Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team picks conference play again this weekend, March 27-29, traveling to Oral Roberts for a crucial three-game series at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m., then 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Links to live audio, video and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
    
Quick Hits
•Omaha's game at Kansas State on Wednesday night was postponed due to rain. No makeup date has been announced.
•UNO's six-game winning streak marks its most consecutive wins since seven straight, May 10-17, 2014.
•Junior Alex Mortensen was named Summit League Player of the Week on Monday.
•The Mavericks have registered double-digit hits as a team in fourth straight games.
•Junior Cole Gruber has made a splash since his return to the lineup March 13, hitting in the No. 2 spot for the first time this year. He has hit .696 (16-for-23) there over the last six games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position. Gruber is also on a team-leading eight-game hitting streak entering the week.
•Head coach Bob Herold sits just nine wins away from earning his 500th career victory in 16 seasons of directing the Omaha program.
•Senior right-hander Zach Williamsen has broken into the top 10 in school history in a variety of pitching categories: batters faced (fourth - 810), games started (eighth - 28) and innings pitched (seventh - 182.0). Junior right-hander Tyler Fox is also in the top 10 for batters faced (sixth - 696), games started (seventh - 30), wins (ninth - 18) and innings pitched (ninth - 165.0).
•The Mavericks return 19 letterwinners and five All-Summit selections from a year ago: Gruber, Fox, senior Daniel Jewett and juniors Clayton Taylor and Alex Schultz. 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.
•UNO ended the 2014 season on a seven-game win streak, and in two years in the Summit League, the Mavericks have compiled a 41-15 record in conference play.
•UNO is 120-91 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 235-231 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts brings an overall record of 14-9 (5-1 Summit League) into this weekend's series. Earlier this week ORU prevailed over Arkansas-Little Rock, 15-2 in a non-conference game. Last weekend in league play, the Golden Eagles swept Fort Wayne in a three-game series with scores of 14-7, 10-5 and 12-4.  

Kurt Giller boasts a 2.78 ERA, which is the fourth-best in the Summit League. ORU's lineup includes four hitters batting at least .300: Audie Afenir (.357), Anthony Sequeira (.353), Rolando Martinez (.350) and Matt Whatley (.324). The Golden Eagles are led by head coach Ryan Folmar (Oklahoma State, 1997), who is in his third year with the program. Folmar holds a career record of 69-67.

This weekend marks the first meeting in program history between Omaha and Oral Roberts.

Last Time Out: Omaha Sweeps North Dakota State
Omaha hosted North Dakota State for a three-game conference series last weekend, sweeping the Bison at the Ballpark at Boys Town.

On Friday, junior Tyler Fox (3-1) earned the win, throwing 5.0 innings and allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight. Senior Cole Volkers recorded his third save of the year, allowing three hits over 1.2 scoreless innings with no walks and two strikeouts. Junior Clayton Taylor led Omaha's offensive attack, finishing 4-for-5 with four runs scored, five more driven in and a walk. He also hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season.

On Saturday, senior right-hander Zach Williamsen (3-2) earned the win, throwing 5.0 innings in his start. He allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out two. Juniors Alex Mortensen and Cole Gruber both tallied a trio of hits for the day. Mortensen finished 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored, while Gruber was 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in another run.

In Sunday's finale, sophomore Shane Meltz (2-2) recorded the win in relief, throwing 3.0 scoreless innings with four hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Gruber, Mortensen and senior Daniel Jewett led the offensive charge for the Mavericks. Gruber finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored, and Jewett was 4-for-5 with a run and two RBI. Mortensen went 3-for-5 with a run scored and four more driven in.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him leading the Summit League in batting average (.444) while also coming in second for stolen bases (10). Junior Clayton Taylor is also second in the conference in home runs (four), while senior right-hander Zach Williamsen is second in ERA (.265) and wins (three). Junior right-hander Tyler Fox matches Williamsen on the list with three wins, and senior southpaw Cole Volkers is second for saves (three).

Mortensen Named Summit League Player of the Week
Junior Alex Mortensen was honored as Summit League Baseball Co-Player of the Week for his performances March 16-22, the conference office announced Monday.

Mortensen, a product of Millard North, earns his first career Player of the Week award after driving in 12 runs in Omaha's three-game sweep of North Dakota State. He three hits with four RBI each in the final two games of the series and went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI in the series opener Friday. For the week, Mortensen batted .571 (8-for-14) with 12 RBI, three runs scored, a double and a sacrifice fly. He also recorded a .643 slugging percentage and .562 on-base percentage.

Senior right-handed pitchers Zach Williamsen (Feb. 23) and Tyler Hamer (March 2) also previously earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors, while junior Cole Gruber was Summit League Player of the Week (March 16).

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.

On Feb. 20, Fox picked up his first win of the season against Chicago State, limiting the Cougars to just three singles over 5.0 scoreless innings. His second win, secured on March 7 against North Dakota, and his third, vs. North Dakota State on March 20, now have him sitting at ninth in school history for career wins (18).

Hamer the Hammer
Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Hamer has issued the most strikeouts of any pitcher on the Maverick staff this season with 21 Ks. Over six appearances, the Elburn, Ill., native has gone 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA, and opponents are hitting just .211 against him.

On Feb. 21, Hamer was part of UNO's no-hit shutout of Chicago State, going 3.0 innings with a walk and four Ks. He earned his first win of the year with a complete-game victory over Boston College on Feb. 28, allowing one run on five hits in 9.0 innings with four strikeouts.

Production Up Top
Omaha's 1-4 batters in the lineup this year have produced a significant portion of the Mavericks' offense through 21 games, combining to hit .317. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 52 percent of UNO's hits, including 60 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 62 percent of all runs scored and 50 percent of all walks drawn.

Turning to the Bullpen
Omaha's bullpen has traditionally held its own late in the game, as the Mavericks are 420-34-1 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 11-0 when leading after the sixth.

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 5-1 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.

Offense Keying Wins
In the last three seasons in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Omaha has gone a combined 49-7 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 9-1 in such games.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 401-69-1 when outhitting the other team.

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 8-1 with a double-digit hit total. They keyed a season-best 19 hits most recently on March 15 against South Dakota State, sparking four straight games with double-digit hits.

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 491-330-2. 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.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2015 schedule includes 53 games against 18 different opponents, and the team will play in 11 states and three time zones across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from 13 other conferences: the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big Sky, Big Ten, Colonial, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, SEC, 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, Kentucky, Boston College, Mount St. Mary's, Oral Roberts and Incarnate Word. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 235-231 against all teams on the slate this season.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Wednesday, April 1, hosting in-state foe Nebraska. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Werner Park, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.