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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The UNO baseball team played a midweek game at Minnesota on Wednesday night, falling 8-4 at the Metrodome. With the loss, the Mavericks are now 11-26 on the year, while the Gophers improve to 21-17.

Senior Mark Waldron finished 2-for-4 with three runs driven in, while senior Brady Hohl and freshman Alex Mortensen added two more hits apiece. Sophomore Caleb Palensky also went 1-for-4 while scoring twice.

Jordan Jess (2-2) earned the win, allowing one run on four hits over four innings of work. Jess struck out five with no walks. Senior Curtis Smith (2-3) took the loss, surrendering three runs and nine hits over six innings of work. Smith totaled four strikeouts while issuing two walks.

Minnesota was led by Andy Henkemeyer and Tony Skjefte, who both finished 3-for-3 at the plate. Henkemeyer scored once and had two RBI, while Skjefte tallied three runs and one RBI.

The Mavericks got on the board in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Palensky doubled to right field, then scored on an immediate RBI single to right by Waldron, giving UNO a quick 1-0 advantage.  

The score held until the second, when Minnesota took the lead. Matt Puhl singled to left and advanced to second on the throw, then moved to third on a groundout. Skjefte then dropped a single into centerfield, plating Puhl. After stealing second, Skjefte came in on Henkemeyer's RBI single to left, pushing the Gophers ahead 2-1.

The Gophers added another score in the third when Kyle Geason reached on a bunt single, then scored on Dan Olinger's sacrifice fly that made it 3-1.

UNO chipped in a run the fifth, opening with consecutive singles by Hohl and senior Scotty Donner. Senior Colby McCord's sacrifice bunt pushed both runners into scoring position, and Palensky was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Waldron. He reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Donner to score and making it a one-run ballgame at 3-2.

UM responded swiftly in the bottom of the frame, tacking on two runs on three hits with one Maverick error. The Gophers put up three additional runs in the seventh, stretching their lead to 8-2.

Down by six with two outs in top of the ninth, Nebraska Omaha dug out a pair of runs on two hits while capitalizing on a Gopher error. McCord singled to left and scored when Palensky reached on a throwing error, and Palensky came around on Waldron's RBI single to center. Despite the rally, Minnesota snagged the third out and clinched the 8-4 win, stretching the Gophers' win streak to four games.

UNO returns to action on Wednesday, April 18, facing Minnesota for the second and final time this week. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. (CT) at the Metrodome, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.