Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team begins an eight-game road stretch this weekend, traveling to Fort Wayne for a three-game series April 10-12 at Mastodon Field 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) finale on Sunday. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
    
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 .490 (25-for-51) there over the last 14 games, as compared to .300 (12-for-40) from the leadoff position.
•Senior Daniel Jewett totes a nine-game reaching base streak with him into this weekend's series, while junior Alex Schultz is on a six-game hitting streak.
•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).
•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, 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 237-237 against all opponents on the schedule this year.

Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne brings a record of 14-14 (4-8 Summit League) into the weekend after an 8-1 home win over Indiana Tech on Wednesday. Last weekend, IPFW won two of three in a league series against North Dakota State, winning 4-3 on Friday and 8-0 on Saturday before falling 18-7 on Sunday. Right-hander Ryan Wells was subsequently honored as Summit League Pitcher of the Week on Monday after his complete-game shutout of the Bison in Saturday's victory.
    
Bobby Pierce (New Mexico State, 2001) is in his seventh season at Fort Wayne, carrying a record of 118-232 at the school and a career mark of 173-286 over nine years as a head coach.

Wednesday's game between Omaha and IPFW will be the 16th meeting between the schools, and the Mastodons lead the all-time series 8-7. UNO won three out of four in the last series against the Mastodons, May 9-10, 2014. A doubleheader split on May 9 saw the Mavericks win game one, 6-3, before IPFW took the second game, 5-3 in 10 innings. In another doubleheader on May 10, Omaha won both, 8-5 and 13-6.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Drop 10-2 Decision to K-State
Omaha hosted Kansas State in non-conference play Wednesday night, falling 10-2 at Werner Park. Junior Alex Schultz finished 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored to lead the Mavericks at the plate. Senior Justin Threlkeld also had a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-4.

Reliever Lucas Benenati (1-0) notched the win for K-State, allowing one hit and a walk with three strikeouts over 2.0 innings. Junior Mitch Larson (0-1) was tagged with the loss, surrendering the go-ahead run on one hit and a walk in 2.0 innings with one strikeout.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him leading the Summit League with a .407 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.

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 last weekend's victory over Western Illinois, he now sits at seventh in school history for career wins (19). Fox is second on the Omaha pitching staff with 29 strikeouts in 2015.

Hamer the Hammer
Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Hamer has issued the third-most strikeouts of any pitcher on the Maverick staff this season with 24 Ks. Over seven appearances, the Elburn, Ill., native has gone 1-1 with a 3.66 ERA, and opponents are hitting just .226 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 .307. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 51 percent of UNO's hits, including 67 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 62 percent of all runs scored, 53 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 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 493-336-2. 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.

Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2015 schedule includes 53 games against 18 different opponents, and the team will play in 11 states and three time zones across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from 13 other conferences: the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big Sky, Big Ten, Colonial, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, SEC, Southland, Sunshine State and WAC.

Two foes -- North Dakota State and Nebraska -- were 2014 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. NDSU, which finished fifth in the Summit League's regular-season standings and went on to win the tournament championship for a berth to the NCAA Tournament, lost to Oregon State and UNLV in the Corvallis Regional. Nebraska played in the Stillwater Regional, where it defeated Binghamton and lost twice to Cal State Fullerton.

Additionally, three opponents finished in the top 100 for RPI in 2014: Nebraska (No. 32), Creighton (No. 70) and Oral Roberts (No. 96).

The Mavericks have never faced six of their 2015 opponents: Saint Leo, Kentucky, Boston College, Mount St. Mary's, Oral Roberts and Incarnate Word. Through April 8, Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 237-237 against all teams on the slate this season.

Next Up
Omaha visits in-state rival Nebraska on Wednesday, April 15. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Neb., and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.