OMAHA, Neb. – After 31 straight games away from home to start the season, Omaha finally returns home to play its first home game of the spring when it takes on IUPUI, for a three-game conference series. The game will be contested at Westside Field at Westbrook with first pitch on Friday starting at noon.
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend can keep up with the Mavericks' conference opener with live stats available on OMavs.com.
Omaha went 6-10 in Summit League play last season and were picked to finish fourth in the 2016 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The 2016 Mavericks
Omaha enters the weekend with a 12-19 record. The Mavericks are coming off a 1-3 weekend at the Montana Grizzly Classic in Missoula. Omaha defeated host Montana, but fell to Nevada (twice) and the Grizzly.
Senior Sydney Hames leads the Mavericks with a .359 batting average, .631 slugging percentage, and .391 on-base percentage. The third baseman ranks second in the league in home runs (7), RBI (24) and slugging percentage, and third in the league in batting average.
Junior Nicole Warren leads the Summit League with eight home runs and 26 RBI. Warren has a .255 average this season and has three stolen bases.
Freshman Kourtney Pock has won two straight Summit League Player of the Week awards. Pock is second on the team with a .328 batting average including five doubles and three home runs with 19 RBI. Two of her three homers this season have been grand slams.
Freshman Laura Roecker leads Omaha in the circle with a 6-9 record and a team-low 5.68 ERA over 88.2 innings pitched. The right-hander is tied for second in the league in wins and is fourth in strike outs (46).
Abbie Clanton leads the team with 22 appearances (seven starts). Clanton is 5-7 on the season with a 6.13 ERA with 35 strikeouts, including firing a no-hitter at Northern Colorado on March 8.
The Mavericks are led by 17th year head coach Jeanne Scarpello. Scarpello is the program's winningest coach with a career mark of 666-251-1. Coach Scarpello led UNO to the 2001 NCAA Division II National Title and was part of the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year. During the Division II era, she was a two-time MIAA Coach of the Year (2010, 2011) and a four-time NCC Coach of the Year (2001, 2004, 2006, 2008). Her teams made 12 straight NCAA DII Tournament appearances (2000-2011) while earning eight conference regular-season championships and five conference tournament championships. Coach Scarpello picked up her 500th career win on Feb. 20, 2011 against Texas A&M International.
IUPUI Jaguars
Series Record: Omaha owns a 5-3 series record over IUPUI, but the Jaguars swept a doubleheader last season in Indianapolis from the Mavericks by scores of 6-3 and 4-3.
Scouting the Jaguars: IUPUI comes to Omaha on the heels of a 6-1 midweek win over Illinois-Chicago, 6-1. The Jaguars wrapped up tournament play last weekend at the NC State RDU Double Tree Invite with a 2-3 record. They defeated Bryant and North Carolina State, but lost to NC State and twice to Ohio. This season the Jags are 10-16 overall.
IUPU is led by Roni Patterson with a .333 batting average, four homers, and 21 runs scored. Taylor Chitwood has a .308 batting average and a team high eight doubles and 20 RBI.
The Jaguars are led in the circle by Brooke Boetjer who is 6-7 in 11 starts on the season, with a 3.11 ERA. Boetjer has gone the distance in seven games and has a team high 54 punch outs. Kaitlynn Moody has made eight starts on the season, going 2-5 with a 3.80 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
Amanda Rivera enters his 4th season leading the Jaguars program. Last season, IUPUI finished with a 33-18 overall record and was 9-8 in Summit League play.
Keys to Victory
Through the first 31 games of the season, several things have proven to be indicators of Omaha's success. The Mavericks hold a 9-3 record when scoring first and sit at 10-1 on the year when outhitting their opponent. Additionally, the Mavericks are 6-0 when leading after six innings and 5-3 when scoring six or more runs.
On Deck
The Mavericks are back in action next weekend against IPFW in Fort Wayne, Ind. Omaha will play a double header on Saturday morning starting at 9:30 a.m. (CT) and a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT).
Hames Leading Mavericks' Offense
Senior third baseman Sydney Hames has stepped up to lead the Omaha offense through the first 31 games of the season. The Bennington, Neb., native is hitting .359 with a .631 slugging percentage, both team leading, as are her 37 hits. Her seven home runs and 24 RBI are second on the roster.
Finding Her Stride
Freshman Kourtney Pock appears to have found her stride at the plate, as the Scottsdale, Ariz. product is now hitting .328 on the season. Just 12 games ago, Pock's batting average sat at .136. Since UNO's final game at the Colorado State Classic, Pock has registered three home runs including a pair of grand slams and driven in 16 on 16 hits. The freshman designated player has hit in five straight and in 10 of her last 11 games. She has twice been named Summit League Player of the Week.
Extra Base Machine
Over half of senior Nicole Warren's hits this season have been of the extra-base variety. In fact, the Omaha native leads the Summit League with eight home runs and is second with two triples. She also has five doubles this year.
Pock Repeats Honors
Freshman Kourtney Pock repeated as the Summit League and College Sports Madness Summit League Player of the Week honors.
Pock batted .375 for the week and racked up 10 RBI and 14 total bases while slugging .875 with a .412 on-base percentage. She belted her first two career grand slams during the week, including one against No. 23 Nebraska. The freshman has hit in five straight games and reached base safely in 11 straight.
