Opposition Research - University of Nebraska at Kearney

Opposition Research - University of Nebraska at Kearney

Your Northwest Missouri State University will travel the road to play four games against the University of Nebraska at Kearney to open the 'Cats MIAA Conference play this week.  Presently, the 'Cats are scheduled to play four games against the Lopers with one game on Friday, two games on Saturday, and a single game on Sunday, at a neutral site in Coffeyville, Kansas.  All times are presently set for "TBD".

The word on the block says weather conditions may force the games to go to Wichita, Kansas, or St. Louis, Missouri.

About the UNK Lopers -

The Nebraska-Kearney baseball team is picked 10th in the 2014 MIAA preseason coaches' poll.

In the 14-team league, the Lopers received 57 points, eight ahead of NW Missouri State and 16 behind Fort Hays State.

UNK traveled around 7,000 miles last spring and, despite some key injuries, posted a 22-23 (19-20) record.

The Loper veterans include junior shortstop Dillon Schroeder (.341, four HR's, 14 RBI's), junior infielder/catcher Danny Droll (.327, four HR's, 30 RBI's), junior outfielder Brandon Landanger (.364, two HR's, 25 RBI's) and sophomore outfielder Anthony Pacheco (.333, four HR's, 33 RBI's), the 2013 MIAA Freshman of the year.

Seven seniors highlight a pitching staff that returns 84% of its innings thrown. The senior arms include Adam Peters (Lincoln SW), Dalton Cowen (Gillette, Wyo.), Carlos Palomo (Gering) and Alex sosa (Miami, Fla.).

UNK swept OPSU to start 2014 -

The Nebraska-Kearney baseball team swept a four-game series with Oklahoma Panhandle State to start the 2014 NCAA season in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The games were played at Lobo Field at the U. of New Mexico.

UNK won by scores of 9-2 and and 5-0 on Sunday and 6-2 and 8-6 on Monday. The Lopers were the home team on Sunday and the visiting squad on Monday.

In the series, Kearney batted .330 with 11 doubles and 23 RBI's. Mean while, the pitching staff had a 2.57 ERA with 22 K's and just nine walks.

Junior catcher/infielder Danny Droll (Florence, Colo.) batted .600 with two doubles, two steals and three RBI's while junior Dillon Schroeder (Kearney H.S.) and sophomore Anthony Pacheco (Kearney Catholic H.S.) each knocked in six runs in the series.

Senior newcomer Logan Willard (Eagle Grove, Ia.), a transfer from Indiana State, threw a complete game three-hit shut out in Sunday's nightcap. He fanned seven and walked just one as UNK tallied four in the fifth to break up a tight game.

Fellow senior Adam Peters (Lincoln SW) also threw well, allowing two earned in six full in the season opener. Finally, relievers Aaron Smith (Cheyenne, Wyo.) and Carlos Palomo (Gering) picked up wins on Sunday.

UNK won 2 of 3 against Newman University -

Senior Adam Peters threw a complete game three-hitter and three different players knocked in three runs a piece to help Nebraska-Kearney sweep a double header from Newman, 2-1 and 14-4, Sunday in Wichita, Kans.

In game one, Peters (Lincoln SW) struck out six and shut out Newman over the final four innings. UNK helped Peters get his second win by scoring two unearned runs in the sixth.

Grand Island junior Max Ayoub led off the inning with a single and then moved up two bases thanks to a Jet error on a fielder's choice and a sac bunt. Another Newman error allowed Ayoub to tie things up with a sac fly by sophomore LF Anthony Pacheco (Kearney Catholic) providing the winning run.

Newman's John Branum (0-2) was the tough luck loser, fanning five and walking none over six full.

In the nine-inning night cap, the Lopers scored runs in each of the first seven innings, including a five-run seventh.

Iowa senior Logan Willard rebounded from a four spot in the first by blanking Newman over the next three innings. Wyoming senior Dalton Cowen picked up the win in relief as he shut out the Jets for three more innings.

A 16-hit Kearney attack was led by Pacheco (3 for 4, three RBI's), senior RF Jayke Brock (3 for 5, three RBI's), Schroeder (2 for 3, four runs & three RBI's) and Ayoub (2 for 4, two runs & two RBi's). Both Ayoub and Schroeder went deep with Ayoub adding a triple.

Despite scoring 14 runs, UNK left 11 runners on as they drew six walks and were hit four times.
In the third game, the Newman Jets scored 10 runs over the first three innings to beat Nebraska-Kearney, 11-3, Monday afternoon in Wichita, Kansas.

UNK (6-1) won two of the three games in the series. The Jets, from the Heartland Conference, improve to 3-4.

Eight different Newman players had an RBI with three Jets having three hits apiece. That trio included first baseman Kyle Johnston (3 for 5, two runs, two RBI's), who had two doubles.

Newman scored four in the first and added six in the third to open up a double digit lead.

