OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha baseball welcomes in-state opponent Nebraska to Werner Park Wednesday, April 17, at 6:35 p.m. The Mavericks then follow up with a three-game Summit League series at Purdue Fort Wayne this weekend, April 19-21.
LEADING OFF
• Omaha is coming off a 1-3 week, where the team fell at Kansas State in a mid-week Wednesday night game, followed by going 1-2 at Oral Roberts.
• Omaha's pitching has been the key for the team this season, as the starting trio of
Joey Machado,
Payton Kinney and
Spencer Koelewyn are a combined 14-2 and have an ERA of 3.21 together.
• Kinney is the reigning Summit League Pitcher of the Week after he tied his career-high of 11 strikeouts for the second time this season. The weekly honor also marks his third this season and the fourth overall of his career.
• Kinney is also a perfect 7-0 on the mound and has a 1.20 ERA that ranks 11th in the nation. Both marks are a Summit League best.
• Sunday starter Koelewyn has a 3.99 ERA and leads the nation in fewest hits allowed per nine innings at 3.76. He is also 22nd in the nation with 12.68 strikeouts per nine innings.
• The team also has the top-3 Summit League leaders in saves as well.
Tyler Daugherty leads the team with five saves this season in relief, followed by the duo of
Cal Hehnke and true freshman
Jackson Gordon, who are both at four apiece. Gordon is making his second-career start on the mound against the Huskers.
• As a team, Omaha has the nation's best fielding percentage at 0.985.
•
Parker Smejkal leads The Summit League with a .465 batting average, a .531 on-base percentage and an .884 slugging percentage in conference play. He also has four home runs in league action that ranks him third amongst The Summit League.
• Omaha and Nebraska square off for the first time this season, and the Mavericks take on Purdue Fort Wayne in its second regular season series this season. The Mavericks swept the Mastodons earlier this season.
•
Braden Rogers recently saw his 16-game hitting streak snapped in the road series last weekend at Oral Roberts. He is, however, on a 19-game reached base streak.
• Fellow teammate
Ben Palensky is on a 22-game reached base streak, which is the best of his career.
SERIES HISTORY
• Nebraska leads 50-11 over Omaha
• Omaha leads 25-18 over Purdue Fort Wayne
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
The Huskers are 20-10 overall and post a 10-2 mark in Big Ten play. Nebraska has a Tuesday night game against Kansas State prior to the mid-week tilt at Werner Park against Omaha. They are led by head coach Darin Erstad, who is 255-179-1 overall in eight seasons at the helm.
The team is currently in first for their conference standings and have an RPI ranked at 37 going into the week. Aaron Palensky leads the team with a .345 batting average through 30 games. He is the brother of Maverick right-fielder
Ben Palensky.
SCOUTING PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Purdue Fort Wayne sits at the bottom of The Summit League standings with a 5-28 overall record and an 0-15 mark in league play. The Mastodons and Mavericks squared off March 22-24 of this season, where Omaha swept all three games. Omaha won 11-4 at Skutt Catholic High School, and took the next two games 6-1 and 26-0 at Creighton Prep High School.
Prior to the series, Purdue Fort Wayne has a mid-week game against Toledo this Wednesday at home. The team is led by Garrett Mohler's 32 hits on six doubles, two triples and four home runs. They are led by head coach Bobby Pierce, who is in his 11th season with the program and has a 245-433 overall record.
LOOKING AHEAD
Omaha returns home for an April 23 matchup at Werner Park against Kansas State, followed by a three-game home stand against South Dakota State April 26-28 at Seymour Smith Park.
