  The Mavericks' pitching staff has posted a 3.97 ERA, good for the third-lowest mark in the league, in 177 innings of work while striking out 122 and allowing 59 walks.  In the circle, Omaha has four shut-outs and has allowed only three runs over the past 34 innings of work.  UNO threw back-to-back shutouts last weekend against Fort Wayne.

Mastering the Summit

• Catcher Campbell Ditto is tied for third in the Summit League with six homeruns.
• Allie Mathewson is fourth in the league with 24 runs scored and sixth in stolen bases with 10.
• Pitcher Kat Barrow is second in the league with a 1.80 ERA and is tied for third with seven wins.
• Additionally, Barrow is ranked fourth in strikeouts with 62.
• Pitcher Jaylee Hinrichs is fourth in the league with six wins on the season.
• Tonya Peterson leads the league in drawing walks with 17 and sixth in RBIs with 21.

Series Information

Omaha and North Dakota State will be meeting for the 50^th time in series this weekend.  In the series history, the Mavericks own a 35-15 advantage over the Bison.  Last season, the two teams split a pair of games in Omaha.  NDSU won the opening game 4-3, before UNO responded with a 1-0 win.

A Look at the Bison

North Dakota State has a 23-5 record and a 3-0 mark in the Summit League.  NDSU has won three straight regular season Summit League titles and five out of the last six post season tournament titles.

NDSU features six players who are batting over .300, including two who are hitting over .400 on the season.  The Bison also feature four players that have over 10 stolen bases.  Amanda Grable leads the team with a .463 average with 10 doubles and 24 RBIs.  Logan Moreland is batting .404 this season with 16 RBI and 11 stolen bases.  Cheyenne Garcia and Alyssa Reina each have seven homers to lead the team.  In the circle, Krista Menke owns a team best 16-2 record with three saves in 22 appearances.  Menke has a 2.17 ERA with 210 strikeouts on the season.

Darren Mueller is in his 14^th season leading the NDSU softball program.  Muller sports a 481-261 all-time record at North Dakota State.

On Deck

Omaha hits the road for five games next week, starting with a doubleheader in Wichita, Kan. against Wichita State.  First pitch from Wilkins Stadium is set for 3:00 p.m.