Both clubs had 15 hits with Loper junior SS Dillon Schroeder (2 for 5, two runs, three RBI's) smacking homers in the fourth and sixth innings. Also, Kearney Catholic grad Anthony Pacheco went 3 for 4 and junior Ross Mortensen fanned three K's in 1.1 innings.

UNK Head Coach - Damon Day -

Alma Mater:            Benedictine University
Graduating Year:     1997
Experience:              11th Year

In his 10 years in as Nebraska-Kearney's head baseball coach, Damon Day has brought unprecedented success to the program.

As skipper, he has has guided UNK to 274 wins, two RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) Tournament titles, one RMAC regular season championship and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Under Day’s tutelage the Lopers saw their first appearance in the NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, as well as winning 30 games in back-to-back season for the first time in the program's 60-year history.

Day has also coached 57 all-conference players, 14 all-region selections and the first three Division II All-Americans in program history.

Since 2004, UNK players have also gone on to play in the professional ranks. Current Detroit Tigers pitcher Joba Chamberlain spent his freshman year in Kearney with pitcher Ryan Sheldon and infielders Cody Lusero, Brian Wuest and Tyler Keeble having played in pro independent leagues around the country.

Off the field, Lusero ('07) and Blake Cover ('10) were tabbed as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans with three others being voted Academic All-District. In addition, three players have been named UNK's Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

In Day’s first season, a freshman-dominated squad won 19 times while playing one of the nation's toughest schedules.

Along the way, the Lopers picked up victories over nationally-ranked squads from Colorado State-Pueblo and Colorado Mesa. Chamberlain, an All-RMAC choice, was instrumental in those wins.

His peers tabbed Day as RMAC Coach of the Year, an award he would also claim in 2011.

Two years later, UNK posted its first winning campaign in a decade. The 2006 year also marked the Lopers first trip to the RMAC Tournament since 1997.

Day then led the Lopers to back-to-back RMAC Tourney titles and 30 wins seasons in 2007 and 2008. Both of those springs ended with trips to the NCAA's, the first time a Kearney program had made a national tournament since the 1980's.

The 2007 team was led by All-American and RMAC Player of the Year Cody Lusero. The second baseman hit .440 for the seaosn and belted a three-run homer as UNK shocked No. 1 Sonoma State (Calif.), 8-7, in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.

In 2008, the pitching staff led the charge as Kearney native Ryan Sheldon struck out a school-record 96 batters en route to being named the league's top pitcher.

Senior Ryan Wrobel tossed a nine inning complete game as UNK won another NCAA West Regional game in California.

Sheldon repeated as RMAC P.O.Y. the following spring as he set school marks for K's (105), wins (nine) and games started (15).

On the way to winning a then-school record 36 games in 2010, UNK claimed the Plains Division and hosted the conference tournament for the first time. That also marked the first year the Lopers received an at-large bid to the NCAA's.

Senior Jared Loschen won nine games on the mound, putting his career total to a new program record of 27.

Day oversaw the best season in Loper history in 2011 as UNK won 38 games, claimed the RMAC regular season title and came within one victory of reaching the Division II College World Series.

The senior-heavy roster featured six All-RMAC selections, including four first teamers, two of those being All-American first baseman Andrew Haake and RMAC Pitcher of the Year Todd Stachura.

Finally, in 2013, UNK went 22-23 (19-20) in its first year in the MIAA. The season included many, many road trips and several injuries that prevented the Lopers from making the league tournament.

Ending Central Missouri's 49-game conference winning streak, Kearney saw senior first baseman Brian Wuest earn All-American honors, as well as placing in third in voting for the Tino Martinez Award, given annually to the top player in Division II.

Before UNK, Day spent four years as head coach of NAIA Dana College in Blair, Neb. When Day arrived at Dana in 2000, the program had only 13 players, but the Vikings finished as Great Plains Athletic Conference champions four years later.

As a result of that 31-win 2003 season, Day was named GPAC and NAIA Region IV Coach of the Year.

Day, with 352 career victories, got his start in 1998, serving as pitching coach at his alma mater, Benedictine (Ill.) University. He served in the same capacity the following spring at NCAA Division III Lakeland College (Wisc.).

A native of LaPorte, Ind., Day started his collegiate career Kankakee Community College in Illinois where he helped his team win the 1995 Region IV championship.

He then graduated from Benedictine in 1997 where he was a two-time all-conference player.

