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The UNO baseball team returns to the Ballpark at Boys Town for its final home series of the regular season, hosting Missouri Western, May 7-8. First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is set for 1 p.m., while Sunday's games will begin at Noon. This weekend's matchup also marks the final home appearances for UNO's five seniors -- Ben Brown, Tyler Davies, Jed Hanson, Travis Jacobi and Mark Johnson -- who will be honored between games on Saturday.

Nebraska Omaha is 30-16 on the season after winning three games of a four-game series at Truman last weekend. Junior Joe Holtmeyer starred in the first game, tossing a complete-game one-hitter against the Bulldogs while striking out eight. Senior Jed Hanson led the way at the plate against TSU, finishing 6-for-13 with a home run, five runs batted in and three runs scored. In addition, juniors Brady Hohl and Trevor Gappa and freshman Beau Suponchick each tallied four runs apiece.

Earlier this year, the Mavericks enjoyed an 11-game win streak from March 18 to April 2. UNO ranks third in the MIAA with a 26-14 conference record, ahead of fourth-place Fort Hays State (26-20, 23-17 MIAA).

MWSU enters the final weekend of conference play as the No. 6 team in the league with an overall record of 23-21 and a mark of 22-17 in the MIAA. The Griffons are just ahead of Northwest Missouri State (20-26, 19-21 MIAA). They avoided a sweep at home by Fort Hays State last weekend, taking the second game of the series in a 10-3 win on Saturday.

Boys Town Family Day Set for Saturday
The UNO Diamond Club and Roberts Dairy will team up for the annual Boys Town Family Day for the Mavericks' Saturday doubleheader, hosting all Boys Town families for unlimited free ice cream, popsicles and lemonade at the ballpark. In conjunction with UNO Senior Day to honor the five seniors playing their final weekend in Omaha, Roberts Dairy will provide treats from a truck behind the pressbox at the Ballpark at Boys Town from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Last Time Out
UNO leads the all-time series with Missouri Western, 27-12. The two teams last squared off on April 21, 2010 at the Ballpark at Boys Town, where they split the afternoon doubleheader. MWSU won game one, 8-6, and UNO took the second contest, 12-2.

League Leaders
UNO leads all MIAA teams with a .336 team batting average through games of May 3, just ahead of nationally-ranked Emporia State (.335) and Central Missouri (.334). Nebraska Omaha also tops the conference in home runs with 46 roundtrippers. Defensively, the Mavericks are second with a .967 fielding percentage.

Individually, junior Brady Hohl ranks fourth with a .401 batting average, as well as third in total hits (69) and fifth in runs scored (47). Senior Jed Hanson is third with eight home runs and third in RBI (41), while junior Colby McCord is sixth with 38 runs driven in.

Herold Captures 400th Career Win
Head Coach Bob Herold earned his 400th career win in game two of the Mavericks' doubleheader at Fort Hays State two weekends ago. With the victory, he became the third coach in school history to match the 400-win mark, joining Bob Gates (464-273) and Virgil Yelkin (439-196) in the prestigious club. Herold now needs 62 more wins to pass Gates and become the winningest skipper in UNO history.

Mavs Rank Among Nation's Best
UNO ranks 12th nationally in team batting average in the NCAA's most recently released statistical rankings through games of May 1. The Mavericks, who have a team batting average of .336, are also 13th in home runs per game (1.0), 14th in total home runs (46), seventh in slugging percentage (.501) and 29th in fielding percentage (.967). In addition, the Nebraska Omaha pitching staff is 19th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.1).

Individually, junior Joe Holtmeyer, the defending Division II strikeout leader, rates fourth with 12.42 strikeouts per nine innings. Junior Brady Hohl comes in at 54th with a .401 batting average, 54th in runs scored (47) and 32nd in total hits (69), and sophomore Tyler Splichal is the seventh most-difficult batter to strike out.

Going Streaking
Junior Brady Hohl saw his hitting streak snapped in game three of the Truman series last weekend, as he previously had 18 consecutive games with a registered hit since April 8. Eleven of those contests resulted in multiple-hit performances, including five three-hit games, and Hohl accounted for 34 hits, 23 runs, 15 RBI, two doubles and a grand slam -- the first of his career -- in the 18-game span. The Millard North product set the bar high, as his streak was the longest individual hitting streak of any Maverick this season.
    
Mavs Welcome 20 Fresh Faces to Roster
UNO's 2011 roster features 20 newcomers, made up of nine true freshmen and 11 transfers. Fifteen are Nebraska natives, while 13 hail from the Omaha metropolitan area.

The list also includes multiple former teammates who have been reunited, as Derek Landis, Brandon Winkelmann, Scotty Donner and Ben Brown played together at Iowa Western to begin their collegiate careers. Brown, Kyle Kruger, Anthony Falcone and Zach Williamsen are all products of Millard West, while Caleb Palensky and Beau Suponchick played together at Papillion-LaVista South.

