Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team welcomes Kansas State for a non-conference contest this Wednesday, April 8, hosting the Wildcats at Werner Park. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., and the game will be televised live on Cox Kansas, Cox Channel Omaha in Omaha and Time Warner Cable Sports Channel in Lincoln.

Links to live audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com. Student broadcasters Adam Preister and Noah Sullinger 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 led Omaha at the plate over four games last week, hitting .571 (8-for-14). He had a double, a triple, four runs scored, two RBI and six walks drawn. Gruber also went a perfect 4-for-4 on the basepaths and moved up to third in school history in stolen bases.
•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 .510 (25-for-49) there over the last 13 games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position.
•UNO's six-game win streak March 13-22 marked its most consecutive wins since seven straight, May 10-17, 2014.
•Head coach Bob Herold sits just seven 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 - 862), games started (eighth - 30) and innings pitched (sixth - 193.2).
•Junior right-hander Tyler Fox is also in the top 10 for batters faced (sixth - 752), games started (seventh - 32), wins (seventh - 19) and innings pitched (eighth - 179.0).
•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 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 43-19 record in conference play.
•UNO is 122-95 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 237-236 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State brings a record of 13-16 (2-7 Big 12) into the week, and the Wildcats host Nebraska on Tuesday night before visiting Werner Park on Wednesday. Last weekend, K-State dropped two of three in a Big 12 series against West Virginia, winning 8-2 on Thursday before falling 5-3 and 3-2 on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Brad Hill (Emporia State, 1985) is in his 12th season at Kansas State, carrying a record of 376-289-3 at the school and a career mark of 794-380-3 over 21 years as a head coach.

Wednesday's game between Omaha and K-State will be the eighth meeting between the schools, and the Wildcats lead the all-time series 7-1. UNO won the last meeting at Werner Park on April 1, 2014, when Alex Schultz's RBI single in the bottom of the 10th scored Cole Gruber for the 6-5 walkoff victory.

Last Time Out: Mavs Take Two of Three From Leathernecks
Omaha hosted Western Illinois for a three-game series last weekend at the Ballpark at Boys Town. The Mavericks won the opener on Friday, 4-1, before WIU took the second game on Saturday, 8-4. UNO closed the weekend with a 17-8 victory in Sunday's finale.

On Friday, Gruber finished 4-for-4 at the plate to lead Omaha, drawing a walk, scoring once and driving in another run. The Papillion-LaVista product also had three stolen bases. Junior right-hander Tyler Fox (4-2) earned the win on the mound, throwing a season-high tying 7.0 innings and allowing one run on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

On Saturday, senior right-hander Tyler Hamer (1-1) took the loss, surrendering two runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work. Junior Alex Mortensen was the only Omaha batter to tally more than one hit for the day, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

In Sunday's finale, Williamsen (4-4) recorded the win on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk over 6.0 innings, all while striking out a career-high nine. Six Mavericks had multi-hit performances: juniors Clayton Taylor (2-for-4, three runs, two RBI) and Collin Leif (2-for-4, three runs, two RBI), Schultz (2-for-4, two runs, one RBI), Gruber (2-for-3), two runs, one RBI) and seniors Daniel Jewett (2-for-2, two runs) and Justin Threlkeld (2-for-4, one run, one RBI).

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him leading the Summit League with a .416 batting average, and he is second in stolen bases (15). Junior Alex Schultz is just behind Gruber for swiped bags, coming in fourth with nine stolen bases, while junior Clayton Taylor is also second in the conference with four home runs this season.

On the pitching side, right-handed pitchers Zach Williamsen and Tyler Fox are second for wins (four), 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 15 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 55 as a Maverick, which ranks third in school history. The Papillion-LaVista product is 15 away from tying former Maverick Jake Wurth (2001-04), who had 70.

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 .309. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 52 percent of UNO's hits, including 66 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 62 percent of all runs scored, 55 percent of all RBI and 51 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 35-22 at home.

Turning to the Bullpen
Omaha's bullpen has traditionally held its own late in the game, as the Mavericks are 422-34-1 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 13-1 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 6-2 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 11-1 in such games.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 403-69-1 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 10-1 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 493-335-2. 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 April 10-12, traveling to Fort Wayne for a three-game series in Fort Wayne, Ind. First pitch on Friday is set for 2 p.m. (CT), followed by a 1 p.m. (CT) game on Saturday and a Noon (CT) contest on Sunday. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.