UNO 2, UND 0
UNO 8, UND 3
OMAHA, Neb. - The UNO softball team closed out its home schedule with a Senior Day sweep of North Dakota, 2-0 and 8-3, on a windy Sunday at Westside Field at Westbrook.
The Mavs improved to 21-14 overall this season, while North Dakota dropped to 18-27. North Dakota was 3-0 against UNO this season entering Sunday's games. The two teams could potentially meet again at the Great West Conference Tournament, set for May 13-14 in Farmers Branch, Texas.
The Mavericks will travel to play South Dakota on Tuesday in a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
UNO 2, North Dakota 0
The Mavs jumped on top in the first inning of game one. Senior
Lauren Larson got things started with a single to right field and she advanced to second on a fielding error. Senior
Katelyn Hinton drew a walk, and
Amber Lutmer laced a double to the left fied wall to score both for a 2-0 lead.
UNO loaded the bases in the fourth inning with two outs after senior
Emma Wright, walked, senior
Ashley Lynch singled, and senior
Mollie Jones walked. But Caralyn Chewning got
Tonya Peterson to pop up to the shortstop to escape the jam.
Dana Elsasser limited North Dakota to just five hits in her seventh shutout of the season. Elsasser improved to 12-7 on the season. Chewning (0-1) took the loss in her first pitching appearance of the season, despite going 5.0 innings and allowing just three hits.
Lutmer finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Larson finished 1-for-3 with a run, and Lynch went 1-for-2.
UNO 8, North Dakota 3
North Dakota knocked three hits off
Kat Barrow in the top of the first inning to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Brittany Baker's bloop single down the left field line scored Erica Younan from second base for the game's first run.
But Wright tied the game up for UNO in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI double down the left field line to score
Molly Negrete from first.
Tonya Peterson led off the third inning with a base hit to right field, then senior
Lindsay Redding tapped the ball to the catcher and beat the throw to first to put runners on first and second for Larson, who singled to left field to score Peterson for a 2-1 lead before Michelle Frank got out of the inning.
UNO tacked on two more runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to break open a 6-1 lead. In the fourth, Negrete singled and moved to second on a sac bunt by Wright. Lynch singled to left field and advanced to second as Negrete held at third on the throw home.
Mara Eeman stepped in and doubled to right center to score both Negrete and Lynch for a 4-1 lead, chasing Frank out of the game and bringing on Emma Gronseth.
In the fifth, UNO didn't let up. Hinton led off with a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Lutmer then singled home Hinton, and Negrete doubled down the left field line to score Lutmer from first and make it 6-1. That marked the end of the day for Gronseth, as Lexa Twist came on in relief.
UND got two runs back in the sixth inning on a bases-loaded single by Taylor Donnelly to cut it to 6-3. But Larson drove a ball off the left field wall in the bottom of the sixth for a double that scored Redding to make it 7-3. And Lutmer singled to right field to score Larson for the final 8-3 margin.
Barrow (7-5) earned the win, allowing nine hits and three runs while striking out four. Frank (9-13) took the loss.
The Mavs tallied 14 hits in all, and every Maverick starter had at least one hit. Negrete led the way with a 3-for-4 performance and an RBI and two runs scored. Redding, Larson and Lutmer each had two hits, with Larson and Lutmer each adding two RBIs and a run scored. Eeman also chipped in two RBIs for the Mavs.
