OMAHA, Neb. -- Four home runs and two freshman pitchers earning their first career wins powered the Omaha baseball team's double shutout of Fort Wayne Saturday afternoon, 15-0 and 7-0 at Creighton Prep's Jurgensen Field. The Mavericks improve to 6-12 (2-0 Summit League) on the season, while the Mastodons drop to 4-11 (0-2).
GAME 1 -- OMAHA 15, FORT WAYNE 0 (7 inn.)
Omaha's offense exploded for 15 runs on 15 hits in the opening game.
Ben Palensky was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and six more driven in, helped by his grand slam. Freshman
Braden Rogers was 3-for-3 with three runs and an RBI, and
Grant Suponchick went 2-for-3 with three runs, an RBI and his first homer of the year.
Thomas DeBonville was also 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI on his first roundtripper, and
Adam Caniglia rounded it out with a 2-for-3 day with a run and two more RBI.
Joey Machado (1-3) earned his first career win with 6.0 shutout innings, holding the Mastodons to five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. The loss went to Brandon Phelps (2-1), who allowed 13 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits and four walks with five strikeouts over a 4.0-inning start.
A two-hit, four-run second inning put the Mavericks on top early. Omaha loaded the bases when Rogers drew a one-out walk,
Tyler Daugherty reached on an error and Palensky walked. Caniglia followed with a double to the right center gap, and an error on the play helped all three runners to score. Two batters later,
Cole Thibodeau's RBI single through the right side scored Caniglia for a 4-0 advantage.
The third inning saw a five-run, five-hit onslaught, opened with DeBonville's solo shot to left center. Suponchick then walked, Rogers singled to center and Daugherty singled to right, loading the bases with one out. Palensky then came up big time, belting a grand slam to left center on a 2-1 offering for a 9-0 lead.
The Mavericks added four more runs on four hits in the fourth. Singles to center by Suponchick and Rogers sandwiched a
Keil Krumwiede walk to juice the bags with one out, and Daugherty added a single up the middle to plate Suponchick. Palensky then sent a two-run single down the right field line to drive in Rogers and Krumwiede, and Daugherty later scored when
Max Gamm reached on a Mastodon throwing error to make it 13-0.
Omaha scored in its fourth straight frame in the fifth, sparked with Suponchick's solo homer to left. After Krumwiede singled and advanced on a wild pitch, he scored on Rogers' RBI double through the left side, which extended the lead to 15-0.
The Mavericks turned a double play in both the sixth and seventh to work around three Mastodon baserunners en route to the win.
GAME 2 -- OMAHA 7, FORT WAYNE 0
Spencer Koelewyn (1-1) starred on the mound in the second game of the twinbill, tossing 6.0 shutout innings with just two hits, four walks and a season-high eight strikeouts for the win. Damian Helm (2-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
Krumwiede led Omaha's 10-hit charge, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored, five RBI and his first home run as a Maverick. Suponchick (2-for-3, two runs) and Rogers (2-for-4, one RBI) also had multi-hit days.
Omaha again jumped out early, putting up three runs on three hits in the first. Thibodeau led off with a single to left and Suponchick added a single to left center before Krumwiede came up with a three-run bomb to left for a quick 3-0 lead.
The Mavericks chipped in another run in the fifth and again turned to Krumwiede, who drove in DeBonville for a 4-0 edge.
In the seventh, Omaha pushed across three runs, capitalizing on two hits and a pair of Fort Wayne errors. DeBonville got on via an errant throw, stole second and advanced to third on another throwing error. Suponchick then drew a walk, and Krumwiede's single through the left side pushed DeBonville across. Rogers followed with an RBI single to right to score Suponchick, and a sacrifice fly by Daugherty plated Krumwiede for a 7-0 advantage.
Omaha and Fort Wayne conclude their series with a single game on Sunday, March 18. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Seymour Smith Park, and links to live audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
