Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team concludes the 2015 season this weekend with a three-game non-conference series against Incarnate Word, May 21-23, at the Ballpark at Boys Town. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. each day, and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com. Student broadcasters Noah Sullinger, Alex Abler and Matt Barros 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.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early on Saturday, as Senior Day festivities are scheduled just before the start of the game, when Omaha will honor its six seniors: Andrew Buehler, Tyler Hamer, Daniel Jewett, Justin Threlkeld, Cole Volkers and Zach Williamsen.
    
Quick Hits
•This weekend marks the final games of Omaha's required four-year NCAA Division I reclassification period, which began in 2012. At the conclusion Saturday, the Mavericks will have played 200 games during their transition. They own a combined record of 89-108 over the last four seasons.
•Junior Cole Gruber is 10th in the nation with a .493 on-base percentage. He is also 16th among Division I players with a .389 batting average and 37th with 0.48 stolen bases per game.
•Gruber has made a splash since his return to the lineup March 13, when he moved to the No. 2 spot. He has hit .418 (51-for-122) there over the last 33 games, as compared to a previous .300 (12-for-40) mark from the leadoff position.
•Junior Alex Schultz saw his 23-game reaching base streak come to an end last weekend, the longest stretch of any Maverick this season.
•Schultz recently moved into the top 10 in school history for career at-bats, as his 537 at-bats rank ninth all-time.
•Junior right-hander Tyler Fox's career-high 13 strikeouts against Fort Wayne on April 24 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 three 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 returned 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 were the most of any team in the Summit League.
•UNO is 126-109 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League and 241-253 against all opponents on the schedule this year. The Mavericks have compiled a 46-31 record in Summit League play since 2012-13.

Scouting the Incarnate Word Cardinals
Incarnate Word carries a record of 20-31 (11-19 Southland) into the final week of the season play after a three-game series at Abilene Christian last weekend. The Cardinals dropped the first two games of the series, 4-3 in 12 innings on Thursday and 9-8 on Friday, before rebounding for a 9-8 victory on Saturday.

Head coach Danny Heep (St. Mary's (Texas), 1978) is in his 18th season at UIW and owns a career record of 567-397. Heep has led his team in the midst of its Division I reclassification, which began in 2013-14.

This weekend marks the first matchup in school history between Omaha and Incarnate Word.

Four Mavericks Tabbed All-Summit
Four Omaha players were named to the 2015 All-Summit Baseball Team, the Summit League office announced Tuesday evening. The first team included junior outfielder Cole Gruber and junior infielder Clayton Taylor, while senior right-handed pitcher Zach Williamsen and junior utility player Alex Schultz were selected to the second team.

The Mavericks had three repeat all-conference picks in Taylor, Gruber and Schultz. Taylor earned second-team recognition in 2013 and first-team honors in 2014, while Gruber and Schultz were second-team honorees in 2014.

Last Weekend: Mavericks Cap League Play at North Dakota State
Omaha completed Summit League play last weekend, going 1-2 at North Dakota State. The Mavericks opened with a Friday doubleheader, winning 3-2 in 10 innings in game one before falling 8-1 in game two. On Saturday, UNO dropped a 5-4 loss on a walkoff in the bottom of the 12th inning.

In Friday's first game, junior Cole Gruber was a perfect 3-for-3 with one run driven in. Freshman Adam Caniglia matched Gruber with another trio of hits, going 3-for-5 with an RBI, and junior Clayton Taylor added two more hits for the afternoon. The win went to sophomore right-hander Shane Meltz (3-3) in relief, as he allowed one run on two hits with a strikeout in 2.0 innings of work. Junior right-hander Tyler Fox had the start, tossing 8.0 innings and keeping the Bison to one run with 11 hits, a walk and five Ks. Redshirt freshman Ryan Cate then shined offensively in Friday's nightcap, going 3-for-4 with a run scored.

On Saturday, sophomore right-hander Brett Sasse threw 5.0 innings in his start, limiting NDSU to three hits and a walk with one strikeout. Redshirt freshman Isaac Holt led the Mavericks with a 3-for-4 effort, scoring once. Caniglia tallied his second game of the weekend with three hits, finishing 3-for-5 and scoring once, and junior Alex Schultz added a 2-for-5 performance with an RBI.

For the week, Caniglia batted .538 (7-for-13) with a double, a run scored and two RBI.

League Leaders
Junior Cole Gruber's recent offensive push has him pacing the Summit League with a .389 batting average and a .493 on-base percentage. He is also second in stolen bases (21), followed by junior Alex Schultz, who is fourth with 11 swiped bags.

On the pitching side, senior right-hander Zach Williamsen is fourth in the conference with seven wins, and junior right-hander is first in innings pitched (84.2) and fifth in strikeouts (70).

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 20 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 61 as a Maverick, which ranks third in school history. The Papillion-LaVista product is nine 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 (third - 1,056), games started (fifth - 36), innings pitched (fifth - 229.1) and appearances (eighth - 49).

Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox is in the top 10 for batters faced (sixth - 921), games started (fourth - 38), wins (seventh - 19) and innings pitched (sixth - 219.2).

Senior left-hander Cole Volkers also moved into the top 10 for saves earlier this year, 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 on April 24, holding the Mastodons to one run on four hits and a walk with his career-best 13 strikeouts. He now leads the Omaha pitching staff with 70 Ks in 2015 and has thrown a team-high 84.2 innings.

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 .303. The 1-4 hitters have accounted for 51 percent of UNO's hits, including 60 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 58 percent of all runs scored, 56 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 15 games at the Ballpark at Boys Town, six the 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 35-29 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 497-352-2. 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 241-253 against all teams on the slate this season.