Leading Off
Continuing its eight-game road stretch, the Omaha baseball team visits in-state foe Nebraska this Wednesday, April 15, with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Neb. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com, and student broadcasters Adam Preister and Noah Sullinger will have the call on the MavRadio.fm broadcasts. Fans may also access the audio on their smartphones by downloading the TuneIn Radio app.
    
Quick Hits
•Junior Cole Gruber ranks second nationally with a .434 batting average. He is also third among Division I players with a .535 on-base percentage and 17th with 0.59 stolen bases per game.
•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 .525 (31-for-59) there over the last 17 games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position.
•Junior Alex Schultz hit .529 (9-for-17) for the week with three doubles, seven runs scored, two RBI, two walks drawn and a stolen base. He carries a team-leading nine-game hit streak into Wednesday's game.
•Head coach Bob Herold sits just six wins away from earning his 500th career victory in 16 seasons of directing the Omaha program.
•UNO's six-game win streak March 13-22 marked its most consecutive wins since seven straight, May 10-17, 2014.
•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 back this year 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 44-21 record in conference play.
•UNO is 123-97 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 238-239 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Nebraska Huskers
Nebraska brings a record of 26-11 (5-4 Big Ten) into the week after winning two of three in a weekend series at home against Minnesota. The Huskers dropped Friday's opener 3-0 before rebounding for a 7-4 win on Saturday and a 12-2 victory on Sunday. NU visits Creighton on Tuesday night before hosting Omaha on Wednesday.

The Huskers are led by head coach Darin Erstad (Nebraska, 1995) who holds a career record of 131-85 over four years in Lincoln.

Wednesday's game is the 63rd meeting between UNO and NU, and Nebraska leads the all-time series, 52-10. The two teams last met on April 1 at Werner Park, with the Huskers taking a 3-2 win in 10 innings.

Ethen Earns First Start
Junior right-hander Marcus Ethen is scheduled to make his first start of the season on Wednesday against Nebraska. This year, he has made eight mound appearances to go 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA. Ethen last took to the hill as a starter on May 17, 2014 at Western Illinois.

For his career, Ethen has compiled a record of 6-5 with a 5.11 ERA. As a starter, he has gone 4-3 with a 4.57 ERA and averages 2.83 strikeouts per game. In non-starting appearances, Ethen is 1-2 with a 6.05 ERA with 1.71 strikeouts per game.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Drop Two of Three in Fort Wayne Series
Omaha went 1-2 over a three-game series at Fort Wayne last weekend, falling 7-6 on Friday and 5-2 on Sunday while picking up a 13-3 win in eight innings on Saturday.

On Friday, junior right-hander Marcus Ethen (1-1) took the loss, giving up two runs on five hits with a trio of Ks in relief. Junior Cole Gruber paced Omaha offensively, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and another driven in. Redshirt freshman Ryan Cate matched Gruber with three more hits to go 3-for-5, while junior Alex Schultz had a double, scored twice and drove in another run.

On Saturday, Omaha evened the weekend series with the Mastodons, posting 17 hits en route to the victory. Six Maverick batters had multi-hit days at the plate: Schultz (3-for-5, three runs, one RBI), Gruber (3-for-4, two runs, two RBI), Cate (2-for-4, one run, three RBI), junior Clayton Taylor (2-for-4, two runs, three RBI), redshirt freshman Isaac Holt (2-for-4, two runs) and freshman Cole Patterson (2-for-4, two runs, one RBI). Senior right-hander Zach Williamsen (5-4) picked up his second win in as many outings, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

On Sunday, the loss went to senior right-hander Tyler Hamer (1-2), who gave up five runs on two hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work. At the plate, UNO was paced by Schultz, who finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him leading the Summit League and ranking second nationally with a .434 batting average, and he is second in stolen bases (16). Junior Alex Schultz is just behind Gruber for swiped bags, coming in fourth with 10 stolen bases, while junior Clayton Taylor is also second in the conference with four home runs this season.

On the pitching side, right-hander Zach Williamsen paces the Summit League with five wins, and right-hander Tyler Fox is second in the category with four.

Gruber Swiping Bags
Junior Cole Gruber has made a name for himself in the Summit League for his sneaky work on the basepaths, as he ranks second in the conference with 16 stolen bases. Now two-and-a-half years into his career, Gruber has worked his way up Omaha's career chart for swiped bags with 56 as a Maverick, which ranks third in school history. The Papillion-LaVista product is 14 away from tying former Maverick Jake Wurth (2001-04), who had 70.

Cracking Into the History Books
This season, senior right-handed pitcher Zach Williamsen has broken into the top 10 in school history in a variety of pitching categories: batters faced (fourth - 890), games started (eighth - 31) and innings pitched (sixth - 200.2).

Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox is in the top 10 for batters faced (sixth - 777), games started (seventh - 33), wins (seventh - 19) and innings pitched (seventh - 184.0).

Senior left-hander Cole Volkers also recently moved into the top 10 for saves, as he has four over his career.

Production Up Top
Omaha's 1-4 batters in the lineup this year have produced a significant portion of the Mavericks' offense through 25 games, combining to hit .318. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 52 percent of UNO's hits, including 65 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 61 percent of all runs scored, 56 percent of all RBI and 54 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 423-34-1 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 14-1 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 6-3 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 53-8 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 12-1 in such games.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 404-69-1 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 11-2 with a double-digit hit total. They keyed a season-best 19 hits 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 494-338-2. 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.

Next Up
Omaha travels to South Dakota State for a three-game league series this weekend, April 17-19, in Brookings, S.D. Friday's game is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch, followed by 1 p.m. start times on Saturday and Sunday. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.