Box Score OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha baseball team opened its first home series on Friday afternoon, defeating Air Force 7-3 at the Ballpark at Boys Town. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 6-8 (0-0 Summit League), while the Falcons dropped to 4-11 on the season.

Sophomore Tyler Fox (2-1) earned the win, fanning a career-high seven batters in 6.0 innings of work. The Thornton, Colo. native allowed three runs -- two earned -- on four hits. The loss went to Air Force starter Cameron White (1-3), who surrendered five runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Sophomore Sam Murphy picked up his first career save, as nine Falcons were retired in order over the final three innings. Murphy held Air Force hitless and scoreless while striking out two with no walks.

Offensively, senior Brett Bass finished 2-for-4 while scoring twice and driving in another run, while sophomore Alex Schultz was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Sophomore Clayton Taylor, who went 1-for-4, scored once and had two RBI.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth inning, when Air Force got on the board with three runs on two hits and one Maverick error. David Thomas drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a balk, then scored on Brian Sicher's RBI double to center. Adam Groesebeck followed up with a single to center and ended up on third with a two-base throwing error, which pushed Sicher across. Spencer Draws then sent a sacrifice fly to right, plating Groesbeck to make it 3-0.

Omaha rallied to take the lead in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, sophomore Cole Gruber laid down a bunt on the third base line for a single, followed by a Schultz single to right to put two runners on. Taylor then tripled to the right field corner to score both runners, and Bass ripped another triple to right center, scoring Taylor and tying the game at 3-3. Senior Caleb Palensky was the final piece of the puzzle, singling to left center to drive in Bass and putting Omaha ahead 4-3 for its first lead of the game.

Fox pitched through the sixth inning and was relieved in the seventh by Murphy, who held the Falcons off the basepaths for the final three innings.

In the eighth inning, the Mavericks added a trio of insurance runs. With a Bass single, Splichal being hit by a pitch and junior Daniel Jewett drawing a walk, UNO loaded the bases with one out. Pinch-hitting senior Dylan Casey then earned another walk, scoring Bass. The Mavs added another run on a Collin Leif sacrifice bunt coupled with an Air Force fielding error, and Gruber came through with an RBI groundout that allowed Jewett to tack on the third run for a final score of 7-3.

Omaha and Air Force will resume their weekend series on Saturday, March 15. The Mavericks were initially set to play single games on Saturday and Sunday, but the schedule has been changed to a Saturday doubleheader at Noon at the Ballpark at Boys Town, with no games scheduled for Sunday. Links for live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.