Posts by Rob White

The game was over. Gabby Banda was face-down, and distraught at home plate, realizing she’d been tagged out in a game-ending rundown, snuffing out a seventh-inning rally. Nebraska had lost 6-5.

But wait. Coach Rhonda Revelle had run down from the first base coaching box to tell her. She was safe. Florida third baseman Stephanie Tofft had dropped the ball after making a diving tag. The game wasn’t over. It was tied.

A series of daring baserunning decisions on the play had allowed Nebraska to score two runs, and Florida was literally inches away from getting four outs on the play instead of just one.

In the end, Banda’s hustle-home play helped buy the Huskers eight more innings — NU went on to lose 9-8 …

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University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey coach Dean Blais announced Monday that assistant coach Steve Johnson will not be returning for the 2013-14 season.

“Steve had decided to go in another direction with his career, and we wish him the best of luck,” Blais said. “He was a valuable member of our staff and did a great job working with our players. We’ll begin looking for another high-quality coach to fill that position immediately.”

Johnson served as an assistant for the Mavericks for only one season. He came to UNO after two seasons as an assistant for rival St. Cloud State. He had spent 10 years as the head coach of the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, leading the team to two Clark Cup titles.…

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When: Doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Ballpark at Boys Town
Probable pitchers: UNO RH Marcus Ethen (0-1, 6.65 ERA) and LH Cole Volkers (1-2, 10.32) vs. RH John White (3-5, 3.60) and TBA

Scouting UNO (22-21, 15-5): The Mavs’ lead over South Dakota State in the Summit League is down to one game with six to play. South Dakota State (29-17, 14-6) comes to Omaha for a four-game series this weekend. … Outfielder Ryan Keele has been named the Summit’s player of the week for the second consecutive week after batting .500 (10 for 20) with two homers, five RBIs, an .850 slugging percentage and a .565 on-base percentage in five games. … Keele leads the league with a .378 average and is …

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When: 6:05 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Banks Field, Iowa City
Probable starters: UNO RH Marcus Ethen (0-1, 6.16 ERA) vs. RH Josh Martsching (0-1, 5.19)

Scouting UNO (18-20): Outfielder Ryan Keele and pitcher Steven Schoonover have been named the Summit League’s player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for their work in a split against Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. Keele hit .625 (10 for 16) with three doubles and seven RBIs, compiling a .625 on-base percentage and .812 slugging percentage. Schoonover, a junior, pitched a six-hit shutout, with all the hits singles. … Alex Mortensen leads the Summit League with a .362 batting average. Keele is second at .357. … Cory Buckley doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify for the Summit League lead, but he’s hitting a …

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When: 11 a.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday (DH), 11 a.m. Sunday
Where: Mastodon Field, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Probable starters: Friday: UNO RH Tyler Fox (4-1, 3.99 ERA) vs. IPFW LH Jason Kalber (1-5, 3.84). Saturday: UNO RH Zach Williamsen (2-1, 3.44) and RH Matt Tew (2-5, 6.31) vs. IPFW RH Chuck Weaver (2-3, 4.27) and LH Brandon Pease (1-1, 3.83). Sunday, UNO TBA vs. IPFW RH Steve Danielak (5-3, 3.61).

Scouting UNO (16-18, 10-2): UNO swept IPFW in a doubleheader in Omaha on April 5 by scores of 6-3 and 2-0. … Sophomore catcher Alex Mortensen of Millard North is tied for 10th nationally with an average of 0.45 doubles per game. … Junior Brett Bass of Millard West is tied for the Summit lead …

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When: 2 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday (DH); 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Ballpark at Boys Town
Pitchers: Friday, NDSU RH John Straka (5-1, 1.91 ERA) vs. UNO RH Tyler Fox 3-1, 4.22. Saturday, NDSU RH David Ernst (4-4, 3.65) and LH Parker Trewin (0-2, 5.12) vs. UNO RH Zach Williamsen (2-1, 2.61) and RH Matt Tew (2-4, 5.57). Sunday, NDSU RH Trevor Jaunich (2-3, 4.11) vs. UNO LH Steven Schoonover (2-2, 3.91)

Scouting UNO (14-16, 8-0): Catcher Alex Mortensen ranks eighth nationally with 0.48 doubles per game, and he leads the Summit League with a .355 batting average and 14 doubles. He is also second in the conference in hits (39) and slugging percentage (.509) and third in total bases (56). … Cory Buckley’s .423 …

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The first chance to see Barret Loux pitch professionally in Omaha is Thursday at Werner Park. Loux, now an Iowa Cub, was drafted sixth overall by the Rangers in 2011 and agreed to a $2 million bonus, but the Rangers voided the deal because they didn’t like how his arm looked in a physical and signed him for just over $300,000. They traded him to the Cubs this past offseason in the Geovany Soto deal — after Loux went 14-1 with a 3.47 ERA in the Class AA Texas League. Baseball America ranks him only 26th among Cubs prospects. That’s too low, isn’t it?

Ryan Sweeney is hitting well (.362) for the I-Cubs, and former Nebraska commit Brad Nelson of Altoona, Iowa, is back with …

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When: 2 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Werner Park
Pitchers: Iowa RH Calvin Mathews (1-4, 5.93 ERA) vs. UNO LH Cory Buckley (1-3, 4.91)

Scouting UNO (14-15): Mavericks have won eight straight games, all in Summit League play. It’s UNO’s longest win streak since an 11-game stretch in 2011. … South Dakota State is second in the league at 5-3, while preseason favorite North Dakota State is third at 3-3. The three Summit teams UNO has played are a combined 6-16 in league games, including 6-8 when not playing the Mavs. … Cory Buckley, Tuesday’s starting pitcher, went 8 for 17 (.471) at the plate in a four-game sweep of Western Illinois. Buckley is on a six-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting .478 (11 for …

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When: 3 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday (DH), noon Sunday.
Where: Boyer Stadium, Macomb, Ill.

Pitchers: Friday, UNO RH Tyler Fox (3-1, 4.00 ERA) vs. WIU RH John White (1-4, 2.89). Saturday, UNO RH Zach Williamsen (1-1, 2.16) and RH Matt Tew (1-4, 6.49) vs. WIU LH Tom Constand (1-2, 3.19) and RH Tyler Willman (0-3, 8.10). Sunday, UNO LH Steven Schoonover (1-2, 4.50) vs. WIU TBA.

Scouting UNO: UNO (10-15, 4-0), which opened league play with four consecutive wins last weekend, hasn’t won five straight since it was a Division II program — April 16 through 20, 2011 — when it swept a four-game series with Missouri Southern and won the first game of a doubleheader against Northwest Missouri State. … Catcher Alex Mortensen, a …

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When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Tointon Stadium, Manhattan, Kan.

TV: Fox College Sports

Probable pitchers: UNO LH Steven Schoonover (1-1, 5.25 ERA) vs. RH Jake Doller (2-2, 1.85)

Scouting UNO (6-14): Steve Schoonover is expected to make his first start of the year. … Josh Bullock is 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA and is third in the Summit League with four saves. … Alex Mortensen leads the team with a .394 average and is second with nine doubles and a .563 slugging percentage. His .463 on-base percentage ranks third. … Clayton Taylor, who has a nine-game hitting streak, leads the Summit with a .485 on-base percentage, is third with a .352 average, is tied for third with seven doubles and ranks fourth with a .481 …

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