Omaha Athletics

SCHEDULE UPDATE (Friday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m.): With Friday's opening game cancelled due to travel issues, Omaha and Northwestern will now play a three-game series this weekend. Saturday will be a doubleheader starting at 4:30 p.m. CT, and Sunday will be a single game at 1 p.m. CT.

SCHEDULE UPDATE (Friday, Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m.): Friday's season-opening game has been cancelled due to travel issues. Updated information for this weekend's remaining games will be announced at a later time.

Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team opens the 2018 campaign this weekend, facing Northwestern in a three-game series, Feb. 16-18 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. The weekend begins with a single game on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a Saturday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. CT. The series concludes Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m. CT. Live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.
 
Quick Hits
• Omaha is 39-28 over 67 recorded season openers in program history.
• Northwestern is one of three Big Ten foes Omaha will face this season, along with Minnesota and Nebraska.
• Omaha returns 12 letterwinners, including five position players who were starters last season: Adam Caniglia (51 starts in 2017), Grant Suponchick (47), Cole Thibodeau (44), Parker Smejkal (40) and Jack Kalina (35).
• Suponchick is the Mavericks' lone returning All-Summit selection, as he was a first-team pick as a designated hitter in 2017.
• Omaha was picked fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Suponchick carries with him a four-game hitting streak dating back to the final week of the 2017 season.
• Omaha's four captains are seniors Caniglia and Payton Kinney, junior Cal Hehnke and sophomore Keil Krumwiede.
• Omaha is 211-267 all-time against all opponents on the schedule this year and 154-145 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled a 74-64 record in Summit League play since 2013.
 
Scouting the Northwestern Wildcats
Northwestern went 27-30 (13-11 Big Ten) in 2017. The Wildcats had three players named to the Big Ten's 2018 Preseason Honors List: sophomore right-hander Hank Christie, junior infielder Jack Dunn and sophomore infielder Alex Erro.
 
Head coach Spencer Allen is in his third season at NU, carrying a career record of 42-69.
 
Friday marks the third meeting all-time between Omaha and Northwestern, and the Wildcats lead the series, 2-0. The two teams last met Feb. 22, 2014 at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla., with NU taking an 8-5 win.
 
DeBonville Named to Summit League Players to Watch List
Junior Thomas DeBonville was included on the Summit League's Players to Watch List released Feb. 8. The transfer was a two-time all-conference and all-region pick at Eastern Arizona College and ranked fifth nationally among junior college players for stolen bases (39) in 2017. He hit .419 last season with five doubles, six triples, two homers and a .597 slugging percentage.
 
Road Warriors
Omaha opens the 2018 season with 15 straight road games in six different states, visiting Arizona once, Kansas twice, Georgia once, Minnesota once and Utah once. Out of the gate, the Mavericks see two 2017 NCAA Tournament teams between the third and fourth weekends, facing Ohio for a four-game series (March 2-4) and BYU for a three-game set (March 8-10).
 
Maverick Mound Notes
• Right-hander Grant Suponchick is slated to start Omaha's season opener vs. Northwestern. In 2017, he made 17 mound appearances with six starts and a team-leading two saves, totaling 42.2 innings on the bump.
• Right-hander Cal Hehnke, set for the start game two, appeared in 13 games last year with four starts. He went 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA over 34.1 innings thrown.
• Right-hander Joey Machado redshirted in 2017 and will make his first career start this weekend against the Wildcats.
• Right-hander Payton Kinney picked up three straight wins last season from April 19 to May 6, 2017. Over 16 appearances and 51.0 innings pitched, opposing hitters batted just .204 against him. For the season, he finished with a 3.88 ERA and ranked second on the team and ninth in the Summit League for strikeouts (56).
 
Mavericks Selected Fifth in Summit League Preseason Poll
The Omaha baseball team was picked fifth in the 2018 Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, the conference office announced Feb. 8.
 
Defending league champion Oral Roberts was tabbed the league favorite and received all five of its possible first-place votes for 25 total points. South Dakota State came in second with 20 points and one first-place vote, and North Dakota State was third with 17 points. Western Illinois garnered 14 points for fourth, followed by Omaha in fifth with nine points and Fort Wayne in sixth with five points.
 
2018 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2018 schedule includes 54 games, and the team will play in 11 states against schools from six other Division I conferences. Four opponents – Ohio, BYU, Oral Roberts and Nebraska – played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
 
Entering the season, Omaha has never faced just one of its opponents -- Ohio. The Mavericks hold a combined all-time record of 211-267 over all teams on the regular-season slate.
 
Suponchick vs. the Summit League in 2017
Grant Suponchick batted a team-leading .323 against Summit League competition last season, up from .224 in non-conference games. In those 28 league contests, the Papillion, Neb., native posted six doubles, two home runs, 10 runs scored, 15 RBI and 11 walks. He also had nine mound appearances and a pair of saves in league play.
 
For his efforts, Suponchick was rewarded with first-team All-Summit recognition as a designated hitter. He finished with a .287 batting average for the year with 16 runs and 22 RBI, seven doubles, two homers and a team-high 23 walks. Suponchick had 13 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI performances.
 
"Cole-giate" Debut
As a freshman, Cole Thibodeau ranked sixth nationally and led the Summit League with 14 sacrifice hits last season, helping Omaha as a team to 10th in the country and first in the conference for sac bunts (52).
 
