OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha softball is set to resume Summit League play this weekend as the Mavericks host South Dakota for a three-game series. Action at Westside Field at Westbrook is set to begin Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at noon and the series will wrap up Sunday morning with an 11 a.m. contest with the Coyotes.
Omaha is 25-22 overall and sits in second place in the most recent Summit League standings with a 9-2 mark. South Dakota is 13-29 on the season and 7-2 in league play.
Earlier in the week, the Mavericks swept a non-conference doubleheader against North Dakota. Omaha won the opener in six innings, 10-2, and completed the sweep with a 13-4 win in five innings.
Leading Off
The Omaha offense leads the Summit League in almost every category. The Mavericks lead the league in doubles (77), hits (367), extra base hits (153), home runs (62), runs (297), RBI (274), slugging percentage (.522), triples (14), total bases (658), and walks (151). The Mavericks also lead the league in shutouts (6).
The 2016 Mavericks
Senior Sydney Hames leads the Mavericks with a .376 batting average, .713 slugging percentage, and 112 total bases. Hames also leads the team in hits (29) and doubles (12). She ranks in the Summit League top five in hits (59), assists (114), RBI (44), slugging percentage, and total bases. She is tied for second in the league with 13 home runs and is third in batting average.
Junior Nicole Warren leads the Summit League in runs scored (48), RBI (46), assists (120), homeruns (15), triples (3) and total bases (110). She has also swiped six bases on the season. The shortstop has a .294 batting average this season and a .675 slugging percentage.
Senior catcher Campbell Ditto is hitting .343 on the season with eight home runs and 24 RBI. Ditto had her first multi-homer game of her career blasting two dingers at Western Illinois on April 16 and launched a grand slam against IPFW on April 3. Ditto earned Summit League Player of the Week honors on April 18 for her performances against Iowa State and Western Illinois. Defensively, she has thrown out 10 runners attempting to steal.
Freshman Kourtney Pock is third on the team and sixth in the league with a .340 batting average including 10 doubles and six home runs with 30 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.
Junior outfielder Lia Mancuso leads the team with a .440 on-base percentage. Mancuso has a .333 batting average in 43 games this season with two triples, seven doubles, three homeruns, and 13 RBI. Mancuso's first career homerun was one to remember as it was of the walk off variety at home against South Dakota State on April 10.
Sophomore Kelly Pattison leads the team with nine stolen bases in 10 attempts. Pattison also has seven home runs and 26 RBI.
Freshman Laura Roecker leads Omaha in the circle with a 13-10 record with a 5.05 ERA in 141.1 innings. Roecker has thrown 13 complete games and four shutouts. The right-hander leads the league in appearances (34) and starts (28). She is second in wins and innings pitched and is fourth in strike outs (76). Roecker fired a no hitter on April 6 at home against Drake, for the second UNO no hitter of the season. The freshman has earned two Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors this season on March 14th and 28th.
Abbie Clanton is second on the team with 32 appearances (13 starts). This season, Clanton has a 10-9 record with a 5.12 ERA and 59 strike outs. The junior fired a no-hitter at Northern Colorado on March 8. She earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors on April 4 for picking up two wins in three appearances with a 0.68 ERA. Clanton is third in the league in wins, shut outs, and appearances.
The Mavericks are led by 17th year head coach Jeanne Scarpello. Scarpello is the program's winningest coach with a career mark of 679-254-1. 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.
South Dakota Coyotes
Series Record: Omaha leads the all-time series with South Dakota, 81-14. Last season, Coyotes swept a doubleheader in Vermillion, 11-1 and 7-3.
UNO holds a 7-4 mark against USD since the transition to Division I.
Scouting the Coyotes:
South Dakota is 13-29 this season, including a 7-2 mark in Summit League contests. The Coyotes started 4-23 but have won nine of their last 15 games and are in third place in conference play. USD dropped a doubleheader at Iowa State on Tuesday and had their Wednesday twin bill with Creighton postponed.
Yvon Minogue leads USD in almost every major offensive category this season. Minogue is has leading her team in batting average (.413), at bats (138), runs (24), hits (57), doubles (13), home runs (8), total bases (94), slugging percentage (.681), walks (13) and on-base percentage (.464). Another bat to watch for is Sydney Hancock, who has blasted seven home runs and owns a team-high 29 RBI.
Madison Frain (10-11, 4.19 ERA in 132 IP) has been the staff ace for the Coyotes and has 10 wins and two saves among her team's 13 victories. Rachel Cue (1-15, 6.71 ERA in 87.2 IP) and Megan Green (2-1, 8.11 ERA in 38 IP) have appeared in the circle this season.
Sending off the Seniors
Between games on Saturday, the Omaha softball team will honor its four graduating seniors. Campbell Ditto, Sydney Hames, Bailey Schulenberg, and Tara Trede will be playing their final home series at Westside Field at Westbrook this weekend.
Over their four-year careers, the Maverick softball program has went 116-73 overall and 41-21 in Summit League play.
Keys to Victory
The Omaha bats came alive in Tuesday's sweep of North Dakota. This season the Mavericks are 10-0 when scoring 10 or more runs and 20-7 when allowing five or less.
Omaha is 17-5 this season when scoring first, but 8-17 when the opposition gets on the board first. When the Mavericks have a lead after four innings they are 17-1 this season.
This season Omaha has 62 home runs and are 14-2 when hitting two or more homers in a game. The Mavs area 22-2 when out-hitting the opposition this season.
On Deck
The Mavericks wrap up the home portion of the schedule on Tuesday, April 26 with a single game against Northern Iowa. First pitch at Westside Field at Westbrook is set for 4 p.m.
Going, Going, Gone
This season the Omaha offense has generated 62 home runs and need only four more to break the single season mark of 65 set in 2010. The Mavericks average 1.04 home runs and 4.42 runs per game.
There have been 10 different players who have left the yard so far this season. Sydney Hames and Nicole Warren each have hit over 10 home runs this season. Warren is the Summit League leader with 15 while Hames is tied for second with 13.
On the National Scene
The Omaha offense is making some noise on the national scene. The Mavericks are 16th nationally in home runs per game (1.22), 31st in scoring (6.09 runs per game), 27th in slugging percentage (.505), and 20th in triples per game.
Nicole Warren is 23
rd nationally in home runs with 15, while
Sydney Hames is 31
st with 13.
