Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team returns home this weekend after eight straight road games, hosting Fort Wayne at the Ballpark at Boys Town, April 24-26. All three games are set for a 1 p.m. first pitch, and links to live stats and audio 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
•Junior Cole Gruber is third in the nation with a .523 on-base percentage. He is also fifth among Division I players with a .422 batting average and 21st with 0.56 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 .487 (37-for-76) 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 eight-game hitting streaks entering this weekend.
•Mortensen and junior Alex Schultz are both on 14-game reaching base streaks coming into the weekend, the longest of any Mavericks this season.
•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 239-242 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne brings a record of 21-16 (9-9 Summit League) and a four-game win streak to Omaha after a 24-8 home victory over Holy Cross (Ind.) on Wednesday. Last weekend, IPFW swept a three-game home series against Western Illinois, winning 5-2 on Friday, 3-2 on Saturday and 7-1 on Sunday.

Bobby Pierce (New Mexico State, 2001) is in his seventh season at Fort Wayne, carrying a record of 125-234 at the school and a career mark of 180-288 over nine years as a head coach.

The Mastodons lead the all-time series with Omaha, 10-8. IPFW won two of three in the last series against the Mavericks, April 10-12. In the opener, Fort Wayne earned a 7-6 win, followed by a 13-3 Omaha triumph in eight innings on Saturday. The Mastodons claimed the weekend finale on Sunday, 5-2.

Last Time Out: Creighton Tops Omaha in Midweek Tilt, 8-2
Omaha visited crosstown rival Creighton for a midweek game on Tuesday night, falling 8-2 at TD Ameritrade Park. In a game in which the Jays used 10 pitchers, Matt Warren (3-2) earned the win by throwing one hitless, scoreless inning to start. Sophomore right-hander Mitch Larson (0-2) was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks over 1.2 innings while striking out two.

No Maverick tallied more than one hit for the night. Senior Daniel Jewett and junior Alex Schultz finished an identical 1-for-4 and drove in a run apiece, while junior Cole Gruber was 1-for-4 with a run scored.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him pacing the Summit League with a .422 batting average and a .523 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.

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 on April 3, he now sits at seventh in school history for career wins (19). Fox is second on the Omaha pitching staff with 40 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 .316. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 52 percent of UNO's hits, including 67 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 60 percent of all runs scored, 58 percent of all RBI and 52 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 the first 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 35-23 at home.

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 495-342-2. 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 hosts Oral Roberts for a three-game series at the Ballpark at Boys Town, May 1-3. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. all three days, and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.