Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team welcomes Western Illinois this weekend for a three-game conference series, April 3-5, at the Ballpark at Boys Town. First pitch all three days is set for 1 p.m., and links to live audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com. Student broadcasters Ryan Matheny and Adam Preister will have the call on the MavRadio.fm broadcasts, and fans may also access the audio on their smartphones by downloading the TuneIn Radio app.
    
Quick Hits
•UNO's six-game win streak was snapped last weekend after the Mavericks suffered a three-game sweep at Oral Roberts. The streak marked Omaha's most consecutive wins since seven straight, May 10-17, 2014.
•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 .487 (19-for-39) there over the last 10 games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position.
•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 - 827), games started (eighth - 29) and innings pitched (seventh - 185.0).
•Junior right-hander Tyler Fox is also in the top 10 for batters faced (sixth - 726), games started (seventh - 31), wins (ninth - 18) and innings pitched (eighth - 172.0).
•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 41-18 record in conference play.
•UNO is 120-94 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 235-235 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois brings a record of 8-15 (4-5 Summit League) into this weekend's series. The Leathernecks defeated No. 24 Iowa Wednesday evening at home, 16-5 in eight innings. Last weekend, WIU won two of three games against North Dakota State in Macomb, Ill., winning 1-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday before falling 10-2 on Sunday.

Ryan Brownlee (Evansville, 1997) is in his fourth season at Western Illinois and carries a career record of 48-84.

Omaha leads the all-time series against Western Illinois, 11-1. The two teams last played May 15-17, 2014, with the Mavericks sweeping four games in Macomb, Ill., to clinch the 2014 Summit League regular-season championship.

Last Time Out: Omaha Drops 3-2 Heartbreaker to Nebraska in Extras
The Omaha and Nebraska baseball teams clashed in their first meeting of the season on Wednesday night, with NU prevailing 3-2 in 10 innings in front of 4,183 fans at Werner Park.

Max Knutson (1-1) earned the win in relief, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and a strikeout. Senior right-hander Zach Williamsen was tagged with the loss in relief, going 2.2 innings with no walks and two strikeouts while allowing NU the go-ahead run on a solo homer in the top of the 10th. Josh Roeder picked up his ninth save of the year for Nebraska, tossing a scoreless, hitless final inning and striking out the side.

Junior Alex Schultz had an outstanding night at the plate for Omaha, finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two doubles and a solo home run -- his second roundtripper of the season. Junior Cole Gruber joined him with another multi-hit effort, going 2-for-4.

League Leaders
Junior Clayton Taylor leads the Summit League with four home runs this season, while junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him ranked second for both batting average (.392) and stolen bases (11). Junior Alex Schultz is just behind Gruber for swiped bags, coming in fourth with eight stolen bases. On the pitching side, right-handed pitchers Zach Williamsen and Tyler Fox are second for wins (three) , and senior southpaw Cole Volkers is second for saves (three).

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 11 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 51 as a Maverick, which ranks fourth in school history. The Papillion-LaVista product is just one away from tying former Maverick Patrick Johnston (2000-03), who had 52.

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). Fox leads the Omaha pitching staff with 23 strikeouts in 2015.

Hamer the Hammer
Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Hamer has issued the second-most strikeouts of any pitcher on the Maverick staff this season with 21 Ks. Over seven appearances, the Elburn, Ill., native has gone 1-0 with a 3.67 ERA, and opponents are hitting just .230 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 25 games, combining to hit .305. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 53 percent of UNO's hits, including 65 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 63 percent of all runs scored, 53 of all RBI and 50 percent of all walks drawn.

Home Sweet Home
The 2015 season will see Omaha play 23 home contests, including 15 conference tilts. UNO will play at three venues, with 18 games at the Ballpark at Boys Town, three this weekend that were moved to Millard North High School and a pair of premier games at Werner Park with Nebraska (April 1) and Kansas State (April 8).

Since moving to Division I in 2011-12, UNO has enjoyed a combined record of 33-21 at home.

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 11-1 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 5-2 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 491-334-2. 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 returns to action on Wednesday, April 8, hosting Kansas State at Werner Park. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.