Final Home Weekend Series has IPFW Hosting Omaha

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IPFW Probable Pitching Rotation:
Friday: LHP – Jason Kalber
Saturday Game 1: RHP – Chuck Weaver
Saturday Game 2: LHP – Brandon Pease
Sunday: RHP – Steve Danielak

Omaha Probable Pitching Rotation:
Friday: RHP – Tyler Fox
Saturday Game 1: RHP – Zach Williamsen
Saturday Game 2: RHP – Matt Tew
Sunday: TBA

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – IPFW will host the Omaha Mavericks this weekend in a four-game series that will serve as the last home series against a Summit League opponent. The Mastodons have played 12-straight home games heading into the weekend and will finish the rest of their Summit League games on the road.

ABOUT IPFW
The Mastodons won the final game of a four-game series last weekend against the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The win moved their overall record to 18-21 which includes a 6-10 Summit League mark. IPFW has posted a 5-7 record during their current home stand. They split doubleheaders against South Dakota State and North Dakota State and split a four-game series vs. Oakland before dropping 3-of-4 against WIU.

Senior Clay Hathaway has been a staple in the IPFW lineup all season long. Hathaway has started in all 39 games at the shortstop position and leads the team with a .331 batting average. The Show Low, Ariz. native has eight doubles, three triples, four home runs and 16 RBI's. He is the team leader in slugging percentage (.518), on-base percentage (.403) and total bases (72).

Brandon Soat has improved his batting average to .309 by hitting .359 in Summit League contests. The true freshman has four doubles, a triple, and one home run to his credit to post a .420 slugging percentage. Joining Soat near the top of the lineup is newcomer Tyler Shepherd. Shepherd is batting .319 this season and is a nightmare to the opposition once on base as he leads the team and is nationally ranked with 24 steals.

IPFW posts a team ERA of 4.15. Three of the four weekend starters have an ERA under 4.00 and Chuck Weaver is close to joining that group with an ERA of 4.27. Weaver leads the team with 52 strikeouts on the year. He has thrown 52.2 innings and holds opponents to a .253 batting average.

Steve Danielak has left the closer role and is now one of the top aces in the rotation. The junior is 5-3 in his seven starts with an ERA of 3.61. Danielak has 31 strikeouts to just 16 walks and has only gave up 19 earned runs in 47.1 innings of work.

SCOUTING OMAHA
The Mavericks are sitting on top of the Summit League standings with a league record of 10-2. They most recently split a four-game series against North Dakota State to move their overall record to 16-18. Ryan Keele hit a pair of solo home runs in Omaha's last game and Tyler Splichal went 5-for-6 with four runs scored and four RBI's. Splichal went on to be named Summit League Baseball Player of the Week for his performances April 22-28. Keele previously earned the honor on March 18.

A strong lineup from top to bottom makes Omaha one of the toughest teams to play in the Summit League. The Mavs have eight players batting over .300 with Alex Mortensen pacing the group with a .352 average to go along with a team-high 15 doubles and 22 runs scored.

Omaha lost their first six games of the season before recording a 13-2 victory over North Dakota. A signature win quickly followed as the Mavs defeated Minnesota 10-9 in a midweek road contest that took 11 innings. That same weekend, the Mavericks stayed hot as they took two of three from Iowa.

IPFW traveled to the Ballpark at Boys Town to kick off the start of the Summit League schedule. The Mastodons lost 6-3, 2-0 on Friday April 5 in a scheduled doubleheader.

The projected starters for this weekend are Tyler Fox, Zach Williamsen, and Matt Tew, however the Sunday starter is still up in the air. Fox has had a successful freshman season as he enters the weekend with a 4-1 record on the mound. He holds a 3.99 ERA and is second on the team in strikeouts with 28.

Williamsen has the best ERA of anyone in the Omaha rotation (3.44). The sophomore is 2-1 in his five starts and he is holding opponents to a .221 batting average. Tew is the senior of the group. He is 2-5 with a 6.31 ERA, yet he leads the club in strikeouts with 31. A possible starter for Sunday's contest would be Cory Buckley, who has six starts on the year with a 1-4 record and a 4.63 ERA. The team's primary closer is Josh Bullock who leads the team with six saves. Derek Landis also finishes games off for the Mavericks as he enters the series with four saves.

STEAL THE SHOW
The 2013 IPFW baseball team has 67 stolen bases on the season moving them to fourth all-time for most steals in a single-season. The 2005 team holds the record at 113, but the 2013 team has a chance to move up in the record book this weekend as the 2004 team ranks second with 76 steals and the 2006 team is in third with 71.

JUST WIN BABY
IPFW has 18 wins with 15 games to play in the regular season. The IPFW record for most wins in a single-season was set in 1998 when the Mastodons recorded 25. This year's team is currently in a tie for the 10th most wins in the programs history.

SINGLE-SEASON SAVES RECORD
IPFW broke the single-season team saves record by using five different student-athletes in the closer role. Travis Reboulet, Connor Lawhead, and Kyle Sorensen each have three saves on the year to lead the team. Chuck Weaver and Connor McLaughlin each have one giving the Mastodons a grand total of 11. The old record of nine was set by the 2006 team.

SHEPHERD NATIONALLY RANKED
Junior Tyler Shepherd is ranked 14th in the NCAA with 24 stolen bases on the season. He moves up to ninth in the stolen bases per game category (0.69).

SENIOR DAY SET FOR SUNDAY
The IPFW baseball program will recognize the 2013 senior class of Clay Hathaway, Jason Kalber, Markus Kalber, Travis Reboulet, Danny Tursell, and Chuck Weaver on Sunday before the start of the game.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Final Home Weekend Series has IPFW Hosting Omaha

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