OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha softball will host Western Illinois this weekend for two conference doubleheaders. Both the Mavericks and Leathernecks are looking to bounce back from losses and pick up a few wins in conference action. Both pairs of doubleheaders are set to start at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
Between games Saturday, the
Connie Claussen Field will be dedicated to
Connie Claussen at 2:30 pm. Claussen is the current Omaha Athletic Director Emerita who started women's athletics at then-Omaha University in 1969. She will also throw out the ceremonial first pitch of Saturday's second game with the Leathernecks.
Leading Off
- The Mavericks played a mid-week game across town vs. Creighton Wednesday night. The Bluejays took a 4-2 win on their home turf.
- Lynsey Tucker and Allison Helton scored Omaha's runs on singles from Sydney Ross and Emily Klosterman, respectively.
- Lexi Burkhardt led the Mavericks with two hits, while three other Mavericks tallied a hit each.
- Tucker continues to lead the Mavericks at the plate. She's hitting .299 on the year, which ranks 17th in the league.
- Klosterman is on a four-game hitting streak, which marks her longest streak of the season.
- Ross is on a three-game hitting streak, which is also her longest streak of the season.
- Jamie White picked up a walk at Creighton and extended her reached-base streak to five straight games. She's tied sixth in the league having been walked 12 times so far this season.
Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
Western Illinois sits fifth in the standings with a 14-22 (4-8) record so far this season. The Leathernecks split two conference series with North Dakota State and North Dakota earlier this season. WIU beat NDSU in the series opener 6-2, before dropping the next two games. They picked up a win in the series closer, 11-3. Against North Dakota, the Leathernecks won the first game of each doubleheader, 2-1 and 2-0, respectively. WIU is currently on a one-game skid.
Series History
Western Illinois leads the all-time series 13-12 vs. Omaha. The teams last met in 2019 for a three-game conference series to close the regular season. The first game went to extra innings with the Leathernecks prevailing, 8-3. They also took the next two games, 10-5 and 8-6.
