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Holtmeyer Poised to Break UNO Strikeout Record
By David Boyce
Fort Hays State hitters might have one or two reactions tonight when they face Nebraska-Omaha scheduled starter Joe Holtmeyer.
The Tigers might have a little fear, or they might be eager to try to solve Nebraska-Omaha’s strikeout king.
Holtmeyer is just a sophomore, but he’s mowing down hitters like a senior with aspiration of pitching at the next level.
Holtmeyer has struck out 89 batters and walked only 15 in 47 2/3 innings so far this season. He’s 5-1 with a sparkling 1.70 ERA.
“It’s just something that happens,” Holtmeyer said. “If pitches are working for you the strikeouts are the byproduct of it.”
Those pitches are working at a rate almost never seen at Nebraska-Omaha, and this is a strong program that won the MIAA conference tournament last season and reached the Division II World Series in 2007.
Holtmeyer, though, is just 24 strikeouts away from breaking Barry Miller’s single-season strikeout mark of 112 set in 1961.
In his last three games, Holtmeyer has 44 strikeouts, so he seems to be getting better as spring warms up.
“He’s been good the whole year,” Nebraska-Omaha coach Bob Herold said. “I don’t know if he’s been more dominant. He throws strikes. He throws the ball over the plate and he challenges hitters.
“He has a good fastball. When you have a good fastball, it helps. He has a change-up and a breaking ball. He goes right after them. I guess that helps.”
Listening to Holtmeyer, it’s easy to realize it’s more than natural ability that has him off to such a good start.
Holtmeyer, a graduate of Creighton Prep in Omaha, came in and listened and took notes from the three senior starting pitchers from a year ago.
“I learned how to pitch from them,” Holtmeyer said. “The experience I gained from them was so helpful.”
A year ago Holtmeyer went 6-4 as a starter and 7-4 overall. He was third on the team in strikeouts with 62.
Holtmeyer also soaked in the knowledge of some of the players on Nebraska-Omaha’s World Series team who work out during the winter at the school. He said their presence helps the younger players.
“I think it shows how hard you have to work to go to the next level,” Holtmeyer said. “These guys work hard. They are good at what they are doing.”
Despite losing three starting pitchers from a year ago, Nebraska-Omaha remains near the top of the MIAA. The Mavericks are 22-8 overall and 16-4 in the MIAA.
“I think we are doing great,” Holtmeyer said. “We have a young pitching staff that’s doing great and getting better week by week.
“Our hitters are unbelievable. It’s really easy to pitch behind them. They are putting up so many runs per game. It takes so much pressure off the pitchers.”
The Mavericks are hitting .353 as a team and averaging 8.6 runs per game.
With that kind of hitting plus having Holtmeyer to start a series puts the Mavericks in great position.
“It helps a lot because it gives you a chance to win the first game and set the tone for the weekend,” Herold said.
Nebraska-Omaha has the perfect opponent to conclude the regular season. The Mavericks play four games at home against first-place Central Missouri from April 30-May 2.
Four days later the MIAA Tournament starts.
“I think it helps great,” Holtmeyer said of playing Central Missouri and Emporia State. “You know these teams are great. Playing them is just like playing the tougher teams you are going to play in postseason tournaments. It pays dividends in the long run when you play tough teams in the beginning.”
Whatever happens the rest of this season, Holtmeyer knows he made the right decision when he decided to play at Nebraska-Omaha instead of a junior college program.
“I signed JUCO early as kind of insurance if I didn’t sign anywhere else,” he said. “I didn’t get any offers from D-I. Nebraksa-Omaha was the first one to offer. I went there instead of JUCO and I’ve never been happier with a decision. It’s an awesome school and has the best coaches in the Midwest.”
