OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha softball begins postseason play on Thursday, May 12, in Fargo, N.D., for the 2016 Summit League Softball Tournament.
The Mavericks secured the No. 2 seed in this year's Summit League Tournament, as they will face the winner of IUPUI and Western Illinois in the second round on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
UNO's potential matchup on Friday, May 13 is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Summit League championship contest is slated for Saturday, May 14, with first pitch at 1 p.m.
The 2016 Mavericks
Omaha enters the Summit League Tournament 29-27 overall after dropping three games over the weekend at North Dakota State. UNO is 5-5 in its last ten games and look to snap a four-game losing streak.
Omaha makes its first-ever Summit League tournament appearance since transitioning to Division I. The Mavs bring with them a potent offense, averaging a league-best 6.27 runs a game and setting the league's team record for runs batted in for a season (326). Omaha also leads all teams in runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, home runs and slugging percentage.
Six Mavericks had All-Summit League honors bestowed upon them Tuesday evening and head coach Jeanne Scarpello was named the Summit League Coach of the Year. Omaha players on the first team were senior catcher Campbell Ditto, senior third baseman Sydney Hames, junior outfielder Lia Mancuso, and freshman designated player Kourtney Pock. Two more UNO players were named to the second team: junior shortstop Nicole Warren and freshman pitcher Laura Roecker.
Hames leads the Mavericks with a .376 batting average, 71 hits, and 15 doubles. She is second on the team in slugging percentage (.688), runs scored (40), RBI (51), home runs (14) and total bases (130). The senior leads the league in hits, second in RBI and total bases, and third in doubles, batting average, home runs and assists. Hames was twice named Summit League Player of the Week.
Warren tied a Summit League record with 19 home runs this season and is two away from the single season Omaha record. She ranks in the top five nationally in home runs and top 15 in RBI. The junior also leads the league in at bats (193), runs scored (58), home runs, RBI (57), total bases (136), and assists (143). Warren is batting .306 for the year.
Ditto is hitting .327 on the season with nine home runs and 26 RBI. She 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. The senior earned Summit League Player of the Week honors for her performances against Iowa State and Western Illinois. Defensively, Ditto has thrown out 11 runners attempting to steal.
Pock has a .331 average (42-for-127) with eight home runs and 37 RBI. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native has a .598 slugging percentage and a .428 on base percentage. Her average is second on the Mavericks. Two of her six homers this season have been grand slams. In March, Pock earned back-to-back Summit League Player of the Week awards.
Mancuso has a .319 batting average this season with nine doubles, two triples, three home runs and 18 RBI. The Omaha Central graduate has a .553 slugging percentage and a .421 on-base percentage. She has also stolen six bases this season. Mancuso's first career homerun was one to remember as it was of the walk off variety at home against South Dakota State.
Sophomore Kelly Pattison leads the team with nine stolen bases in 11 attempts. Pattison also has eight home runs and 29 RBI. She is hitting .299 this season.
Roecker leads Omaha in the circle with a 16-12 record and one save with a 4.72 ERA in 170.2 innings. The freshman has thrown 17 complete games and four shutouts. The right-hander leads the league in appearances (39) and starts (33). She is second in wins and shut-outs, third in innings pitched and is fifth in strike outs (94). Roecker fired a no hitter against Drake, for the second UNO no-no of the season. She has twice been honored Summit League Pitcher of the Week.
Abbie Clanton is second on the team with 37 appearances (17 starts). This season, Clanton has an 11-12 record with a 5.62 ERA and 67 strike outs. The junior fired a no-hitter at Northern Colorado. She earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors for picking up two wins in three appearances with a 0.68 ERA. Clanton is third in the league in wins, shutouts, 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 683-259-1. 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.
Six Mavericks Honored with Summit League Post Season Awards
Six Omaha players earned All-Summit League accolades, highlighted by four First Team All-Summit League and two to the second team.
The first team included four Mavericks: senior catcher Campbell Ditto, senior third baseman Sydney Hames, junior outfielder Lia Mancuso, and freshman designated player Kourtney Pock.
Two more UNO players were named to the second team: junior shortstop Nicole Warren and freshman pitcher Laura Roecker.
Scarpello Recognized as Coach of the Year
Head coach Jeanne Scarpello earned Omaha's first Summit League Softball Coach of the Year honor after guiding her team to 12-5 league record and No. 2 seed in The Summit League Softball Championship. The second-place finish equals the Mavericks' best finish, resulting in their first league tournament appearance since transitioning to Division I.
No. 3 Seed Western Illinois Leathernecks
Series Record: Omaha leads the all-time series against Western Illinois, 11-5. This season the Mavericks took two of three games against the Leathernecks in Macomb, Ill. UNO won the first two games of the series on Saturday, 7-3 and 2-0, but WIU won the series finale on Sunday, 14-8.
