BROOKINGS, S.D. – Omaha softball closed out the conference portion of its schedule Saturday afternoon, splitting a Summit League doubleheader against South Dakota State at Jerald T. Moriarty Field in Brookings.
The Mavericks (35-10, 14-4) saw their 13-game winning streak come to an end with a 7-6 loss in the opener, but rebounded with a hard-fought 9-8 win in the nightcap, winning the series, two games to one. Omaha won five of its six Summit League series this season, including the last five straight. Winning the series 2-1, Omaha has secured the top seed in the 2025 Summit League Softball Championship.
In the opener, South Dakota State (25-24, 10-5) got on the scoreboard first, using a three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to go up, 3-0, on the Mavericks. Omaha responded in the top of the fourth, getting back-to-back solo homers from
Marra Cramer and
Haley Wilwerding to get to within 3-2 and using a single, walk and two-run single by
Rylinn Groff to score twice more in the inning to take a 4-3 lead.
The lead was short-lived, though, as the Jackrabbits struck back in the bottom half. SDSU scored four runs on four hits to re-take the lead, 7-4. Four straight hits by the Jackrabbits to start the inning was enough to chase Maverick starter
Alexis Wiggins (7-6), who exited having allowed seven runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts in three-plus innings of work.
Omaha – which has won 14 of its last 15 games – didn't go quietly, though. In the top of the sixth, Groff smacked a two-run, two-out double to left field to get the Mavericks back to within 7-6.
Sydney Thomason then drew a walk to put runners on first and second, but the Jackrabbits were able to get out of the inning with their lead intact. The Mavericks also got the tying run on base in the seventh, but was unable to get the runner home after a strikeout and groundout ended the game.
Cramer went 3-for-4 with her homer, Wilwerding ended up 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored, and Groff went 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs as the trio combined for seven of Omaha's eight hits in the game.
Grace Hornbuckle came out of the bullpen for the Mavericks and kept SDSU in check in the second half of Game 1, throwing three innings of shutout relief, allowing one hit with two strikeouts and two walks.
In the nightcap, Omaha had a chance to get on the board in the first inning, but left the bases loaded. The Mavericks did push a run across in the top of the second, when a walk and two hit batsmen loaded the bases for Thomason. Thomason then reached on an infield single, bringing home
Sammy Schmidt to make it 1-0 Omaha.
The Mavericks broke through in the third, scoring five runs on two hits, taking advantage of two walks, another hit batsman and an error by the Jackrabbits to widen their lead to 6-0. Thomason had a two-run double and
Maggie O'Brien added an RBI single of her own for the Mavericks in the outburst.
Omaha added another run in the fourth to lead 7-0, getting a single, double and walk to load the bases for White, who lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home
Ava Rongisch, who had led off the inning with a single. The Mavericks scored two more in the fifth, as Rongisch added an RBI single of her own and Cramer had a sacrifice fly to put Omaha up, 9-0.
South Dakota State tried to rally, scoring three runs apiece in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to get to within 9-6. In the seventh, SDSU scored a run to make it 9-7 and loaded the bases with no outs, but
Maddia Groff – who'd started the game and pitched the four shutout innings before being relieved, but had returned to the circle when SDSU rallied in the seventh – got a lineout, a sacrifice fly and a flyout to center field to close out the 9-8 victory and run Omaha's road record to 15-4 on the season.
Thomason went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, O'Brien was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI, Rongisch finished up 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI,
Katherine Johnson had two hits, Schmidt scored a pair of runs and White chipped in two RBI for Omaha in game two.
Groff (22-4) got the win for the Mavericks, throwing five innings total (four starting, one relief) and sllowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts and three walks.
Omaha now closes out the regular season with a two-game road series at Big Ten member Wisconsin (31-18) on May 1 and 2. First pitch at Goodman Diamond is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT both days. Following the games at Wisconsin, the Mavericks head back to Brookings for the Summit League Championship beginning May 7.
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