MACOMB, Ill. – Omaha baseball fell 5-0 in the second game of the series at Western Illinois Saturday afternoon.
 
A fifth-inning surge by the Leathernecks (19-28, 13-13) halted the Mavericks (27-17-1, 19-7).
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Andrew Brighton fell to 2-3 on the season as he tossed 4.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts and a walk. WIU's starter Javin Drake improved to 6-5 overall as he a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts on one walk and four hits allowed. For Omaha in relief, Mark Ehresman also threw 4.0 innings with three strikeouts and one walk.
 
For the Mavericks, Braden Rogers, Parker Smejkal, Brett Bonar and Breyden Eckhout all recorded a hit apiece.
 
INSIDE THE INNINGS
In the bottom of the third, Western Illinois loaded the bases with two outs, but Brighton struck out the batter and got out the jam.
 
Later on in the bottom of the fifth, Western Illinois loaded the bases again with no outs. WIU scored the first run of the game on a hit by pitch. The deficit increased to 3-0 as a Leatherneck single plated two more runs. Omaha then fell behind 5-0 on a double that plated two more Leatherneck runs. Ehresman was able to stop the bleeding with a strikeout to get out of the inning.

In the final four innings, Omaha was only able to get a combined two runners on base. 
 
NEXT UP
Omaha and Western Illinois close the series with a Sunday rubber match that begins at Noon. Links to live stats are available to follow at OMavs.com.