Leading Off
The Omaha baseball team makes its final Werner Park appearance this Wednesday, May 9, welcoming Creighton at 7:05 p.m. The Mavericks then visit Oral Roberts for a three-game series, May 11-13, at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m., followed by 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The series finale will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Live stats, audio and video, as available, will be linked on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Two Mavericks hit .400 or better in last weekend's series at South Dakota State:
Grant Suponchick (.429, one run, one RBI) and
Keil Krumwiede (.400, one run, two RBI).
Max Gamm drove in a team-leading four runs for the weekend.
•
Adam Caniglia has been the Mavericks' mainstay behind the plate, catching 315 of 355.1 innings (89 percent) in his senior season.
• Omaha is 4-4 in game one of a Summit League series this year, 4-3 in game two and 1-5 in game three.
• The Mavericks have scored five or more runs in 15 games this season.
• Omaha has 38 extra-base hits, including nine homers, in 21 Summit League games, up from 29 extra-base hits with two homers in 21 non-conference games. Maverick hurlers tote a 5.02 ERA against league hitters, down from 5.46 in non-conference.
• Omaha's league-best 41 sacrifice bunts are 15th in the country, and
Cole Thibodeau's 11 sac bunts are 19th among individual leaders.
•
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 221-290 all-time against all opponents on the schedule this year and 161-156 all-time against the five other teams in the Summit League. The Mavericks have compiled an 81-75 record in Summit League play since 2013.
Scouting the Creighton Bluejays
Creighton enters the week with a record of 26-15 (5-9 BIG EAST) after dropping two of three games in a series vs. Seton Hall. The Jays opened Friday with a 4-2 win, then fell 2-1 on Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday.
Head coach Ed Servais is in his 15th season at CU, carrying a record of 509-306-1 and a career mark of 691-388-2 over 23 seasons.
Wednesday marks the 83rd meeting all-time between Omaha and Creighton, and the Bluejays lead the series, 52-30. The two teams last met April 17 at TD Ameritrade Park, where CU claimed its fourth straight win in the series, 9-2.
Scouting the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts enters the weekend with a record of 30-15 (19-5 Summit League) and a nine-game win streak after sweeping a series at North Dakota State last week, 11-8, 9-3 and 7-4.
Head coach Ryan Folmar is in his sixth season at ORU, carrying a career record of 207-126.
Friday marks the 22nd meeting all-time between Omaha and ORU, and the Golden Eagles lead the series, 17-4. The two teams last met May 23-25 at Seymour Smith Park, where Omaha took the first two games of the weekend, 4-3 and 8-2, followed by a 16-8 ORU win.
Macho, Macho Man
Joey Machado (4-5) redshirted in 2017 but has staked his claim on Omaha's Friday spot in the rotation this season. The Creighton Prep product is 4-2 with a 4.12 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 3.67 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 two earned runs since March 24 and only two extra-base hits since March 14.
Over his last 11 appearances, Hehnke has a 0.56 ERA, compiling five saves in 32.0 innings pitched. Opponents have hit just .148 against him in that time.
Welcome to DeBombville
Thomas DeBonville joined the Omaha lineup on Feb. 24 and has started all 39 games since then, hitting .276 with five doubles, four triples, a team-best three home runs, a team-leading 31 runs scored and 20 RBI. He also leads the Summit League with 19 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 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 221-290 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 .297 with 23 runs scored, 15 RBI, 21 walks and a league-best 11 sacrifice hits.
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 8-4.
Over the last seven years of Division I play, UNO is a combined 104-46 when keying at least 10 hits.
Up Next
Omaha visits Creighton for the final of three meetings this season on Tuesday, May 15. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. at TD Ameritrade Park, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
