Box Score MACOMB, Ill. -- A hot-hitting Omaha baseball team picked up a 9-2 victory at Western Illinois Saturday afternoon at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. With the win, the Mavericks improve to 25-24 (15-11 Summit League), while the Leathernecks drop to 14-31 (11-15 Summit League).

Junior left-hander Sam Murphy (4-4) recorded the win, going 5.0 innings while allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out six. Matthew Sturchio (0-2) took the loss, surrendering four runs -- three earned -- on 10 hits with two strikeouts over 6.0 innings. Sophomore right-hander David Flattery earned his second save of the season, tossing 4.0 hitless shutout innings with one walk and two strikeouts.

Sophomore Ryan Cate led the way at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 with a run scored and two more driven in, and sophomore Adam Caniglia was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

Seniors Cole Gruber (2-for-5, two runs, one RBI) and Collin Leif (2-for-4) also came up with multiple hits for the day. Senior Alex Schultz finished 1-for-4, drove in a run and scored three times, while freshman Riley Herold was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Omaha found itself in an early hole, down two after the first inning. Chris Tschida got on with a one-out single up the middle for Western Illinois, and Conner Currier followed with a two-out single to the same spot. Cord Church then put a two-run double in right center, building the Leathernecks a quick 2-0 lead.

WIU's offense went dormant after that, mustering just three hits. Murphy and Flattery combined to hold the Leathernecks off the board after the first, while the Omaha offense also went to work.

In the third, an RBI single by senior Clayton Taylor scored Schultz for the Mavericks' first run to make it 2-1.

UNO added three more runs on five hits in the fourth. Back-to-back singles to center from Caniglia and Cate put two runners on, and Schultz's RBI single to second scored Caniglia and tied the game at 2-2. After Schultz stole second to put both runners on scoring position, Herold delivered a two-run single to right center that plated Schultz and Cate for a 4-2 Maverick advantage.

The Mavericks chipped in another run in the seventh, courtesy of a Cate RBI single through the left side to plate Gruber and push the score to 5-2.

Omaha added to its lead again in the eighth with four runs on four hits. Schultz drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a groundout by Leif. After Taylor was intentionally walked, Gruber singled through the right side to drive in Schultz. Caniglia then tallied another RBI single to center that scored Taylor, and Cate followed by singling in Gruber. The three runs prompted a WIU pitching change, after which freshman Jack Kalina sent an RBI single to center to cross Caniglia for Omaha's fourth run and a comfortable 9-2 edge.

WIU was then retired in order in the eighth and ninth innings, sealing UNO's 9-2 victory.

Omaha and Western Illinois complete their series on Sunday, May 15, with first pitch at 1 p.m. at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium in Macomb, Ill. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.