Box Score FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Omaha baseball team saw a five-run lead erased on Friday, as Fort Wayne rallied to defeat the Mavericks 7-6 at Mastodon Field. UNO is now 15-15 (8-5 Summit League) on the season, while IPFW improves to 15-14 (5-8 Summit League).

IPFW's starter Trevor Storie (3-4) earned the win, allowing five runs (two earned) on nine hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Junior right-hander Marcus Ethen (1-1) took the loss, giving up two runs on five hits with a trio of Ks in relief.

Junior Cole Gruber paced Omaha offensively, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and another driven in. Redshirt freshman Ryan Cate matched Gruber with three more hits to go 3-for-5, while junior Alex Schultz had a double, scored twice and drove in another run.

The Mavericks got rolling in the bottom of the first inning when senior Daniel Jewett's sacrifice fly to left scored Schultz for a quick 1-0 lead.

Omaha tacked on another run in the third with three hits. Schultz led off with a ground-rule double to right, and Gruber got on with a bunt single. Schultz scored on junior Clayton Taylor's RBI bunt single to first base, which pushed UNO's lead to 2-0.

The Mavs extended their advantage in the fourth, tallying three runs with two hits and two IPFW errors. With the bases loaded, Schultz reached on a fielder's choice to score freshman Cole Patterson and senior Justin Threlkeld. Junior Collin Leif was then driven in with a sacrifice fly to center from Gruber, bringing Omaha's lead to a commanding 5-0.

Fort Wayne struck back in the next inning, however, and Omaha squandered its five-run lead as the Mastodons tied the game. IPFW loaded the bases with one out for Shane Trevino, who sent a two-run single to right to plate Brandon Soat and Jackson Boyce. Brock Logan came up to bat next, delivering a three-run home run to right to stall the game at 5-5.

The Mastodons then took the lead in the sixth, putting two runners on with Zak Kellogg's single through the left side and Soat's double to center. Evan Van Sumeren drove in Kellogg with an RBI single to left, and Kendall Whitman singled in Soat to make it 7-5.

UNO mustered a run in the eighth to pull within one. Gruber singled to left and advanced on a Taylor groundout, then scored on Mortensen's RBI single to right that brought the score to 7-6. In the ninth, however, IPFW shut down Omaha in order with three quick outs, sealing the Mastodons' series-opening win at 7-6.

Omaha and Fort Wayne resume their weekend series on Saturday, April 11 with first pitch at 1 p.m. (CT) at Mastodon Field in Fort Wayne, Ind. A link to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.