OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha softball team concludes the regular season this week with a three-game series at Fort Wayne, May 4-5, at the Fort Wayne Softball Field. Friday's doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. (CT), followed by a 10 a.m. (CT) start on Saturday.
Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.
The Starting Lineup
• Omaha opened the 2018 season with 31-straight road games, including trips to Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia. The Mavericks conclude the season with nine-straight road contests.
• The Mavericks are 16-28 overall (3-8 Summit League) after defeating Creighton last Thursday, 8-5.
• Omaha leads the all-time series with Fort Wayne 7-2. In the last meeting, the Mavericks swept a three-game series from the Mastodons in 2016.
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Kelly Pattison leads the team with a .417 average with a .670 slugging percentage and a .450 on-base percentage. Pattison also has a team-best seven homers and 30 RBI.
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Emma Dargy has reached base in six-straight games and earlier this season she reached base in 16-straight games.
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Aubrey Hacke is second on the team with a .300 average with six doubles.
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Sydney Hampton leads Omaha with a 9-11 record in 24 appearances (13 starts) and a 3.60 ERA.
• Omaha leads The Summit League in stolen bases (44). The Mavericks are second in times hit by a pitch (30), home attendance (945) and sacrifice hits (31). They also are third in home runs (24).
• Eighteen players have seen playing time so far this season, 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.
• 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.
• 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 Fort Wayne Mastodons
Fort Wayne enters this weekend with a 17-31 overall mark and a 2-9 Summit League record. The Mastodons lost two of three games last weekend at North Dakota State.
Lacey Wilzbacher leads Fort Wayne with a .312 average with three home runs, seven stolen bases, eight doubles and 21 RBI. Demitra Burns is hitting .308 with four doubles, four homers and 20 RBI while Maria Palmegiani leads the team with 27 RBI.
The Mastodons have used four pitchers so far this season. Bailey Benefiel (10-12, one save) is a three-time Summit League Pitcher of the Week and has a 3.38 ERA with 126 strikeouts. Shaine Eyre (6-9, one save) is the reigning conference pitcher of the week and has a 4.90 ERA and 41 strikeouts. Addie Benham (1-9) with 5.32 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Demitra Burns is 0-1 in four appearances.
On Deck
Omaha returns to action May 9-12 at the Summit League Championship in Fargo, N.D. The Summit League will release a full tournament bracket at the conclusion of all regular-season games on Saturday, May 4.
