Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team returns to Georgia for its third weekend at the Perfect Game Spring Swing, March 11-13, for four games over three days. The Mavericks open Friday with Iowa at 2:30 p.m. (CT), followed by two games on Saturday with Presbyterian at 1:30 p.m. (CT) and Bowling Green at 5:30 p.m. (CT). UNO closes the weekend on Sunday against Seton Hall at 9 a.m. (CT). When available, live stats and audio will be linked on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
•Omaha is on an 18-game opening road stretch, its most away from home to start a season since 21 straight in 2009.
•Senior outfielder Cole Gruber became Omaha's all-time career stolen base leader Wednesday with his 72nd and 73rd swiped bags at Air Force.
•With 18 hits on both Tuesday and Wednesday at Air Force, the Mavericks hit .434 as a team in their last two games.
•On Feb. 20, head coach Bob Herold earned his 500th career victory in 17 seasons of directing the Omaha program.
•The 2016 season marks Omaha's first with full NCAA Division I postseason eligibility for the Summit League and NCAA Tournaments. The Mavericks completed a required four-year Division I reclassification period from 2012 to 2015.
•The Mavericks return 18 letterwinners, including five position starters: Gruber, senior infielder Clayton Taylor, senior outfielder Alex Schultz, senior catcher Collin Leif and sophomore infielder Ryan Cate. Two starting pitchers also return with senior right-hander Tyler Fox and junior right-hander Shane Meltz.
•Four All-Summit selections highlight the Mavericks' returning corps with Taylor, Gruber, Schultz and Fox.
•UNO was picked fourth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Omaha is 219-245 against all opponents on the schedule this year and 126-109 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled a 46-31 record in Summit League play since 2012-13.

Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa enters the weekend with a record of 4-6 (0-0 Big Ten) after a 28-0 routing of Northwestern College in seven innings on Tuesday. Joel Booker leads the Hawkeyes with a .359 batting average, while Nick Roscetti is also hitting .357 with team highs of eight RBI and 11 runs scored.

Head coach Rick Heller (Upper Iowa, 1986) is in his third season at Iowa with a record of 75-47 and a career mark of 765-612-4 over 29 years. Iowa leads the all-time series against Omaha, 7-4, and took the last matchup 7-1 on Feb. 23, 2014 in Port Charlotte, Fla.

Scouting the Presbyterian Blue Hose
Presbyterian enters the weekend with a record of 7-4 (0-0 Big South) after falling 10-9 at Western Carolina on Tuesday. Four PC players are hitting above .300, led by Peter Johnson's .515 batting average. Weston Jackson also comes in at .405 with a team-high 12 runs driven in.

Head coach Elton Pollock (Presbyterian, 1995) is in his 12th season at with the Blue Hose, carrying a career record of 220-393-1. Saturday marks the first meeting between Omaha and Presbyterian.

Scouting the Bowling Green Falcons
Bowling Green enters the weekend with a record of 5-6 (0-0 MAC) after splitting two midweek games with Alabama State at the Perfect Game Spring Swing, winning 7-4 on Tuesday and falling 11-3 on Wednesday. Cody Callaway is batting a team-leading .333 with team bests of five doubles and five RBI to lead BGU.

Head coach Danny Schmitz (Eastern Michigan, 1979) is in his 26th season at Bowling Green with a career record of 667-643-5. Saturday marks the first meeting between Omaha and Bowling Green.

Scouting the Seton Hall Pirates
Seton Hall enters the weekend with a record of 6-6 (0-0 BIG EAST) after a 9-2 win over NJIT Wednesday. Five Pirates are hitting above .300 this season, led by Mikael-Ali Mogues's .375 average with eight runs scored and eight RBI.

Head coach Rob Sheppard (Seton Hall, 1992) is in his 13th season at SHU with a career record of 325-320-2. Sunday marks the first meeting between Omaha and Seton Hall.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Drop Slugfest at Air Force, 18-10
Wednesday afternoon was a slugfest with a combined 37 hits between the Omaha and Air Force baseball teams, as UNO fell 18-10 at Falcon Field in a midweek matchup.  Senior Cole Gruber finished 4-for-6 on the day, scoring once and driving in another run. The Papillion-LaVista product also had two stolen bases to claim Omaha's career stolen bases record, as his 73 swiped bags passed former Maverick Bryan Frew's 72 from 2005-08.

Sophomore Ryan Cate went 3-for-6 with a run and four RBI, highlighted by his three-run home run in the sixth inning. It marked his second roundtripper of the season, and the Omaha native was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

Senior Alex Schultz (2-for-5, one run, one RBI), junior Sam Palensky (2-for-5), sophomore Adam Caniglia (2-for-4, two runs) and freshman Jack Kalina (2-for-5, one run) also had multi-hit performances, and senior Clayton Taylor was 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. Omaha totaled 18 hits for the day in its seventh double-digit hit effort as a team.

