Leading Off
With their two-week homestand complete, the Mavericks (12-23, 10-8) will be on the road for the next couple of weeks, beginning this week with a trip to Manhattan, Kansas for a midweek game at K-State (24-15) and a weekend series in Fargo, N.D. against first-place North Dakota State (12-22, 9-6).

Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday: 6 p.m. at K-State at Tointon Family Stadium
Friday: 6:30 p.m. at North Dakota State at Newman Outdoor Field
Saturday: 2 p.m. at North Dakota State at Newman Outdoor Field
Sunday: 1 p.m. at North Dakota State at Newman Outdoor Field

Around the Horn

• After its midweek game vs. Kansas was canceled, Omaha took two of three from Northern Colorado to win its fourth series in a row, as well as evening the season series against the Bears at 3-3.
• Winning the first two games of the weekend with a combined score of 21-3, the Mavericks won four games in a row for the second time this season.
• During the four-game winning streak, the Mavericks scored 10+ runs in all four games, outscoring the opposition 52-27.
• Across all three games last week, starters Charlie Bell, Caleb Riedel, and Harrison Kreiling combined for 18.1 innings with 23 strikeouts and only two runs allowed. 
• Bell earned his first win of the season, while Riedel had one of the best starts of his career with seven no-hit innings and a season-high 11 strikeouts. Kreiling also carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and threw a season-high 5.2 IP.
• Holding Northern Colorado to just six runs last week, the Mavericks remain in 1st place in the Summit League in team ERA at 6.21.
• Fresh off his record-setting weekend vs. SDSU, Tyler Bishop delivered the killing blow on Friday with a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh to grow Omaha's lead to 10 and force the run rule in just 6.2 innings.
• Drew Lechnir led the way on offense by going 7-for-9 with eight RBIs and three runs through the first two games. On Friday, he set a new career best with six RBIs.
• Meanwhile, Zach Lechnir also had a strong week at the plate, batting 5-for-9 with four runs and three RBIs, as well as hitting a double in all three games.
• Going 4-for-12 on the weekend and increasing his batting average to .304 on the season, Matt Goetzmann also stole two more bases last week to move into second in the league with 12 steals. He also extended his hitting streak to 7 games, the longest by a Maverick this season.

Scouting K-State
K-State played five games last week, going 3-2 against UConn, Northwestern, and No. 15 Oklahoma State to end the week at 24-15 and 9-9 in the Big 12. Last year, Omaha came from behind for a 7-6 victory against the Wildcats at Tal Anderson Field.

One of the top offenses in the Big 12, K-State owns a .292 team AVG and an .870 OPS. Junior infielder Brady Day leads the team in both (.379 AVG, 1.100 ) and in RBIs (41). Meanwhile, speedster Brendan Jones has gone 26-for-27 on stolen base attempts on top of hitting .299 with a .954 OPS. Chuck Ingram (.306, .902) and Kaelen Culpepper (.319, .947) round out the quartet of Wildcats with averages above .290 and OPSs above .900, with the former also being the team leader in home runs (eight).

K-State's starting rotation has struggled as none of its regular members own an ERA below 5.00. The bullpen has fared better with five pitchers posting sub 5.00 ERAs, including Jackson Wentworth who has 70 strikeouts in 48.0 IP across 21 appearances.

Head coach Pete Hughes is in his sixth season leading K-State and 21st overall, owning 809 career victories coaching for five different schools, giving him the most wins of any active Big 12 head coach.

Scouting North Dakota State
Following a 2-1 weekend vs. ORU, NDSU is now first in the Summit League with a 9-6 conference record (12-22 overall). Before facing the Mavericks, the Bison host Mayville State on Tuesday. 

Rookie infielder Jake Schaffner continues pace NDSU with a .377 AVG, .930 OPS, seven doubles, and 23 runs. Colten Becker is second on the team behind Schaffner with a .299 AVG and .859 OPS, while Sam Canton leads the team with 24 RBIs.

Nolan Johnson remains the Bison's top starter with a 2.73 ERA and .189 BAA, while Logan Knight has shaved more than a full run off his ERA (5.24) and increased his strikeout total to 49. In relief, despite a 5.40 ERA, Reese Ligtenberg has the lowest mark in bullpen, while Skyler Riedinger has the lowest BAA at .256. 

Head Coach Tyler Oakes is in his third season in charge of the Bison. He was named Summit League Coach of the Year after guiding NDSU to a Regular Season title in 2022 with a 30-17 record.