OMAHA, Neb. – The fifth-seeded Omaha softball team heads to the Summit League Softball Championship this Wednesday, May 9, facing No. 4 seed South Dakota in first round action. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at the Ellig Sports Complex in Fargo, N.D. 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 finished the regular season with an 18-29 mark (5-9 Summit League) after taking two of three games last weekend against Fort Wayne.
• South Dakota swept a three game series earlier this season in Omaha.
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Kelly Pattison leads the team with a .414 average with a .667 slugging percentage and a .454 on-base percentage. Pattison also has a team-best seven homers and 32 RBI.
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Emma Dargy has reached base in nine-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 .319 average with seven doubles.
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Sydney Hampton leads Omaha with a 10-12 record in 26 appearances (15 starts) and a 3.75 ERA.
• Pattison picked up First Team All-Summit League honors while
Savannah Fisher earned Second Team All-Summit accolades.
Aubrey Hacke named the league's Freshman of the Year.
• Omaha leads The Summit League in stolen bases (46) and times hit by pitch (34). The Mavericks are second in times home attendance (945) and sacrifice hits (33). They also are third in home runs (31).
• 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 South Dakota Coyotes
South Dakota enters Wednesday's contest with a 17-37 overall mark and a 5-9 Summit League record. The Coyotes took two of three games from UMKC on the final weekend of the regular season.
All-Summit League selections Jessica Rogers, Camille Fowler and Emily Winckler lead South Dakota. Rogers leads the team with a .372 average, 15 home runs and 42 RBI. Fowler is hitting .331 with 12 stolen bases while Winckler has eight homers and 28 RBI.
South Dakota has used six pitchers this season. Dustie Durham leads the team with an 11-13 record, 4.87 ERA, two saves and 81 strikeouts. Sarah Lisko has a 5-10 mark with 5.36 ERA.
Setting the Field
The field has been set for this week's Summit League Softball Championship. No. 5-seeded Omaha is one of six teams set to compete at the tournament, May 9-12, at the Ellig Sports Complex in Fargo, N.D. The tournament champion advances to the NCAA Tournament as the league's automatic bid.
The Mavericks (18-29, 5-9 Summit League) will face No. 4 seed South Dakota (17-37, 5-9) on Wednesday, May 9 at 3 p.m. Wednesday's other game will feature No. 3 Western Illinois (17-30, 9-6) and No. 6 Fort Wayne (18-33, 3-11) will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. CT.
The first round games between Omaha/South Dakota and Western Illinois/Fort Wayne are single elimination games. The final four teams then play a double-elimination tournament.
North Dakota State (30-17, 10-3) earned the No. 1 seed after sweeping Western Illinois on the last weekend of league play. South Dakota State (32-14, 10-4) holds the No. 2 seed, and both squads earned a first-round bye.
North Dakota State will play the winner of USD/UNO in Thursday's winners bracket at noon CT, followed by South Dakota State facing the winner of Western Illinois and Fort Wayne at approximately 2:30 p.m.
The double-elimination tournament concludes with Saturday's championship game at 1 p.m. CT. If necessary, a second championship game would be played immediately following.
2018 Summit League Softball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 9
Game 1: (4) South Dakota vs. (5) Omaha – 3 p.m.
Game 2: (3) Western Illinois vs. (6) Fort Wayne – 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 10
Game 3: (1) North Dakota State vs. Game 1 Winner – Noon
Game 4: (2) South Dakota State vs. Game 2 Winner – 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser – 5 p.m.
Friday, May 11
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner – 1 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser – 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 12
Game 8: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner – 1 p.m.
*Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser – 3:30 p.m.
*If necessary
NOTE: Games 1 & 2 will be single elimination with the remainder of the tournament being double elimination.
Last Time Out
Omaha won two of three games to take a weekend series from Fort Wayne. The Mavericks sweptlast Friday's doubleheader, 7-2 and 9-5.
Natalie Mostek and
Crystal Pablo each homered for the Mavericks.
Kelly Pattison went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles while
Hailey Bartz finished 1-for-4 with a triple.
Sydney Hampton (10-11) picked up the complete-game victory.
In game two,
Savannah Fisher (1-for-3, RBI) and
Emma Dargy (1-for-3, two RBI) each homered for the Mavericks.
Aubrey Hacke went 2-for-5 with a double, run scored and three RBI.
Demi Dobbs finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI. The win went to Hacke (5-8), as she threw 3.0 innings of relief and allowed no runs with three hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
Saturday's finale went to Fort Wayne, 8-5. Fisher (2-for-4, RBI), Mostek (1-for-4) and
Faith Romero (2-for-2, two RBI) each homered for the Mavericks. Bartz added a 2-for-2 effort with an RBI.
