Box Score OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha baseball team closed its final season of Division I reclassification in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon, edging out Incarnate Word 6-5 on a walkoff in the bottom of the 10th at the Ballpark at Boys Town. The Mavericks capped the 2015 season with a record of 21-31, while the Cardinals finished at 21-33.

Sophomore Shane Meltz (4-3) earned the win in relief, holding UIW hitless and scoreless in the final two innings with one strikeout. Trevor Hardee (4-3) took the loss, giving up the winning run on three hits and going 0.2 innings.

Junior Cole Gruber led the way for Omaha, going 3-for-5 with a run scored and another driven in. Senior Justin Threlkeld (2-for-4, one run), redshirt freshman Ryan Cate (2-for-4, one run, two RBI) and freshman Cole Patterson (2-for-5), one run, one RBI) also had multi-hit performances. Patterson collected the game-winning hit with a walkoff single in the bottom of the 10th.

Omaha opened the game by building an early two-run lead in the bottom of the first inning. Gruber led off with a single to short before junior Clayton Taylor doubled down the left field line to drive him in from first. Taylor later scored via Cate's sacrifice fly to center, spotting the Mavericks a 2-0 advantage.

Incarnate Word responded immediately in the top of the second, tying the game with a pair of runs on three hits. Ethan McGill and Jesse Hoover each got on with a single, and both scored on Colton Besett's two-run single through the left side that knotted the game at 2-2.

In the bottom half of the frame, Patterson singled up the middle and was later driven in by an RBI single to left from Gruber, putting UNO ahead 3-2. UIW then tied the contest a second time in the third, making it 3-3 on Austin Hoffman's one-out RBI groundout to plate Aaron Warren.

The 3-3 stall held until the seventh, when Incarnate Word capitalized with a hit and two UNO errors. With two outs, Warren got on with an infield single, stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw. He then scored as Mark Whitehead reached on a fielding error, putting UIW up 4-3.

The lead switched in Omaha's favor in the eighth, when the Mavericks posted two runs on two hits. Senior Daniel Jewett opened with a single up the middle, followed by an RBI double to the left center gap by Cate to drive in UNO's first run. Cate later scored with freshman Adam Caniglia's sacrifice fly to left, which gave the Mavs a 5-4 advantage heading to the ninth.

The Cardinals made quick work in the ninth, as Dustin Cole doubled down the right field line and was later scored with Hoffman's sacrifice fly to left for a 5-5 tie. In the bottom half of the inning, UNO put two runners on with one out, but UIW got out of the jam by turning a double play that sent the game to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, the Mavericks retired Incarnate Word in order. Finally, Omaha's rally was sparked in the bottom of the 10th with a one-out, 3-2 single up the middle by Threlkeld and another single to left by Mortensen. After Caniglia reached on a fielder's choice, Threlkeld advanced to third to put runners on the corners. With two outs, Patterson laced the game-winning RBI single to right center, scoring Threlkeld and sealing Omaha's walkoff victory, 6-5.

GAME NOTES
-Saturday marked the final game for seven Omaha players: junior Alex Mortensen and seniors Andrew Buehler, Tyler Hamer, Daniel Jewett, Justin Threlkeld Cole Volkers and Zach Williamsen.
-Omaha finishes its NCAA Division I reclassification period with a combined four-year record of 91-109 since beginning the transition in 2011-12.
-Head coach Bob Herold will seek career win No. 500 in 2016, as he now has 499 wins over his 16 seasons at UNO.
-Senior right-hander Zach Williamsen made his final start Saturday, and he finishes his career ranked third in school history for batters faced (1,086), fourth for innings pitched (236.1), fifth for games started (37) and seventh for pitching appearances (50).
-Senior Cole Volkers closed his career at 10th in program history for saves (four).