Thibodeau played in 48 games in 2017, starting 44. He batted .273 with 26 runs scored and had 11 multi-hit games. After going 9-for-12 on the basepaths, he is now Omaha's active career leader in stolen bases.
 
Caniglia Entering Senior Campaign
Entering his senior year, Adam Caniglia is Omaha's active career in nearly every offensive category. The Omaha, Neb., native has been a three-year starter, including all of his 55 games played as a sophomore and all of his 51 games played as a junior.
 
Caniglia is a career .260 hitter and put together his best season in 2016 with a .310 average and 10 doubles. Last year, he ranked third in the Summit League for hit-by-pitches (10) and led the Mavericks in walks (23). Caniglia's junior season included eight multi-hit games and three multi-RBI performances.
 
Porter Enters Second Season as Head Coach
Head coach Evan Porter enters his second year as the skipper of the Omaha baseball program in 2018. Porter assumed duties last season after serving four years as an assistant coach. One of the most decorated players in UNO history, Porter was four-year starter at shortstop from 2005-09 and a two-time All-American. He was also a three-time all-region selection from 2007-09, earning awards from Daktronics and Rawlings/ABCA. Additionally, Porter was a two-time All-NCC pick (2007-08) and was first-team All-MIAA in 2009.
 
Porter's name runs through the Omaha record books, as he remains the program's all-time leader in games played (239), at-bats (869), hits (323), doubles (75), home runs (43), runs batted in (249) and total bases (527). His 97 hits recorded as a senior were a UNO single-season record that still stands.
 
A member of the UNO squad that earned a berth to the 2007 NCAA Division II College World Series, Porter was part of two Maverick teams (2006, 2008) that set a school record with 45 wins. During his time, UNO made four straight NCAA regional appearances and won the 2008 NCC championship.
 
Following his senior campaign, Porter was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round. He has played professionally overseas for the Solingen Alligators in Germany (2010), Gothenburg Sharks in Sweden (2011), Victoria Park Reds in Australia (2011-12), ADO AamigoO Lakers in Holland (2012) and Sölvesborg Firehawks in Sweden (2014, 2016).
 
Porter is assisted by assistant coaches Chris Gadsden, in his 19th year, and Brian Strawn, in his second year, as well as pitching coach Brett Swain, who is in his second year.
 
What Makes Up the Mavericks
•In terms of offensive production, Omaha's 2018 returners accounted for 46 percent of the Mavericks' hits, 46 percent of their runs scored, 42 percent of their RBI, 47 percent of their extra-base hits and 48 percent of their stolen bases last season.
•Omaha's returning pitchers are credited with 47 percent of the team's innings pitched last year, 48 percent of its strikeouts, 42 percent of its wins and 100 percent of its saves.
•All-Summit honoree Grant Suponchick was third on the team for at-bats (164) in his sophomore season, the most of any returner.
•UNO's 2018 roster includes four seniors, 11 juniors, five sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and eight freshmen.
•The Mavericks hail from 13 different states. Eleven are from Nebraska, three apiece are from Minnesota and Colorado, and two hail from Iowa, Missouri and Ohio. Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma and South Dakota are all represented once on the roster.
 
All in the Family
Omaha baseball is a family affair for a trio of Mavericks. Junior Ben Palensky's father, Jim Palensky, played from 1984-85 and also served as an assistant coach with the Mavericks. Ben Palensky's older brother, Caleb, was an All-Summit infielder and lettered from 2011-14. Another Palensky brother, Sam, lettered from 2016-17.
 
Junior Jack Kalina's grandfather, Phil Gradoville, also played at UNO, and sophomore right-handed pitcher/infielder Grant Suponchick's brother, Beau Suponchick, lettered two seasons from 2011-12.
 
Fresh Faces
A total 16 newcomers -- freshmen, redshirts or transfers -- are on the Omaha roster in 2018. Eight true freshmen are in the mix: Max Gamm (Woodbury, Minn.), Hunter Hughes (Cincinnati, Ohio), Spencer Koelewyn (Harrisburg, S.D.), Justin McEnroe (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Jake Pennington (Hamilton, Ohio), Tyler Phillips (Arvada, Colo.), Tommy Steier (Elkhorn, Neb.) and Tommy Sullivan (Omaha, Neb.). Adam Rellihan (Lenexa, Kan.) and Joey Machado (Omaha, Neb.) redshirted in 2017.
 
Six transfers also joined the Mavericks this season: Andrew Brighton (Nashville, Mich.) from Lansing CC, Thomas DeBonville (Silverthorne, Colo.) from Eastern Arizona College, Keil Krumwiede (Glasgow, Mont.) from Des Moines Area CC, Malik Moore (Waukee, Iowa) from Des Moines Area CC, Ben Palensky (Papillion, Neb.) from Southeast CC and Braden Rogers (Enid, Okla.) from Northern Oklahoma College).
 
Back Home in Omaha
Eight of the 30 players on UNO's 2018 roster hail from the Omaha area. The local pipeline has brought two Mavericks apiece from Creighton Prep and Papillion-La Vista South and one each from Burke, Westside, Elkhorn South and Papillion-La Vista.
 
Up Next
Omaha returns to action with a three-game weekend series at Wichita State, Feb. 23-25, at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan. First pitch in Friday's opener is set for 3 p.m., followed by 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.