OMAHA, Neb. – Coming off a week that featured a pair of walk off wins, the Omaha softball team will take a break against conference opponents with a game at Iowa State on Thursday afternoon, before heading to Macomb, Ill. for a three-game set at Western Illinois over the weekend.
The Mavericks had a flair for the dramatic in four of its five games last week. Freshman Laura Roecker pitcher had her first career no-hitter and senior Bailey Schulenberg hit a lead-off, walk-off home run as Omaha topped Drake, 8-0, in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader. UNO dropped the second game of the night, 10-4.
Omaha kept fans on the edge of their seats over the weekend as the Mavs took two of three games from Summit League foe South Dakota State. In the series opener, SDSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but UNO scored 14 runs over the final 2 ½ innings for the win. Omaha lost the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, 3-1. The Mavericks made things interesting when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out, but were unable to grind out the win. In Sunday's contest South Dakota State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and 4-1 in the top of the fourth, before Omaha scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-4 Maverick victory. Down to her last strike of the game, junior Lia Mancuso hit a line drive that cleared the centerfield wall for her first career home run giving UNO a 5-4 win.
The Mavericks are 20-21 overall this season and are in second place in the Summit League standings with a 7-1 mark.
Leading Off
The Omaha offense leads the Summit League in almost every category. The Mavericks lead the league in doubles (62), extra base hits (121), hits (312), home runs (47), runs (251), RBI (229), slugging percentage (.494), triples (12), total bases (539), and walks (127).
The 2016 Mavericks
Senior Sydney Hames leads the Mavericks with a .360 batting average, .654 slugging percentage, and 89 total bases. The third baseman ranks first in the league in hits (49) and total bases (89). Hames is second in assists (102), slugging percentage (.654), and RBI (33). She is also third in doubles (10), homeruns (10), and batting average (.360).
Junior Nicole Warren's 39 runs scored and 36 RBI lead the Summit League. Warren is second in the league with two triples, 11 home runs, and 87 total bases. She has also swiped eight bases on the season. The shortstop has a .291 batting average this season and a .617 slugging percentage.
Freshman Kourtney Pock is second on the team with a .337 batting average including eight doubles and six home runs with 27 RBI. Two of her six homers this season have been grand slams. Pock earned back-to-back Summit League Player of the Week awards on March 14th and 21st.
Senior catcher Campbell Ditto is hitting .330 on the season with six home runs and 20 RBI. Ditto had a grand slam against IPFW on April 3. Defensively, she has thrown out eight runners attempting to steal.
Senior outfielder Bailey Schulenberg leads the team with a .425 on-base percentage. Schulenberg has a .293 batting average in 39 games this season with two triples, two homers, and 18 RBI.
Sophomore Kelly Pattison leads the team with eight stolen bases in nine attempts. Pattison also has six home runs and 24 RBI.
Freshman Laura Roecker leads Omaha in the circle with a 10-9 record and a team-low 5.47 ERA in 117.2 innings pitched. The right-hander leads the league in appearances (30) and starts (24). Roecker is second in wins and is fourth in strike outs (65) and innings pitched. She fired a no hitter on April 6 at home against Drake, for the second UNO no hitter of the season. Roecker has earned two Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors this season on March 14th and 28th.
Abbie Clanton is second team with 29 appearances (11 starts). Clanton is 8-9 on the season with a 5.49 ERA with 56 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 674-253-1. 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.
Iowa State Cyclones
Series Record: Iowa State leads the all-time series with Omaha 7-3. Last season, the Mavericks defeated the Cyclones in Ames, 9-4, on April 22.
Scouting the Cyclones:
Iowa State goes into the midweek series with a 15-22 overall mark and are 0-6 in Big 12 play. The Cyclones look to snap an eight-game losing streak on Wednesday against Creighton, before returning to Ames to face Omaha. This season ISU is 4-1 against Summit League teams.
Iowa State is led by Brittany Gomez with a .392 batting average, 51 hits and 20 stolen bases. Aly Cappaert has a .343 batting average with a team high eight home runs and 27 RBI.
The Cyclones are paced in the circle by Emma Hylen who is 7-9 with three saves in 26 appearances (12 starts) with a 3.83 ERA and 50 strikeouts. Savannah Sanders has made 17 starts in 24 appearances on the season, going 6-9 with a 4.42 ERA and team high 76 strikeouts.
Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler enters her 11th season leading the Cyclones program. Last season, Iowa State finished with a 26-28 overall record and was 3-15 in the Big 12.
Keys to Victory
Through 41 games this season, several things have proven to be indicators of Omaha's success. The Mavericks hold a 15-4 record when scoring first and sit at 17-2 on the year when outhitting their opponent. Additionally, the Mavericks are 10-2 when leading after five innings and 15-3 when scoring six or more runs.
On Deck
Omaha heads to Macomb, Ill. for a three-game set at Western Illinois this weekend. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon and Sunday's single game is set to start at 11 a.m. The Mavericks welcome North Dakota to Westside Field at Westbrook for a nonconference twin bill on Tuesday, April 19. The doubleheader is set to start at 4 p.m.
Next weekend, Omaha returns to Summit League play with a three-game set against South Dakota. On Saturday, April 23, UNO and USD will play a doubleheader set to start at noon. Between games, Omaha will honor seniors: Tara Trede, Sydney Hames, Bailey Schulenberg, and Campbell Ditto. Sunday's single game will start at 11 a.m.
