Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team caps its eight-game road stretch Tuesday night, visiting crosstown rival Creighton. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park, and the game will be televised live on NET2 with Kevin Kugler and John Bishop providing play-by-play and analysis. 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. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.
    
Quick Hits
•Junior Cole Gruber is second in the nation with a .531 on-base percentage. He is also fourth among Division I players with a .429 batting average and 17th with 0.58 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 .500 (36-for-72) there over the last 21 games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position.
•Junior Clayton Taylor batted .471 last week with two runs scored, three RBI, a triple and his team-leading fifth home run of the season. He and junior Alex Mortensen are both on seven-game hitting streaks entering Tuesday.
•Mortensen and junior Alex Schultz are both on 13-game reaching base streaks coming into the week.
•Head coach Bob Herold sits just five 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 124-99 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 239-241 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Creighton brings a record of 21-11 (6-2 BIG EAST) into Tuesday night and has won six of its last eight games. The Bluejays fell 7-6 at Nebraska last week before splitting with St. John's over the weekend with a 6-0 shutout victory and a 4-1 loss.

CU is led by head coach Ed Servais (UW-LaCrosse, 1981), who holds a record of 410-241-1 over 12 years guiding the Jays and a career mark of 592-323-2 over 20 years of coaching.

Creighton leads the all-time series against Omaha, 48-30. The two teams last played on CU's home field on April 22, 2014, with the Mavericks picking up a 4-1 win -- their second straight in the series.

Larson Draws First Start
Sophomore right-hander Mitch Larson is slated to start on the mound against Creighton Tuesday night. For the season, he has gone 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in five appearances. Last week at Nebraska, Larson threw two innings of scoreless ball, striking out a career-high five while allowing two hits and two walks.

Larson's last start came as a freshman on May 13, 2014 against Stephen F. Austin. In 2014, he went 1-1 with a 4.44 ERA, making nine appearances with five starts.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Drop Two in Three-Game Series at South Dakota State
Omaha visited South Dakota State for a three-game series last weekend, falling 5-1 on Friday and 12-2 in seven innings on Sunday with an 8-6 win on Saturday.

On Friday, junior right-hander Tyler Fox (4-3) took the loss on the mound, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks over 6.0 innings pitched. Fox struck out six for the day. Three Mavericks had multiple hits for the afternoon, with two hits apiece from freshman Isaac Holt (2-for-4, one run) and juniors Alex Mortensen (2-for-4) and Collin Leif (2-for-3, one RBI).

On Saturday, senior right-hander Zach Williamsen (6-4) earned his league-leading sixth win of the season in the start. The Omaha native tossed 5.0 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Brett Sasse picked up his second save of the year, surrendering one run on one hit and a walk with two strikeouts in the final inning. Taylor led Omaha at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a run scored. Junior Alex Schultz was also 2-for-5 with a run and two RBI, while Gruber had a hit, scored twice and drove in two more runs.

On Sunday, Taylor and senior Justin Threlkeld led the Mavericks at the plate, going an identical 2-for-3. Taylor also scored once and drove in two runs with his two-run homer in the seventh. The loss went to sophomore right-hander Shane Meltz (2-3), who surrendered nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him pacing the Summit League with a .429 batting average and a .531 on-base percentage. He is also second in stolen bases (18), followed closely by junior Alex Schultz, who is fourth with 10 swiped bags.

On the pitching side, right-hander Zach Williamsen paces the Summit League with six wins.

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 18 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 58 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 - 914), games started (eighth - 32) and innings pitched (sixth - 205.2).

Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox is in the top 10 for batters faced (fifth - 803), games started (fifth - 34), wins (seventh - 19) and innings pitched (seventh - 190.0).

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, combining to hit .317. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 52 percent of UNO's hits, including 66 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 60 percent of all runs scored, 58 percent of all RBI and 53 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 424-34-1 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 15-1 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 7-3 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 53-9 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 12-2 in such games.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 404-70-1 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 12-3 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 495-341-2. 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.

Going Up On a Tuesday
Omaha is undefeated when playing on a Tuesday this season, as the Mavericks are 1-0. The lone Tuesday win was a 6-4 decision at Wichita State, where UNO broke through a 4-4 tie in the top of the ninth.

Next Up
Omaha hosts Fort Wayne for a three-game series at the Ballpark at Boys Town, April 24-26. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. all three days, and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.