Georgia On My Mind
Omaha plays 12 of its first 18 games of the season in the state of Georgia as part of the Perfect Game Spring Swing at Perfect Game Park in Emerson, Ga. The complex is a familiar place for the Mavericks, who previously played a three-game series against Chicago State there early in 2015, going 2-1.

League Leaders
Entering the fourth weekend of play, senior infielder Clayton Taylor leads the Summit League in home runs (four), RBI (22), hit-by-pitches (three) and total bases (33). Senior outfielder Cole Gruber also paces the league in hits (23), stolen bases (11) and fielding percentage (1.000). Senior Collin Leif is first for hit-by-pitches (three), sacrifice flies (two) and sacrifice hits (three), as is senior Alex Schultz for doubles (five). Sophomore Adam Caniglia tops the conference in triples (two), and junior infielder Sam Palensky is first in assists (46).

As a team, Omaha leads the league in batting average (.305), hits (156), runs (82), doubles (23), total bases (204) and stolen bases (20).

Stacking Up Nationally
In the latest NCAA statistical release, senior Cole Gruber ranks fourth nationally for stolen bases (11) and 10th for stolen bases per game (0.79), and senior infielder Clayton Taylor is fourth for RBI (22) and 16th for walks (14). As a team, Omaha is ninth in country for hits (156).

Stealing the Spotlight
Senior Cole Gruber has made a name for himself in the Summit League for his sneaky work on the basepaths, as he led the league with 34 stolen bases in 2014 and was second with 22 swiped bags in 2015. Gruber has worked his way up Omaha's career chart for stolen bases, and on Wednesday at Air Force became the Mavericks' all-time career stolen base leader. He registered two in the game, passing Bryan Frew, who had 72 from 2005-08.

Gruber is also seventh in Summit League history for career stolen bases, tying Oral Roberts' Danny Boyle (2001-02).

What Does the Fox Say?
Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox is back as Omaha's Friday starter in 2016, and he has been the Mavericks' most celebrated hurler over the last three seasons. The Thornton, Colo., native was the 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year and an All-Summit selection as a sophomore, and he has led UNO in both strikeouts and innings pitched each of the last two years. His 93.2 innings thrown as a junior were the third-highest single-season total in school history, behind only Ben Percival (100.1) in 2009 and Troy Cloyd (96.0) in 2005.

Fox has compiled a career record of 22-8 with a 2.89 ERA, and he ranks second in school history for career games started (42), fourth for wins (22), batters faced (1,031) and innings pitched (246.1) and seventh for strikeouts (181).

Production Up Top
Omaha's 1-3 batters in the lineup this year have produced a significant portion of the Mavericks' offense so far, combining to hit .343. The 1-3 hitters have accounted for 37 percent of UNO's hits, including 50 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 48 percent of all runs scored, 50 percent of all RBI, 65 percent of all walks drawn and 80 percent of all stolen bases.

Turning to the Bullpen
Omaha's bullpen has traditionally held its own late in the game, as the Mavericks are 433-39-1 in the Bob Herold era when leading after the sixth inning. Last season, UNO was 17-5 when holding a lead after the sixth, and this year it is 7-1.

Offense Keying Wins
In the last four seasons (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), Omaha has gone a combined 60-11 when outhitting its opponent. Last year alone, UNO was 15-4 in such games, and this season the Mavericks are off to a 4-0 showing.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 411-72-1 when outhitting the other team.

Double Digits
As a team, Omaha produced double-digit hits in 23 games last season, going 15-8 in those games. This season, UNO is 5-2 with double-digit hits, and the Mavericks posted a season-high 21 hits vs. Saint Louis on Feb. 26.

Over the last five years of Division I play, UNO is a combined 73-31 when keying at least 10 hits.

Herold at the Helm
Head Coach Bob Herold is in his 17th year as the skipper of the Omaha baseball program in 2016, having compiled a career record of 506-360-2. Herold earned his 500th career win on Feb. 20, 2016 against Eastern Michigan, becoming the first coach in school history to reach the milestone. He previously became the winningest coach in UNO history with Omaha's 7-0 shutout at Bradley on April 22, 2014, which gave him 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 17th year, and Evan Porter, in his fourth year, as well as volunteer assistant coach Dan McGinn, who is in his 15th year.

2016 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2016 schedule includes 56 games, and the team will play in 12 states against schools from 12 other Division I conferences. Three opponents – Iowa, Morehead State and defending Summit League champion Oral Roberts – played in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Entering the season, the Mavericks have never faced five of their opponents: NJIT, Morehead State, Presbyterian, Bowling Green and Seton Hall. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 219-245 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Friday, March 18, opening Summit League play against Fort Wayne. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the Ballpark at Boys Town, and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.