Leading Off
Continuing its eight-game road stretch, the Omaha baseball team travels to South Dakota State for a three-game weekend series, April 17-19, at Erv Huether Field in Brookings, S.D. Friday's game is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch, while Saturday and Sunday's matchups will start at 1 p.m. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
•Junior Cole Gruber leads the nation with a .545 on-base percentage. He is also second among Division I players with a .447 batting average, behind only Arizona's Scott Kingery (.463), as well as 19th 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 .540 (34-for-63) there over the last 18 games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position.
•Junior Alex Schultz hit .529 (9-for-17) over four games last week with three doubles, seven runs scored, two RBI, two walks drawn and a stolen base. He carries a team-leading 10-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, Schultz, senior Daniel Jewett and juniors Tyler Fox and Clayton Taylor. 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 238-240 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
South Dakota State brings a record of 22-13 (8-6 Summit League) into the weekend and carries a seven-game win streak. The Jackrabbits defeated North Dakota 21-7 on Tuesday and Dakota State 5-1 on Wednesday. Last weekend, SDSU swept a three-game series from North Dakota State, 5-2, 5-4 and 13-5 at home.

The Jacks are led by head coach Dave Schrage (Creighton, 1983), who holds a record of 103-99-1 over four years in Brookings and a career mark of 637-690-2 over 24 years of coaching.

Omaha leads the all-time series with South Dakota State, 75-63-1. The Mavericks swept a three-game series with the Jackrabbits earlier this year at the Ballpark at Boys Town, March 13-15. UNO won 6-4, 7-6 and 14-7 to start 3-0 in conference play at the time.

More From Meltz
Sophomore right-hander Shane Meltz is scheduled to rejoin the weekend rotation this weekend, taking the mound as Omaha's Sunday starter. For the season, he has gone 2-2 with a 3.25 ERA in eight appearances.

Meltz's last weekend start came on Feb. 15 against North Dakota State. He has more recently made back-to-back midweek starts against Nebraska (April 1) and Kansas State (April 8), throwing a season-long 5.0 innings in both outings. Over those last two appearances, Meltz has compiled a 1.80 ERA and allowed just one extra-base hit.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall at No. 23 Nebraska, 8-6
The Omaha baseball team dropped the second game of its season series with No. 23 Nebraska on Wednesday night, falling 8-6 at Haymarket Park. Jake Meyers (3-1) earned the win for Nebraska, throwing 3.0 innings of relief and allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk. The loss went to senior right-hander Tyler Hamer (1-3), who threw the final inning and giving up two runs on three hits. Nate Fisher picked up his first save of the year, allowing one hit in one inning of work.

Junior Cole Gruber finished 3-for-4 to lead the Mavericks, scoring once and drawing a walk. The Papillion-LaVista product entered the night with a .434 batting average, which ranked second nationally, and raised his mark to .447.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him pacing the Summit League with a nation-leading .447 batting average and a No.-2-nationally .545 on-base percentage. He is also second in stolen bases (16), followed closely by junior Alex Schultz, who is fourth with 10 swiped bags. Additionally, junior Clayton Taylor is 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.

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. He earned his second on March 7 against North Dakota, and secured his third, vs. North Dakota State on March 20. With his victory over Western Illinois, he now sits at seventh in school history for career wins (19). Fox is second on the Omaha pitching staff with 34 strikeouts in 2015.

Production Up Top
Omaha's 1-4 batters in the lineup this year have produced a significant portion of the Mavericks' offense, combining to hit .321. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 52 percent of UNO's hits, including 65 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 60 percent of all runs scored, 57 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 11-3 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 494-339-2. 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 visits crosstown rival Creighton on Tuesday, April 21, with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.