Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FARGO, N.D. -- The Omaha baseball team opened its final conference series of the season Friday, splitting a doubleheader at North Dakota State with a 3-2 win in 10 innings and an 8-1 loss at Newman Outdoor Field. The Mavericks are now 19-29 (12-17 Summit League) on the year, and the Bison are also 19-29 (10-19 Summit League).

GAME 1 -- OMAHA 3, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 2 (10 INN.)
Junior Cole Gruber led the way at the plate in the opening game, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one run driven in. Freshman Adam Caniglia matched Gruber with another trio of hits, going 3-for-5 with an RBI, and junior Clayton Taylor added two more hits for the afternoon.

The win on the mound went to sophomore right-hander Shane Meltz (3-3) in relief, as he allowed one run on two hits with a strikeout in 2.0 innings of work. The loss went to Brian VanderWoude (4-2), who gave up three runs (one earned) off four hits and three walks with five strikeouts in the last 4.0 innings. Junior right-hander Tyler Fox had the start for UNO, tossing 8.0 innings and keeping the Bison to one run with 11 hits, a walk and five Ks.

Neither team got on the board until the bottom of the fifth, when NDSU took a slight 1-0 lead on Ben Petersen's single up the middle to score Brayden Resch.

The Mavericks then surged ahead in the seventh, capitalizing on an error and posting two runs with one hit. Gruber's sacrifice fly to right scored junior Collin Leif first, tying the game at 1-1. Junior Alex Schultz later came in on a groundout by redshirt freshman Ryan Cate, putting UNO up 2-1.

Fox limited North Dakota State to two singles over the seventh and eighth innings, but the Bison struck back for one run on two hits in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Danny Regan singled to right and advanced to second on a balk, then scored on Resch's RBI single down the right field line to knot the game at 2-2.

In the top of the 10th, senior Daniel Jewett drew a pinch-hit walk on four straight pitches and advanced two bases with a passed ball and a wild pitch. Facing a two-out situation with the runner on third, Caniglia came through with a clutch RBI single to right that drove in Jewett and put the Mavericks ahead 3-2. Omaha quickly shut down NDSU in the bottom half of the inning with a groundout, a foul out and a flyout to capture the extra-innings triumph.

GAME 2 -- NORTH DAKOTA STATE 8, OMAHA 1
Cate shined offensively for Omaha in the nightcap, going 3-for-4 with a run scored.

Trent Keefer (4-6) recorded the complete-game win for NDSU, allowing one run on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Senior right-hander Zach Williamsen (7-7) was tagged with the loss, giving up six runs (four earned) on eight hits with five walks and two strikeouts.

The Bison started by building a small 2-0 lead by the sixth. The first run, tallied in the third inning, came courtesy of Regan's RBI single that scored Danny Palmiscno. The second run was added in the sixth, when John Skrbec reached on a throwing error that allowed Regan to cross.

Omaha responded immediately in the next half-inning, posting a run on a pair of hits in the seventh. Cate led off the inning with a double to left center, and two outs later, Caniglia delivered an RBI single to center that plated Cate and pulled UNO within one.

North Dakota State, however, exploded for six runs on four hits in the eighth. With Resch reaching via a walk and Petersen doubling down the left field line, the Bison had runners in scoring position with no outs. Taylor Sanders then put an RBI single through the left side, scoring Resch. A Skrbec walk loaded the bases, and another walk by Funk drove in Petersen. Mason Pierzchalski then tripled to left center to clear the bases, extending the Bison lead to 7-1. Pierzchalski notched the final run of the night, scoring on Palmiscno's RBI bunt single to first that brought the game to 8-1.

Cate posted his third and final hit of the game in the ninth -- a one-out single to left center -- but a popout and a flyout helped NDSU quiet the Mavericks en route to the 8-1 win.

Omaha and North Dakota State conclude their series on Saturday, May 16 with an adjusted 11 a.m. start time due to inclement weather in the Fargo forecast. Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.

NOTES
-Game one of the doubleheader marked Omaha's first extra-innings win of the 2015 season. Before today, the Mavericks' last extra-innings victory was also at North Dakota State – a 2-0 win in 10 innings on April 12, 2014.
-Schultz's team-leading reaching base streak of 23 games came to an end Friday.
-Gruber's 3-for-3 plate effort in the opening game marked his 17th multi-hit performance of the season. Gruber trails only one player for the multi-hit games list this year, sitting just behind Schultz (20).