Scouting the Leathernecks:
Western Illinois finished the regular season with a 16-31 overall record and went 9-8 in Summit League play.
Pitcher Emily Ira, outfielder Karissa Kouchis, and third baseman Nina Maggio weach earned Second Team All-Summit League honors. Ira appeared in 26 games this season with a 6-14 record and a 5.45 ERA with 11 complete games and 131 strikeouts. Kouchis led the Leathernecks with a .323 average and seven stolen bases. Maggio hit .233 this season with a home run and 11 RBI.
Holly Van Vlymen is in her 11th season at Western Illinois. Van Vlymen owns a career mark of 238-287-2 and has been named the Summit League Coach of the Year three times.
No. 6 Seed IUPUI Jaguars
Series Record: Omaha leads the all-time series against IUPUI, 7-3. This season the Mavericks swept a doubleheader in Omaha against the Jaguars, 4-2 and 8-7. The third game of the set was cancelled due to weather.
Scouting the Jaguars:
IUPUI is 17-33 on the season and finished with a 4-12 Summit League mark.
Second baseman Ali Mosier earned First Team All-Summit League honors, while catcher Roni Patterson and third baseman Taylor Chitwood took home second team honors. Mosier has a team-best .324 batting average and team-highs in nearly every other relevant hitting category. She boasts the runs (35), hits (55), triples (2), homeruns (11), total bases (105), slugging percentage (.629), and on-base percentage (.423). Patterson is hitting .297 on the year with four home runs and 18 RBI. She has thrown out 12 baserunners this season. Chitwood is hitting .305 with eight homeruns and a team-high 37 RBI.
Amanda Rivera is in her fourth year with IUPUI. Rivera owns a 92-106 career record with the Jaguars.
New Power Record
This season, Omaha has shattered the program's single season record for home runs. The Mavericks have 74 homers this season and average 1.32 dingers per game. With three games left in the regular season, Omaha has the chance to add even more to its total. The Mavs bring with them a potent offense, averaging a league-best 6.27 runs a game.
UNO has set the league's team record for runs batted in for a season (326). The Mavericks are three home runs shy of South Dakota's Summit League single season record set in 2015. UNO has scored 351 runs this season which fourth-best in league history.
Eleven different players have left the yard this season. Nicole Warren has tied a Summit League record with 19 home runs in a season and is two away from the program's all-time mark. Warren has hit an impressive six lead-off homers this season. Sydney Hames has a career best 14 homers this season. Campbell Ditto has gone deep nine times this season and is third all-time in homers.
Freshman Kourtney Pock and sophomore Kelly Pattison each have eight home runs. Two of Pock's shots this season have been grand slams. Lia Mancuso and Tara Trede each have hit their first career home runs this season. Megan May hit two home runs in the same inning against North Dakota.
Keys to Victory
This season, UNO is 23-4 when scoring six or more runs and 24-8 when holding the opposition under five runs.
One of the biggest factors in Omaha's success getting on the scoreboard first. The Mavs are 21-6 when putting the first run on the scoreboard. If the opposition gets on the board first, UNO is only 8-21.
The Mavericks gain more and more confidence when leading after four innings. They are 20-3 when leading after four innings and 13-0 when leading after six innings.
Hitting is key for the Mavs. They are 25-2 when outhitting the opponent, but only 4-25 when getting outhit. Omaha is 17-3 when they hit two or more home runs, but only 5-16 when they do not go deep.
Omaha has scored 66 runs in the fifth inning this season, the biggest run total of any inning. They have put up 65 runs in the third and 61 runs in the fourth inning as well.
On Deck—Summit League Tournament
The tournament will begin Wednesday with No. 4 South Dakota (14-36, 8-9) and No. 5 South Dakota State (23-33, 8-10) meeting at 3 p.m. The winner will move on to play the top-seeded North Dakota State. Game two of the tournament will feature third-seeded Western Illinois (16-31, 9-8) and sixth-seeded IUPUI (17-32, 4-12) at 5:30 p.m. Omaha will face the winner of the first-round matchup.
Wednesday's first-round games will be single elimination, with the winners moving on to play the top two seeds Thursday. Double elimination play will begin Thursday and conclude Saturday with the crowning of the 2016 Summit League Tournament champions.
Softball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 11
Game 1: (4) South Dakota vs. (5) South Dakota State – 3 p.m.
Game 2: (3) Western Illinois vs. (6) IUPUI – 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 12
Game 3: (1) North Dakota State vs. Game 1 Winner – Noon
Game 4: (2) Omaha vs. Game 2 Winner – 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser – 5 p.m.
Friday, May 13
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner – 1 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser – 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 14
Game 8: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner – 1 p.m.
*Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser – 3:30 p.m.
*If necessary
NOTE: Games 1 & 2 will be single elimination with the remainder of the tournament being double elimination.
