Box Score OMAHA, Neb. – A five-run first inning by league leader Oral Roberts doomed the Omaha baseball team early on Saturday, as the Mavericks dropped an 8-6 decision at the Ballpark at Boys Town. UNO is now 17-25 (10-13 Summit League), while the Golden Eagles improve to 31-13 (18-5 Summit League).
ORU starter Xavier Altamirano (6-2) was credited with the win, allowing six runs on 10 hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Senior right-hander
Zach Williamsen (6-6) took the loss, surrendering seven runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out three over 3.0 innings. Jacob McDavid earned his second save of the year, holding Omaha scoreless with just three hits in the final 3.2 innings.
Junior
Cole Gruber paced Omaha offensively, finishing 4-for-5 with three runs scored, an RBI, a double and his first home run of the season. Three other Mavericks secured multiple hits: junior
Clayton Taylor (2-for-3, one run, two RBI), junior
Collin Leif (2-for-4, one run) and redshirt freshman
Isaac Holt (2-for-4). Taylor also had a roundtripper for the Mavericks, his team-leading sixth of the year.
Oral Roberts set the tone early, taking a 5-0 lead on six hits in the top of the first inning. Derrian James and Matt Brandy delivered back-to-back solo homers to left to start it off, building the Golden Eagles a quick two-run lead. Anthony Sequeira then doubled to center and was driven in on Rolando Martinez's two-out RBI single to make it 3-0. ORU proceeded to load the bases with a Noah Cummings double and a Dean Wilson walk, after which Chase Stafford keyed a two-run single to center to score Cummings and Martinez at 5-0.
Omaha struck back immediately in the bottom of the first, with Gruber sending out his own solo homer to left that cut ORU's lead to 5-1.
The Golden Eagles added two more runs to go up 7-1 in the third, with Matt Whatley singling in Wilson and Brandy later drawing a bases-loaded walk to drive in Stafford.
The Mavericks had their biggest inning in the bottom of the third, plating four runs on three hits and an error. Leif led off with a single to right center and junior
Alex Schultz walked, putting two on for Gruber. He put a bunt single down the third base line and advanced two bases on a throwing error on the play, which allowed both Schultz and Leif to cross. Taylor then smashed his two-run home run to right center, making it a 7-5 ballgame. In the fifth, Omaha made it a one-run game at 7-6 when Gruber scored on a fielder's choice.
UNO managed to put runners on with hits in the sixth, seventh and eighth, but its threats were quelled as ORU got out of it with inning-ending double plays in three consecutive frames. The Golden Eagles added one more run in the top of the ninth as Cummings scored on Whatley's sacrifice fly, bringing the final score to 8-6.
Omaha concludes its weekend series with Oral Roberts on Sunday, May 3, with first pitch at 1 p.m. at the Ballpark at Boys Town. Links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com.
