Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team plays host to a three-game series with Summit League leader Oral Roberts this weekend at the Ballpark at Boys Town, May 1-3. 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 sixth in the nation with a .516 on-base percentage. He is also eighth among Division I players with a .408 batting average and 30th with 0.51 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 .459 (39-for-85) there over the last 24 games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position.
•Junior Alex Schultz is on 17-game reaching base streak coming into the weekend, the longest of any Maverick this season.
•Junior right-hander Tyler Fox's career-high 13 strikeouts last Friday marked the most strikeouts by a Maverick hurler in UNO's four-year Division I era and was the highest single-game total since Joe Holtmeyer had 16 against Truman on March 22, 2010.
•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, Fox, senior Daniel Jewett and junior 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 44-24 record in conference play.
•UNO is 124-102 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 239-245 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
League leader Oral Roberts brings a record of 29-13 (16-5 Summit League) to Omaha after an 8-7 home victory over South Dakota State in 10 innings last Sunday. Last weekend, the Jacks took two of three against ORU in Tulsa, winning 7-2 on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday.

Ryan Folmar (Oklahoma State, 1994) is in his third season at Oral Roberts, carrying a career record of 84-71.

The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series with Omaha, 3-0. ORU swept a weekend series earlier this season in Tulsa, March 27-29, with wins of 2-0, 11-1 and 14-6.

Last Time Out: Fort Wayne Sweeps Past Mavericks
Omaha dropped a three-game home series with Fort Wayne last weekend, falling 5-2, 10-6 and 7-1 at the Ballpark at Boys Town.

Junior right-hander Tyler Fox settled for a no-decision in his 7.0-inning start on Friday, holding IPFW to one run on four hits and a walk while issuing a career-best 13 strikeouts. Senior Daniel Jewett and junior Collin Leif led the Mavericks at the plate on Friday with two hits apiece, with Jewett finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored and Leif going 2-for-3. Redshirt freshman Ryan Cate also crushed the first home run of his young career with a two-run shot to left in the fourth.

On Saturday, three Mavericks had multi-hit efforts: Jewett (2-for-5, two RBI), junior Clayton Taylor (2-for-5, one run, two RBI) and redshirt freshman Ryan Cate (2-for-4, one run, one RBI). Junior Cole Gruber also had a hit and scored three times for the day.

On Sunday, Taylor led UNO offensively with a 2-for-4 afternoon.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him pacing the Summit League with a .408 batting average and a .516 on-base percentage. He is also second in stolen bases (18), followed by junior Alex Schultz, who is fifth 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 - 936), games started (ninth - 33), innings pitched (sixth - 205.2) and appearances (10th - 46).

Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox is in the top 10 for batters faced (sixth - 829), games started (eighth - 35), wins (seventh - 19) and innings pitched (eighth - 197.0).

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, secured his third vs. North Dakota State on March 20 and grabbed his fourth over Western Illinois on April 3, which put him at seventh in school history for career wins (19).

Fox settled for a no-decision against Fort Wayne last Friday, holding the Mastodons to one run on four hits and a walk with his career-best 13 strikeouts. After that performance, he leads the Omaha pitching staff with 53 Ks 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 .309. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 51 percent of UNO's hits, including 64 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 60 percent of all runs scored, 57 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 35-26 at home.

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 495-345-2. 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 Macomb, Ill., for a three-game league series with Western Illinois, May 8-10. First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m., followed by Noon games on both Saturday and Sunday. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.