2011 UNO NEWCOMERS
Player -- Hometown (High School)                            Player -- Hometown (High School)
Ben Brown -- Omaha, Neb. (Millard West)                     Derek Landis -- Ralston, Neb. (Ralston)
Cody Brown -- Yorktown, Va. (Tabb)                             Sean Mascia -- Woodbury, Minn. (St. Thomas Academy)
Cory Buckley -- Bellevue, Neb. (Bellevue East)             Connor McCrite -- Topeka, Kan. (Hayden)
Reid Carter -- Castle Rock, Colo. (Rock Canyon)          Caleb Palensky -- Papillion, Neb. (Papillion-LaVista South)
Tyler Davies -- Papillion, Neb. (Papillion-LaVista)          Martin Sartin -- Hamburg, Ark. (Hamburg)
Scotty Donner -- Crofton, Neb. (Crofton)                        Beau Suponchick -- Papillion, Neb. (Papillion-LaVista South)
Anthony Falcone -- Omaha, Neb. (Millard West)            Mark Waldron -- Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep)
Landon Fall -- Kansas City, Mo. (Lee's Summit North)   Rob Wheeler -- Elkhorn, Neb. (Elkhorn)
Mitch Kracl -- Omaha, Neb. (Burke)                                Zach Williamsen -- Omaha, Neb. (Millard West)
Kyle Kruger -- Omaha, Neb. (Millard West)                     Brandon Winkelmann -- Omaha, Neb. (Gross Catholic)

Holtmeyer Eclipses Career Strikeout Record
Junior Joe Holtmeyer (7-2) had his most dominant strikeout performance of the season at No. 1 Emporia State on April 2, striking out 12 batters in a seven-inning, complete-game performance for the 5-2 win. The victory also marked an important milestone for Holtmeyer, as he became UNO's all-time career strikeout leader. He has now amassed 302 strikeouts in two and a half years, ahead of former Maverick Tim Huber (2005-08), who had 277 in his four-year career.

Holtmeyer leads the Mavericks and the MIAA with 81 Ks on the year. He had three consecutive outings with double-figure strikeouts against Washburn, Lincoln and ESU and another 11-strikeout performance at Fort Hays State.

Mavericks in Professional Baseball
Player            2011 Team (Organization)             Level     Pos.    At UNO        Year Drafted -- Team (Round)
Tyler Cloyd    Clearwater Theshers (Philadelphia)    A       RHP    2006-07                   2008 -- Phillies (18th)
    Notes: Cloyd previously played for the Threshers, a Class A Advanced team in the Florida State League, in early 2010. He is 0-0 with a 2.40 ERA in 2011, having made two starts over three appearances and 15.0 innings. Cloyd has 14 strikeouts to one walk for the year.
Chris Kessinger    Everett AquaSox (Seattle)          A       RHP    2008-09                 2009 -- Mariners (37th)
    Notes: Kessinger is on the roster for the Everett AquaSox -- a Class A short-season team in the Northwest League -- for the second straight year. The AquaSox do not begin play until June.

Swiping Bags
Senior Jed Hanson has been the Mavericks' leading base-stealer in the first half of the season, both swiping nine bags on 12 tries. His senior year total marks a jump in his performance from 2010, when he finished the year 7-for-8 on stolen base attempts.

Holtmeyer Named to Tino Martinez Award Watch List
Junior right-handed pitcher Joe Holtmeyer was named to the Tino Martinez Award's initial 2011 watch list, the award committee announced in mid-February. The returning All-American is among 91 student-athletes nominated for the honor, which is given annually to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division II baseball.

The award is named for former University of Tampa Spartan, Olympian, first-round draft pick and MLB All-Star, Tino Martinez. Nominations are made by baseball sports information contacts and members of the media. Omission from the initial list does not exclude additional players from future consideration.

The list will be updated with semi-finalists on May 7. Finalists will be named on May 19, after which fans will be invited to vote online at TinoAward.com to help determine the winner. The award will be announced after the conclusion of the Division II Baseball Championship in Cary, N.C., May 28 to June 4.

Mavericks Return Division II Strikeout Leader
Junior right-handed pitcher Joe Holtmeyer had a stellar sophomore season in 2010, fanning 152 batters, the most of any pitcher in NCAA Division II. The Creighton Prep product was honored as a first-team All-American and was the Rawlings/ABCA South Central Regional Pitcher of the Year. He also earned MIAA Pitcher of the Year plaudits and was a first-team all-conference selection after going 9-2 with a 2.89 ERA over 87.1 innings of work.

All-MIAA Trio Leads Mavs Into 2011 Season
UNO returns a trio of all-conference performers from 2010 on this year's squad in junior right-handed pitcher Joe Holtmeyer, sophomore infielder Tyler Splichal and junior infielder Brady Hohl. Holtmeyer, the MIAA Pitcher of the Year, was a first-team honoree, while Splichal and Hohl garnered second-team honors.

Holtmeyer led the conference in nearly every major pitching category, compiling a 9-2 record, a nation-leading 152 strikeouts and a 2.89 ERA over 87.1 innings on the mound.

Splichal batted .410 in his inaugural campaign with 22 doubles, five home runs and 42 RBI. En route to MIAA Freshman of the Year plaudits, he started all 51 games he played in and had a team-leading 200 at-bats, scoring 35 runs with 82 hits.

Hohl also started all 51 of his appearances, hitting .354 with 10 doubles, two triples and a home run as a sophomore. He led the Mavericks with 45 runs scored and had 42 RBI while drawing 16 walks and stealing six bases Hohl was also second on the team in hit-by-pitches, as he was plunked 15 times over the year.

Next Up for the Mavs
UNO travels to the 2011 MIAA Tournament, May 12-15, at Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. Final seedings and the tournament schedules will be announced by the MIAA office following the completion of the final weekend of regular-season play.