OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha baseball program enters The Summit League Championship as the No. 1 overall seed in Tulsa, Okla.
Omaha opens the tournament with a noon matchup this Wednesday, May 22, against the No. 4 seeded Western Illinois Leathernecks.
LEADING OFF
• Omaha enters The Summit League Baseball Championship as the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history.
• The regular season crown also marks the program's first since the team did it back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014.
• During 2013-14, Omaha was not eligible for postseason play due to the transition rules to NCAA Division I at the time.
• The 2019 season also marks the first time since 2016 that Omaha has qualified for the The Summit League Baseball Championship.
• The Mavericks wrapped up the 2019 regular season with the nation's highest fielding percentage at .983. Omaha committed just 31 errors in 50 games.
• Omaha's right-hander
Payton Kinney has a league-best 1.88 ERA and posts a 9-1 record in 14 starts.
• In relief,
Cal Hehnke is tied for the second-most saves in the league with six this season.
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Parker Smejkal is second in the league with a .336 batting average and a .478 on-base percentage.
• He also has a team-high 37 hits and is tied for the team's lead with six home runs for the 2019 season.
• Omaha took the regular season series against Western Illinois, 4-2. The Mavericks swept the Leathernecks at Seymour Smith Park in Omaha, March 29-31, but dropped the road series, 2-1, in Macomb May 10-12.
• The Mavericks are looking for their first win in Summit League postseason history.
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS
Western Illinois clinched the final seed in The Summit League tournament with a series win over Purdue Fort Wayne and North Dakota State's series loss to South Dakota State.
The Leathernecks lead the league in stolen bases this season, as they are 70-for-100. Drue Galassi leads the team with a .302 average with 54 hits and 46 RBI. Head coach Ryan Brownlee is in his seventh season at the helm of the program and Omaha leads the all-time series 24-14.
LOOKING AHEAD
If the Mavericks are victorious on Wednesday, they would play Thursday, May 23, at 6 p.m. against the winner of No. 2 South Dakota State and No. 3 Oral Roberts. If Omaha loses, they would play in the elimination game at Noon on Thursday.
