Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team kicks off a five-game week this Tuesday, April 17, visiting crosstown foe Creighton at TD Ameritrade Park at 6:30 p.m. The Mavericks continue non-conference play on Wednesday, April 18 with a trip to Nebraska, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. The game will be broadcast live on BTN Plus.
Omaha then begins the second half of Summit League play this weekend with a three-game series at Fort Wayne, April 20-21, at Mastodon Field in Fort Wayne, Ind. Play begins with a Friday doubleheader at 11 a.m. CT, followed by a single game on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.
Live stats, audio and video, as available, will be linked on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha has not played five games in a one-week span since Feb. 26 - March 4 against Kansas and Ohio.
• Omaha is 4-1 in game one of a Summit League series this year, 3-1 in game two and 1-2 in game three.
• The Mavericks have scored five or more runs in 13 games this season.
• Omaha has 28 extra-base hits, including eight homers, in 12 Summit League games, up from 25 extra-base hits with two homers in 18 non-conference games. Maverick hurlers tote a 3.45 ERA against league hitters, down from 5.46 in non-conference.
• Omaha's league-best 26 sacrifice bunts are 32nd in the country.
• Omaha's bats have come alive in the middle innings this year, as the Mavericks have scored 23 runs in the fourth and fifth innings, their two most productive frames.
•
Grant Suponchick is the Mavericks' lone returning All-Summit selection, as he was a first-team pick as a DH in 2017.
• Omaha was picked fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Omaha's four captains are
Adam Caniglia,
Payton Kinney,
Cal Hehnke and
Keil Krumwiede.
• Omaha is 219-280 all-time against all opponents on the schedule this year and 160-148 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled an 80-67 record in Summit League play since 2013.
Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Creighton enters the week with a record of 20-10 (1-4 BIG EAST) after dropping a three-game conference series at St. John's last weekend, 6-2 on Friday, 5-1 on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday.
Head coach Ed Servais is in his 15th season at CU, carrying a record of 503-301-1 and a career mark of 685-383-2 over 23 years.
Tuesday marks the 82nd meeting all-time between Omaha and Creighton, and the Bluejays lead the series, 51-30. The two teams last met May 9, 2017 at Werner Park, where CU claimed its third straight win in the series, 7-5.
Scouting the Nebraska Huskers
Nebraska enters the week with a record of 16-17 (3-7 Big Ten). The Huskers split a conference doubleheader with Iowa last weekend, falling 7-1 before a 10-4 win on Friday.
Head coach Darin Erstad is in his seventh season at NU, carrying a career record of 227-158-1.
Wednesday marks the 69th meeting all-time between Omaha and Nebraska, and the Huskers lead the series, 59-9, with 10 straight wins against the Mavericks. The two teams last met April 25, 2017 in Lincoln, where NU won 13-2.
Scouting the Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne enters the week with a record of 6-24 (2-13 Summit League). The Mastodons have lost seven straight after last weekend's series at Oral Roberts, where they fell 12-4 on Friday, 11-1 on Saturday and 12-1 on Sunday.
Head coach Bobby Pierce is in his 10th season at Fort Wayne, carrying a record of 180-337 and a career mark of 235-391 over 12 seasons.
Friday marks the 38th meeting all-time between Omaha and Fort Wayne, and the Mavericks lead the series, 22-26. The two teams last met March 16-18 at Seymour Smith Park, where Omaha swept the series, 15-0 in seven innings, 7-0 and 12-9.
Looking Back at Last Week
Omaha's schedule was shortened to two games last week, during which time three Mavericks hit .500 or better:
Adam Caniglia (.600, two runs, three RBI),
Cole Thibodeau (.571, four runs, two RBI) and
Thomas DeBonville (.500, two runs, one RBI). Thibodeau and DeBonville each had back-to-back multi-hit games, and Caniglia hit his first homer of the season with a two-run shot against Kansas. DeBonville closed with a 3-for-5 day at Western Illinois, adding a walk, two runs, an RBI and a season-high three stolen bases.
Cal Hehnke made two mound appearances, picking up his third save Friday at Western Illinois with 3.0 shutout innings and allowing just one hit.
Macho, Macho Man
Joey Machado (4-3) redshirted in 2017 but has staked his claim on Omaha's Friday spot in the rotation this season. The Creighton Prep product is a perfect 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA against Summit League opponents, and his 3.38 ERA for the season ranks fourth in the conference.
After earning three straight league wins from March 16-30, Machado logged a quality start April 5 vs. North Dakota State. He threw a season-long 8.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out six. In his last appearance, April 13 at Western Illinois, he earned the win after 6.0 innings on the bump.
Cool Like Koelewyn
Spencer Koelewyn (2-2) joined Omaha's starting rotation at the start of league play in mid-March and owns a team-best 2.30 ERA this season. The true freshman is slated to get the ball Tuesday night at Creighton and Friday afternoon in game two of a doubleheader at Fort Wayne.
Koelewyn was honored earlier this season as Summit League Pitcher of the Week on March 19. The Harrisburg, S.D., native recorded his first career win in Omaha's 7-0 shutout over Fort Wayne (March 17), throwing 6.0 innings with a season-high eight strikeouts and just two hits.
Suponchick vs. the Summit League
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.
Suponchick's junior campaign is off to another roaring start, as he has hit a team-high .366 with a .537 slugging percentage and a .480 on-base percentage over the first half of league play.
Welcome to DeBombville
Thomas DeBonville joined the Omaha lineup on Feb. 24 and has started all 27 games since then, hitting .309 with five doubles, two triples, a team-best three home runs, a team-leading 24 runs scored and 17 RBI. He also leads the Summit League with 17 stolen bases on the year.
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.
2018 Slate Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2018 schedule includes 54 games, and the team plays 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 had never faced just one of its opponents -- Ohio. The Mavericks hold a combined all-time record of 221-282 over all teams on the regular-season slate.
Double Digits
Omaha produced double-digit hits in back-to-back games to open the season vs. Northwestern, with 18 in game one of the doubleheader sweep and 10 in game two. The Mavericks have recorded 10 or more hits in six straight games from March 10-23.
Last season, the Mavericks had 10 or more hits in 15 games, going 9-6. This year, they are 7-3.
Over the last seven years of Division I play, UNO is a combined 103-45 when keying at least 10 hits.
Up Next
Omaha hosts Kansas State for a midweek matchup on Wednesday, April 25 at Werner Park. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., and links to live audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
