Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team takes on Kansas State this Tuesday, March 29 for a non-conference tilt, with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan. The game will be broadcast live on FCS Atlantic with Brian Smoller on play-by-play and Mike Clark providing color commentary. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits
•Omaha started its season with an 18-game opening road stretch, its most away from home to start a season since 21 straight in 2009. The Mavericks have played their last six straight at home.
•Senior infielder Clayton Taylor leads the nation with 41 RBI this season.
•Senior outfielder Cole Gruber became Omaha's all-time career stolen base leader on March 9 at Air Force, while senior right-hander Tyler Fox became UNO's all-time leader for innings pitched on March 18 vs. Fort Wayne and batters faced on March 25 vs. North Dakota State.
•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, Taylor, senior outfielder Alex Schultz, senior catcher Collin Leif and sophomore infielder Ryan Cate. Two starting pitchers also return with 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 226-248 against all opponents on the schedule this year and 131-110 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled a 51-32 record in Summit League play since 2012-13.

Scouting the Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State comes into the midweek matchup with a record of 11-13 (0-3 Big 12) after suffering a sweep by Oklahoma State last weekend, 2-1, 5-4 and 5-4 in Manhattan, Kan. Clayton Dalrymple and Jake Wodtke lead the Wildcats with identical .330 batting averages, while Jake Scudder has a team-high 20 RBI.

Head coach Brad Hill (Emporia State, 1985) is in his 13th season at Kansas State with a record of 401-316-3 at the school and 819-407-3 overall.

K-State leads the all-time series against Omaha, 8-1, with the Wildcats taking the last meeting 10-2 on April 8, 2015 at Werner Park. Kansas State also won the last tilt in Manhattan with a 6-5 victory on March 12, 2014. UNO's last win against KSU was a 6-5 walkoff triumph in 10 innings at Werner Park on April 1, 2014.

Last Time Out: Mavericks Split Sunday Doubleheader With NDSU
Omaha split its doubleheader with North Dakota State Sunday afternoon, falling 2-1 in the first game before rebounding for a 12-2 win in eight innings in game two at the Ballpark at Boys Town.

Sophomore Ryan Cate paced the Mavericks at the plate in the first game of the day, finishing 3-for-4 and driving in UNO's only run. Junior left-hander Sam Murphy (2-1) went a career-long 6.0 innings in his start, giving up two runs -- one earned -- on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

Omaha's offense exploded in the second game, scoring 12 runs on 18 hits. Senior Clayton Taylor led the charge with a 4-for-5 day at the dish, scoring three times and driving in five runs while blasting his seventh home run of the season. Senior Cole Gruber was also 4-for-4 with a double, five runs scored and two stolen bases.

Sophomore right-hander Corey Binger (4-0) picked up the win on the bump, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts over 5.1 innings.

Getting Sasse
Junior right-hander Brett Sasse (1-2) is slated to make the start at Kansas State Tuesday night, which will be his third start of the season. The Nebraska City, Neb., native previously started against Eastern Michigan (Feb. 20) and Morehead State (Feb. 27), throwing a season-long 5.0 innings in both games. Sasse has since made four appearances in relief, with his most recent outing vs. Fort Wayne (March 20).

Breaking Out the Bats
UNO has put together a big offensive start to Summit League play in its first two series with Fort Wayne and North Dakota State, as the Mavericks have hit .360 as a team with 52 runs, 49 RBI and 33 walks. All 11 Mavericks who have started a conference game have registered at least one hit and scored at least one run.

Climbing the Career Charts
Seniors Cole Gruber, Clayton Taylor and Alex Schultz have been four-year starters at Omaha and have steadily climbed their way up the UNO career charts. Gruber is first in school history for stolen bases (81), fifth for career hits (210) and walks (85), seventh for runs scored (139), eighth for games started (160) and ninth for at-bats (589).

Taylor is fourth for RBI (149), fifth for home runs (25), sixth for hits (202), seventh for doubles (40), walks (83) and games started (162) and eighth for at-bats (593).

Schultz is fifth for games started (169) and at-bats (643), eighth for hits (194) and doubles (38) and ninth for runs scored (135) and walks (81).

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 steadily worked his way up Omaha's career stolen bases chart, and on March 9 at Air Force became the Mavericks' all-time career stolen base leader. He registered two in the game, passing previous record holder Bryan Frew, who had 72 from 2005-08.

Gruber's career mark is now up to 81, and he ranks seventh in Summit League history.

League Leaders
Senior infielder Clayton Taylor leads the Summit League in home runs (seven), RBI (41), total bases (63), on-base percentage (.500) and slugging percentage (.708). Senior outfielder Cole Gruber also paces the league for batting average (.427), hits (41), runs scored (31), stolen bases (19) and on-base percentage (.500). Senior Collin Leif is first for hit-by-pitches (seven), as is senior Alex Schultz for at-bats (99) and doubles (nine). Junior infielder Sam Palensky is first in assists (82), and on the mound, senior Tyler Fox has the league lead for wins (five).

As a team, Omaha leads the league in batting average (.306), runs (149), hits (256), RBI (132), total bases (345), on-base percentage (.379), slugging percentage (.413) and stolen bases (32).

Stacking Up Nationally
In the latest NCAA statistical release, senior infielder Clayton Taylor leads the nation in for RBI (41) and is second for RBI per game (1.71). Senior outfielder Cole Gruber is fourth for stolen bases (19), sixth for stolen bases per game (0.79), ninth for hits (41) and runs (31), 16th for runs per game (1.29) and 18th for batting average (.427).

Senior right-hander Tyler Fox is also fourth for wins (five), and junior left-hander Sam Murphy is 23rd nationally for ERA (1.13).

Gruber Garners Weekly Summit League Recognition
Senior outfielder Cole Gruber was named Summit League Baseball Player of the Week for his performances the week of March 21-27, the conference office announced Monday.

Gruber collects his first player of the week honor this season and the second award of his career. He batted .700 with a .769 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage last weekend, tallying eight runs, one RBI, one double, one triple, three walks and five steals. The Papillion-LaVista product was 4-for-4 in Sunday's win over North Dakota State with a double, a walk, five runs scored and two stolen bases.

Senior infielder Clayton Taylor was previously honored as Summit League Player of the Week on Feb. 22 and March 14. Senior Tyler Fox was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 29, and sophomore Corey Binger earned the same award March 14.

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 .359. The 1-3 hitters have accounted for 40 percent of UNO's hits, including 51 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 53 percent of all runs scored, 48 percent of all RBI, 52 percent of all walks drawn and 81 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 439-39-1 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 13-1.

Offense Keying Wins
In the last four seasons (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), Omaha has gone a combined 65-11 when outhitting its opponent. Last year alone, UNO was 15-4 in such games, and this season the Mavericks are off to an 9-0 showing.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 416-72-1 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 12-2 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 80-31 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 513-363-2. 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 had never faced five of their opponents: NJIT, Morehead State, Presbyterian, Bowling Green and Seton Hall. Omaha holds a combined all-time record of 226-248 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Friday, April 1, hosting Western Illinois. 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.