Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team closes the regular season this week, first meeting crosstown foe Creighton on Tuesday, May 15. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. at TD Ameritrade Park, and the game will be televised live on YurView Cox Channel 1013.
The Mavericks then return to Summit League play, welcoming Western Illinois for a three-game series, May 17-19, at Seymour Smith Park. First pitch on Thursday is at 4 p.m., followed by 2 p.m. on Friday and Noon on Saturday. The series finale also marks Senior Day for Omaha's senior class, which will be honored with pregame festivities.
Live stats, audio and video, as available, will be linked on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
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Adam Caniglia has been the Mavericks' mainstay behind the plate, catching 349 of 389 innings (90 percent) in his senior season.
• Omaha is 4-5 in game one of a Summit League series this year, 4-4 in game two and 1-6 in game three.
• The Mavericks have scored five or more runs in 17 games this season.
• Omaha has 42 extra-base hits, including 11 homers, in 24 Summit League games, up from 30 extra-base hits with three homers in 22 non-conference games. Maverick hurlers tote a 5.03 ERA against league hitters, down from 5.63 in non-conference.
• Omaha's league-best 43 sacrifice bunts are 18th in the country, and
Cole Thibodeau's 11 sac bunts are 24th among individual leaders.
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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 221-294 all-time against all opponents on the schedule this year and 161-159 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled an 81-78 record in Summit League play since 2013.
Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Creighton enters the week with a record of 31-15 (8-9 BIG EAST) and a five-game win streak. The Bluejays defeated Nebraska 5-4 last Tuesday and Omaha 10-6 on Wednesday in non-conference play, then swept a three-game BIG EAST series at Villanova, 4-0, 6-1 and 3-2.
Head coach Ed Servais is in his 15th season at CU, carrying a record of 514-306-1 and a career mark of 696-388-2 over 23 seasons.
Wednesday marks the 84th meeting all-time between Omaha and Creighton, and the Bluejays lead the series, 53-30. The two teams last met May 9 at Werner Park, where CU claimed its fifth straight win in the series.
Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois enters the weekend with a record of 15-26 (12-11 Summit League) after winning five of its last six games. The Leathernecks won two of three last weekend at South Dakota State, triumphing 4-3 in 14 innings in the opener, falling 13-7 in game two and rebounding for a 9-6 win in game three.
Head coach Ryan Brownlee is in his sixth season at WIU, carrying a career record of 104-196.
Friday marks the 30th meeting all-time between Omaha and WIU, and the Mavericks lead the series, 18-11. The two teams last met April 13 in Macomb, Ill., where WIU won 8-5.
Macho, Macho Man
Joey Machado (4-6) redshirted in 2017 but has staked his claim on Omaha's Friday spot in the rotation this season. The Creighton Prep product is 4-3 with a 4.39 ERA against Summit League opponents.
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. On April 13 at Western Illinois, he earned his most recent win after 6.0 innings on the bump.
Cool Like Koelewyn
Spencer Koelewyn (3-5) joined Omaha's starting rotation at the start of league play in mid-March and owns a 3.86 ERA this season, the lowest of any Maverick starter. Koelewyn picked up his most recent win April 27 at North Dakota State, allowing two runs over 5.0 innings.
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.
Out of the Pen: Cal Hehnke
Cal Hehnke leads the Mavericks and ranks second in the Summit League with five saves this season, and the junior has embraced his new relief role wholeheartedly. The Grand Island, Neb., native has allowed just six earned runs since March 24 and only three extra-base hits since March 14.
Over his last 13 appearances, Hehnke has a 1.51 ERA, compiling five saves in 35.2 innings pitched. Opponents have hit just .190 against him in that time.
Welcome to DeBombville
Thomas DeBonville joined the Omaha lineup on Feb. 24 and has started all 43 games since then. The junior has hit .266 with five doubles, four triples, a team-best five home runs, a team-leading 33 runs scored and 23 RBI, and he leads the Summit League with 19 stolen bases on the year. Last weekend, DeBonville homered in back-to-back games at Oral Roberts.
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 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 221-294 over all teams on the regular-season slate.
Thibodeau On the Move to Third
After starting 43 games at second base as a freshman, sophomore
Cole Thibodeau has made the move to third base in his sophomore campaign. In the opening weekend of play vs. Northwestern, Thibodeau hit .455 with three runs and a team-leading four RBI for the series. For the season, he has batted a team-leading .274 with 24 runs scored, 15 RBI and 22 walks. He leads the league with 11 sacrifice hits and is third with 14 stolen bases.
In 2017, 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). For the year, he batted .273 with 26 runs scored and had 11 multi-hit games.
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 8-5.
Over the last seven years of Division I play, UNO is a combined 104-47 when keying at least 10 hits.
Up Next
Omaha awaits final seeding for the Summit League Tournament, which culls its field from the top four teams in the regular-season standings. The championship is set for May 23-26 in Tulsa, Okla., and a complete bracket will be released at the conclusion of all regular-season games.
