Apex, North Carolina – The Omaha softball team posted a sweep on the final day of the Eagle Challenge in Apex, North Carolina. The Mavericks topped Delaware State, 5-1, before defeating Virginia 9-3 in the night cap.
UNO went 3-1 at the tournament with the only loss coming on Friday to Virginia in extra innings. Omaha is 5-4 on the season heading into the Red & Blue Classic next week in Oxford, Miss.
Omaha 5, Delaware State 1
Freshman Kelly Pattison went 1-for-3 with three RBI, while Kat Barrow (3-2) pitched a complete-game four-hitter and allowed one earned run with six strikeouts and two walks.
UNO loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning on two walks and a hit batsman. Pattison laced a double down the left field line to clear the bases and give Omaha a 3-0 lead.
Delaware State cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning on a pair of hits.
The Mavs added two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Campbell Ditto singled home Kylie Schwarting with two outs to put UNO up 4-1. A Lizzie Noble single brought Ditto home to make it 5-1.
Omaha 9. Virginia 3
Jaylee Hinrichs (2-1) picked up the win for the Mavericks in game two of the afternoon, striking out six batters as she allowed three earned runs on six hits with two walks through 7.0 innings of work.
Virginia strung together three straight hits in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Cavaliers pitching staff kept the Omaha bats quiet until the top of the fourth inning.
Omaha took advantage of four Virginia errors in the fourth, scoring seven runs to break the game open. Nicole Warren reached base on an UVa error to lead off the inning. Tonya Peterson smashed a home run to left center to bring home Warren and give Omaha a 2-1 lead. Campbell Ditto reached on an infield single and moved to second as Kelly Pattison reached base on an error. Ditto stole third base and advanced home on a throwing error by the Cavalier catcher to increase the lead to 3-1. Tara Trede reached base on an error by the first baseman which allowed Pattison to score. Allie Mathewson cleared the bases with a three-run home run to give the Mavs a 7-1 advantage.
UNO added a run in the sixth inning. Mathewson led off the inning with an infield single and later stole second. A Peterson double to right field allowed Mathewson to score.
The Cavaliers scored two more in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the UNO lead to 8-3.
Megan May off the top of the seventh inning with a home run to make the final score 9-3.
Mathewson and Peterson each went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs to lead the Mavericks. Mathewson added two stolen bases. May was 2-for-4 at the plate with a homer.
