OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha softball team travels to Hammond, La., where they will take on four separate teams at the Lion Classic II on Feb. 16-18. Friday, the Mavericks kick off the tournament with Belmont and Southeastern Louisiana. On Saturday, UNO will have a rematch with Southeastern Louisiana before playing Detroit Mercy. Omaha will wrap up the tournament Sunday morning against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
The Starting Lineup
• The 2018 Omaha softball campaign marks the 49th season overall and second under head coach
DJ Sanchez. The Mavericks have racked up 1,495 wins since UNO's inaugural season in 1969 (records are incomplete from 1969 through 1973).
• Omaha enters the second weekend of the season with a 3-2 record following a 4-2 victory over Southern University on Wednesday.
• UNO has a combined record of 4-1 all-time against teams in the Lion Classic II and will play Belmont for the first time in program history.
• Omaha ranks first in the Summit League in times hit by a pitch (four) and ranks in the top three in three other offensive categories.
• Sixteen players have seen playing time in the Mavericks' first four games, with seniors
Jessica Nelson and
Crystal Pablo; juniors
Taylor Conkling,
Demi Dobbs,
Savannah Fisher,
Sarrah Mains and
Faith Romero; and freshmen
Aubrey Hacke,
Sydney Hampton and
Halley Jones all making their first career starts.
•
Natalie Mostek leads Omaha in almost every major offensive category so far this season. Mostek leads the team with a .571 batting average and a 1.286 slugging percentage.
• UNO's will have a balanced roster in 2018, featuring 10 upperclassmen along with nine underclassmen.
• In the 2018 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Mavericks were picked to finish fifth by the league's head coaches.
• Omaha returns six letterwinners in 2018, including four position players with starting experience and one starting pitcher.
• UNO's roster features 13 newcomers, including two seniors, five juniors and six freshmen.
• Omaha plays 28-straight road games before its home-opener against Nebraska on March 13.
• UNO hosts eight home games at Westside Field at Westbrook this season.
• During the fall 2017 semester, Omaha reported a 3.30 team grade point average (GPA). Five Mavericks earned a spot on the Dean's List, including three student-athletes on the Chancellor's List.
• The Mavericks finished the 2017 season with a record of 15-30 (6-8 Summit League) and finished fifth in the league standings.
Scouting the Belmont Bruins
Belmont opens its 2018 season this weekend at the Lion Classic II tournament. Last season, BU posted a 35-22 overall record and finished with a 10-12 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play.
The Bruins' top returning slugger is Bailey Sims, who batted .333 with 10 doubles, one triple and two homeruns. Jess Andree batted .311 with 12 doubles, five homeruns and 31 RBI. Returning to the circle is Brooklin Lee, who was named to the OVC's All-Newcomer Team after recording 186 strikeouts, 18 victories and a 2.42 ERA.
Head coach Brian Levin is in his second season at Belmont. Levin has a 35-22 mark with Belmont and a 284-105 career record in seven seasons.
Series History
Friday will be the first all-time meeting between Omaha and Belmont.
Scouting the Southeastern Louisiana Lions
The Lions have opened the 2018 season with a 3-0 mark after sweeping a doubleheader with Howard and topping Louisiana Tech in a single game.
Mahalia Gibson and Rebecca Skains lead Southeastern at the plate this season. Gibson is hitting an impressive .778 with a triple, two home runs and nine RBI. Skains is batting .571 with a double, a triple and seven RBI. Lacy Hill is 2-0 this season with a 0.88 ERA with four walks and five strikeouts. Rachel Hayes is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA with five walks and four strikeouts.
Head coach Rick Fremin is in his second season at Southeastern Louisiana. Fremin has a 26-29 mark with Southeastern and a 353-257 career record in 12 seasons.
Series History
Friday's meeting will be the second all-time meeting between Omaha and Southeastern Louisiana. In the only meeting between the two programs, the Lions defeated the Mavericks 5-1 on Feb. 7, 2015, in Hammond, La.
Scouting Detroit Mercy
The Titans went 2-3 at the NTC Clermont Tournament to open the season last weekend.
Elizabeth Yager leads Detroit with a .500 batting average with two stolen bases, three RBI and five runs scored. Courtney Gilbert is hitting at a .412 clip with a double and three runs scored. Savvy Ferstle leads the team with a home run and six RBI. Ashley Mauser is 0-1 on the season with a 3.00 ERA in three appearances. Lix Murphy and Cami Sinclair each have a win this season.
Head coach John Conway is in his fourth year at Detroit Mercy with a record of 47-116 and has a career record of 384-390-2 over 16 seasons.
Series History
Saturday will be the third all-time meeting between Omaha and Detroit Mercy. The Mavericks own a 2-0 all-time series lead over the Titans. UNO swept a two-game set with Detroit Mercy in Wilmington, S.C. Feb. 9-10, 2014 at the UNCW Beach Blast.
Scouting the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Islanders
The Islanders opened the 2018 season with a 1-2 mark at the UTSA Invitational. UTAMCC defeated Seton Hall 3-2 in the tournament opener before losing 5-1 to Southern Illinois and 10-8 in the rematch with Seaton Hall.
Kayla Sheridan leads the Islanders with a .500 batting average with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Keagan Helson has a team-best two homers and four RBI. In the circle, Alexis Tovar owns a 1-0 record in two appearances with a 5.25 ERA. Ashley Smith is 0-2 on the season with a 4.42 ERA.
Head coach Blake Miller is in his second season with the Islanders with a 13-38 record. Miller has a career mark of 131-233.
Series History
Sunday will be the third all-time meeting between Omaha at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. The Mavericks own a 2-0 series lead over the Islanders. Omaha took two games from Texas A&M – Corpus at the UTSA Tournament in 2014. UNO won the first game in a slugfest, 15-14, and completed the sweep with a 12-6 victory.
On Deck
Omaha heads to Corpus Christi, Texas to play in the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Tournament Feb. 23-25. The Mavericks will face Texas Southern, Utah State and tournament-host Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Tournament in a total of five games over three days.
