Box Score AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The UNO baseball team pulled out a thrilling 3-2 win in 19 innings on Thursday night, defeating LIU Brooklyn at Lake Myrtle Park in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. With the win, the Mavericks improve to 5-14 on the season, while LIU moves to 8-8.
In what is the longest Division I baseball game of the 2012 season so far, senior
Andrew Reck keyed the game-winning hit for the Mavericks in the bottom of the 19th inning. The single past the third baseman scored sophomore
Caleb Palensky from third, capping the marathon game with a 3-2 win.
Senior
Colby McCord (1-0), the Mavericks' starting catcher, earned the win by throwing the last seven innings. McCord struck out a career-high 11 batters and issued just one walk while allowing two hits in relief. The Papillion, Neb., native's appearance on the mound was his first in two years, as he last pitched in 2010.
LIU's Brad Reimer (1-2) took the loss, striking out three over 4.2 innings of work.
The Mavericks got on the board first in the fourth inning with an RBI double from senior
Brandon Winkelmann. LIU then answered in the sixth when Tyler Jones' RBI single knocked in a run and made it 1-1.
With the game tied entering the 12th, the Blackbirds plated one run in the top of the inning on a single from Albert Faz to go up 2-1. UNO rallied in the bottom of the frame with senior
Mark Waldron's fielder's choice scoring senior
Brady Hohl, knotting it at 2-2.
Though multiple runners were left on base for the next seven innings, neither team was able to cross the plate again until UNO did so in the 19th. Palensky started by drawing a leadoff walk, then advanced to second on a passed ball and moved to third on freshman
Alex Mortensen's sacrifice bunt. With two outs and a 2-1 count, Reck delivered the heroic single through the left side past LIU's diving third baseman, scoring Palensky and securing the 3-2 victory.
Nebraska Omaha returns to action on Friday, March 16 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, facing Bucknell. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. (CT) at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla., and live audio will be linked on OMavs.com.
