FARGO, N.D. – The Omaha softball team pounded out 17 hits en route to an 8-5 win over South Dakota in the opening game of the Summit League Softball Championships at Ellig Field. With the win, the Mavericks improve to 19-29 on the season, while the Coyotes end the season 17-38.
Fifth-seeded Omaha advances to double-elimination play and will take on top-seeded North Dakota State at noon Thursday. Links to live stats and video are available on OMavs.com.
Omaha reached double-digit hits for the 11th time this season.
Emma Dargy,
Aubrey Hacke and
Jessica Nelson had three hits apiece, and
Natalie Mostek added two base hits to lead the Mavericks.
Sydney Hampton (11-12) pitched 3.0 innings in relief for the win, allowing only a walk with one strikeout. Sarah Lisko (5-10) took the loss in relief for South Dakota, allowing five runs on 13 hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
A one-out single by
Kelly Pattison gave Omaha a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Darby doubled two batters later to put runners on second and third. A two-out double by
Faith Romero put the Mavericks in front 3-0.
South Dakota answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame. Alyssa Fernandez hit a two-out double and scored on a single by Jessica Rogers to cut the lead to 3-1.
The game was delayed for nearly an hour in the second inning by lightning. When the weather cleared, South Dakota's Christy Warnock hit a solo home run to left field, and Alyssa Fernandez scored on a sacrifice fly by Dustie Durham that tied the game at 3-3 after three innings.
Omaha broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth. Hacke hit an RBI single to right field to score Nelson as the Mavericks regained the lead, 4-3. Dargy then hit a solo home run in the fifth for a 5-3 lead.
The Coyotes tied the game at 5-5 in the fifth on a leadoff single by Warnock and back-to-back doubles by Fernandez and Rogers.
Omaha went ahead for good in the top of the sixth.
Savannah Fisher put the Mavericks in front with a two-run single through the right side. Later in the inning, Dargy singled to score Pattison to give Omaha an 8-5 Omaha lead.
Hampton retired the Coyotes in order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.
Game Notes
• Omaha tied a program record with 17 hits in a game. Last season, the Mavericks had 17 hits in a 15-11 loss at Nebraska. (March 22, 2017)
• The Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak in the Summit League tournament and broke a four-game losing streak to USD.
• Dargy, Hacke and Nelson combined for nine hits, three RBI and five runs scored.
•
Sydney Hampton's 11 wins are the most by a freshman this season in the Summit League.
