PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -  The Omaha baseball team lost a tightly contested game to Saint Leo on Thursday night, falling 4-3 at the Snowbird Classic at North County Regional Park. The loss dropped the Mavericks to 4-4 (0-0 Summit League) on the year, while the Lions improved to 16-1 (0-0 SSC).

Junior Clayton Taylor provided Omaha's offensive lead for the evening. The Omaha native finished 3-for-4 with a walk at the plate and crushed two solo homeruns to right field. Taylor now has three round-trippers on the year.

Junior Alex Schultz added a pair of base knocks, going 2-for-4 at the plate.

Saint Leo was led by Cole Stencil, who went 3-for-4 at the dish with a walk and a run scored. Alex Mata and Jordan Taylor combined for three RBI and added two hits a piece for the Lions.

Liam O'Sullivan (5-0) nabbed the victory for Saint Leo, tossing 6.0 innings while allowing two runs and scattering eight hits. Tyrone Miller earned his third save of the season for the Lions, tossing 3.0 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball. Sophomore Shane Meltz (0-1) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and four strikeouts in 4.0 innings of work.

Saint Leo did its damage in the top of the fourth when Stencil started the inning with a double. Troy Sieber reached on a fielding error, and Alex Mata and Jordan Taylor singled to right, driving in the Lions' first and second runs. Bobby Twitty added the third run with a sacrifice fly.

Omaha's ninth inning rally fell short as freshman Cole Patterson reached on an infield pinch-hit single with two outs. Taylor then worked a walk before Saint Leo shut the door.

Omaha returns to action on Friday, Feb. 27, for a double dip against Kentucky at 9:30 a.m. (CT) and Boston College at 2 p.m. (CT). Links to live stats and live audio (Kentucky game only) will be available on OMavs.com.