OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha baseball team erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth, leading the Mavericks to a 12-2 run-rule win in seven innings vs. Western Illinois on Saturday night at Tal Anderson Field.
The win extends the win streak to five games and moves the record to 17-16 (9-5 Summit League) for Omaha while the Leathernecks drop to 9-22 (5-13).
How it Happened
- Harrison Denk began the bottom of the first with an infield single before coming around to score on a wild pitch to give the Mavericks an early lead.
- Western Illinois tied the game in the second with a run on two hits and an Omaha error.
- An RBI single in the top of the third handed the Leathernecks a one-run lead through three innings.
- Eduardo Rosario opened the bottom of the fifth with a double to left center and later raced home from second on an errant WIU throw to tie the game at two.
- Denk lifted a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Grant Goldston to jog on home to give Omaha the 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
- Chris Esposito reached on an error in the sixth before Parker Smejkal unleashed a two-run homer off the flagpole in left center, expanding the lead to 5-2.
- Denk ripped a ground-rule double to left center, plating Rosario before Masen Prososki blasted a three-run homer to center to blow the game open at 9-2.
- The Mavericks tacked on two more in the sixth with an RBI double by Esposito and an RBI single from Keil Krumwiede.
- Omaha clinched the run-rule victory in the bottom of the seventh when Esposito's RBI single through the left side plated Goldston with the bases loaded.
Inside the Box Score
- Denk went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.
- Prososki was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer while Esposito went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs.
- Rosario had three hits while Goldston scored a team-high three runs.
- Starter Joey Machado earned the win to improve to 4-3 on the year.
- Machado allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and struck out three Leathernecks in five innings of work.
- Jarrett Blunt collected his second save of the season after tossing two scoreless innings.
On Deck
The Mavericks and Leathernecks wrap up the weekend series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field. Links to live stats are available on OMavs.com. Single-game tickets can be purchased at OMavs.com/tix.