2014 Statistical Leaders -

Player	avg	gp-gs	ab	r	h	2b	3b	hr	rbi	bb	hbp	so	sb-att
Pacheco,Anthony	.556	6-6	18	4	10	1	0	0	10	4	1	1	2-2
Droll,Danny	.409	6-6	22	6	9	2	0	0	4	1	1	2	2-2
Schroeder,Dillon	.400	6-6	20	10	8	4	0	1	10	0	3	3	3-3
Brock,Jayke	.385	4-4	13	1	5	0	0	0	5	2	1	4	1-2
Landanger,Brandon	.333	6-6	21	8	7	2	0	0	2	2	0	0	1-1
Roming,Coby	.316	6-6	19	4	6	3	0	0	2	0	0	6	0-0

Player	era	w-l	app-gs	cg	sho	sv	ip	h	r	er	bb	so
Cowen,Dalton	0.00	1-0	2-1	0	0/0	0	6.0	2	0	0	0	5
Peters,Adam	2.08	2-0	2-2	1	0/0	0	13.0	10	3	3	3	11
Palomo,Carlos	3.00	1-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	3.0	1	3	1	2	1
Willard,Logan	3.27	1-0	2-2	1	1/0	0	11.0	11	4	4	3	11
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Smith,Aaron	0.00	1-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.1	1	0	0	0	2
Reinsch,Mannie	0.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
LeDuc,Daniel	0.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
Boddiger,Dave	0.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
Sosa,Alex	0.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	1
Hahn,Michael	2.45	0-0	1-1	0	0/0	0	3.2	4	1	1	3	2
Mortensen,Ross	9.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.0	0	1	1	1	0
Smidt,Joe	27.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.0	2	3	3	2	1
Totals	2.66	6-0	6-6	2	1/0	0	44.0	32	15	13	14	36

About your 2014 NWMSU Bearcats -

The Bearcats enter the series at UNK with a 3-3 record having split each of the last two series against Northwestern Oklahoma State and Cameron University.  Both series were on the road.

Player	avg	gp-gs	ab	r	h	2b	3b	hr	rbi	tb	slg%	bb	hbp	so	gdp	ob%	sf	sh	sb-att	po	a	e	fld%
Huske,Brandon	.476	6-6	21	4	10	1	0	0	6	11	.524	2	2	1	0	.538	1	0	0-0	8	20	3	.903
McGlauflin,Eric	.350	6-6	20	2	7	0	1	0	5	9	.450	3	1	3	0	.440	1	0	1-1	11	2	0	1.000
Ferreira,Zack	.316	6-6	19	2	6	2	0	0	1	8	.421	1	0	1	0	.350	0	0	0-0	2	9	0	1.000
Johnson,Paul	.316	5-5	19	5	6	2	0	1	3	11	.579	2	0	2	0	.381	0	0	0-0	8	9	3	.850
Pomatto,Jon	.278	6-6	18	6	5	1	0	1	3	9	.500	4	0	3	0	.409	0	0	0-0	12	0	0	1.000
Singleton,Alex	.250	3-1	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	.250	0	0	0	0	.250	0	1	0-0	1	0	0	1.000
Hardegree,Blake	.235	6-6	17	2	4	0	0	0	6	4	.235	4	0	6	0	.381	0	1	0-0	32	2	2	.944
Abernathy,Ryan	.227	6-6	22	6	5	2	0	0	1	7	.318	2	1	2	0	.320	0	0	0-1	10	2	0	1.000
Garber,Steven	.222	4-4	9	1	2	1	0	0	5	3	.333	3	0	5	0	.417	0	1	0-0	28	2	0	1.000
Wulf,Austin	.125	5-4	16	4	2	0	0	2	2	8	.500	1	0	4	0	.176	0	0	0-0	3	0	0	1.000

Player	era	w-l	app-gs	cg	sho	sv	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	2b	3b	hr	ab	b/avg	wp	hbp	bk	sfa	sha
Pearcy,Hondo	0.00	0-0	2-0	0	0/0	0	3.2	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	11	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Schmiedt,Brian	0.00	1-0	3-0	0	0/0	0	3.0	1	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	8	.125	0	2	0	0	1
Smith,Tanner	0.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	1.1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	4	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Pomatto,Jon	0.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	1	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	.000	0	0	0	0	1
Perry,Daulton	0.00	0-0	1-0	0	0/0	0	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Reutter,Blane	1.59	1-0	2-0	0	0/0	0	5.2	4	1	1	2	2	1	1	0	21	.190	1	0	0	0	0
Henrichs,Rob	1.80	0-1	2-1	0	0/0	0	5.0	6	5	1	0	3	0	0	0	22	.273	0	2	0	1	0
Warren,Austin	5.79	0-1	2-2	0	0/0	0	9.1	14	7	6	4	6	0	1	0	37	.378	1	3	0	0	3
Klocko,Kole	6.23	1-0	2-1	0	0/0	0	4.1	6	3	3	2	1	2	0	0	18	.333	0	1	0	0	0
Fox, Ryker	6.48	0-1	2-2	0	0/0	0	8.1	7	7	6	7	10	1	0	1	32	.219	0	0	0	0	0

Team by Team comparison -

                                       NWMSU         UNK
BATTING AVG             .274                  .313
FIELDING %                 .949                  .968
ERA                                4.40                  2.66
RUNS SCORED (AVG) 6.1                    7.2

Go Cats!!
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