Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team travels to Air Force this week for a pair of midweek games, March 8-9, at Falcon Field in Colorado Springs, Colo. First pitch on Tuesday and Wednesday is set for 3 p.m. (CT). Links to live stats and video will be available 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 needs one stolen base to tie the Omaha career record set by Bryan Frew (72).
•Senior infielder Clayton Taylor's grand slam vs. Morehead State on Feb. 27 was the first for a Maverick since Caleb Palensky hit one vs. Emporia State on May 14, 2011.
•UNO's 21 hits vs. Saint Louis on Feb. 26 were its most since 23 vs. Chicago State on Feb. 28, 2014.
•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.
•UNO played 200 games during their Division I transition, going 91-109 in that span.
•The Mavericks return 18 letterwinners, including five position starters: Taylor, Cole Gruber, 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 218-244 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 Air Force Falcons
Air Force enters the weekend with a record of 7-2 (2-0 Mountain West) after sweeping last weekend's series vs. Nevada. The Falcons won by scores of 5-2 on Friday and 18-4 on Saturday before Sunday's game was suspended in the eighth inning. Bradley Haslam leads Air Force with a .462 batting average and a team-high 12 RBI.

Head coach Mike Kazlausky (Air Force, 1991) is in his sixth season at Air Force with a career record of 98-179. Omaha leads the all-time series, 5-4, and the two squads last met on March 15, 2014, when the Mavericks won 3-1 at the Ballpark at Boys Town.

Last Time Out: Grand Canyon Drops Mavs in Rubber Match, 12-4
Omaha dropped the rubber match of its weekend series with Grand Canyon Sunday afternoon, falling 12-4 at Brazell Stadium.

Jake Repavich (2-0) picked up the win for GCU, going 6.0 innings in his start while allowing four runs -- three earned -- on 13 hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Sophomore Ryan Cate (1-2) took the loss in relief, surrendering three runs on four hits over 1.1 innings.

Omaha totaled 14 hits as a team, led by four Mavericks with multi-hit performances: junior Sam Palensky (2-for-4, one run, one RBI), freshman Jack Kalina (2-for-4, one run), sophomore Adam Caniglia (2-for-4, one RBI) and senior Cole Gruber (2-for-5, one run). Gruber also had two stolen bases in the game, bringing his career total 71, which is one away from tying the school record set by Bryan Frew.

League Leaders
Entering the fourth week of play, senior infielder Clayton Taylor leads the Summit League in home runs (four) and RBI (20). Senior outfielder Cole Gruber also paces the league in stolen bases (nine) and fielding percentage (1.000), and senior Alex Schultz matches him with a perfect fielding percentage. Sophomore Adam Caniglia tops the conference in triples (two), and junior infielder Sam Palensky is first in assists (40).

As a team, Omaha leads the league in hits (120).

Stacking Up Nationally
In the latest NCAA statistical release, senior Cole Gruber ranks sixth nationally for stolen bases (nine) and 15th for stolen bases per game (0.75). Senior infielder Clayton Taylor is also seventh in the country for RBI (20).

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. Now in the fourth year of his career, Gruber has worked his way up Omaha's career chart for stolen bases with 71 as a Maverick, which ranks second in school history. The Papillion-LaVista product passed Jake Wurth's 70 last week and trails only Bryan Frew, who had 72 from 2005-08.

Gruber is also eighth in Summit League history for career stolen bases, tying Oral Roberts' Matt VanDerBosch (2003-04) and Southern Utah's Charlie Hahl (2004-06).

Herold Gets the Start
Freshman infielder Riley Herold made his collegiate debut during Omaha's opening weekend, Feb. 19-21, starting all four games at shortstop and batting .333. He was the first true freshman to start at that position on opening day since former Maverick and current assistant coach Evan Porter in 2006.

On Feb. 26, Herold hit the first home run of his career with a three-run shot vs. Saint Louis. He is one of seven Mavericks batting over .300 this season, holding a .302 average through 12 games.

Suponchick Steps Up
Freshman infielder/right-handed pitcher Grant Suponchick came up big in his first career at-bat on Feb. 20, as his pinch-hit RBI double in the sixth inning drove in the Mavericks' go-ahead run. Omaha went on to take the 2-1 win from Eastern Michigan, which was head coach Bob Herold's 500th career victory.

Suponchick earned his first career start on the mound March 1 at Wichita State, going 4.0 innings with four hits, one run, one walk and one strikeout.

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 .310. The 1-3 hitters have accounted for 37 percent of UNO's hits, including 48 percent of its extra-base hits, as well as 52 percent of all runs scored, 51 percent of all RBI and 66 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 432-39-1 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 6-1.

Offense Keying Wins
In the last four seasons (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), Omaha has gone a combined 59-11 when outhitting its opponent. Last year alone, UNO was 15-4 in such games, and this season the Mavericks are off to a 3-0 showing.

Over 16 seasons in the Bob Herold era, UNO is 410-72-1 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 4-1 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 72-30 when keying at least 10 hits.

Murph on the Mound
Junior left-handed pitcher Sam Murphy (1-0) returned to the mound for the first time in nearly a year on Feb. 20, picking up the win in UNO's 2-1 victory over Eastern Michigan. The Lake Worth, Fla., native threw three innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out two. Murphy had been sidelined since early in the 2015 season due to injury.

Last Friday at Grand Canyon, Murphy earned his first save of the season, throwing 2.0 innings and holding the Lopes to one run on three hits with three strikeouts.

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 505-359-2. 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 218-244 over all teams on the regular-season slate.

Next Up
Omaha returns to action on Friday, March 11, meeting Iowa at the Perfect Game Spring Swing in Emerson, Ga. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) at the Perfect Game Complex, and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.