FARGO, ND - Omaha shut out North Dakota State for the second time in as many days, completing a sweep of their three-game Summit League series in Fargo, 9-0 in six innings. Sophomore
Maddia Groff lowered her league-leading ERA (1.52) and added to her conference-best win total (16-4) with five shutout innings.
With their fifth straight win, the Mavericks (26-9, 6-3) moved to within one-half game of South Dakota State for the Summit League lead.
Omaha outscored the Bison (15-20, 2-4) 21-1 in the three games at Tharaldson Park in Fargo. Coach
Mike Heard's squad plays next on Saturday (DH) and Sunday in Kansas City against the Roos. All conference games are televised on the Summit League Network.
After combining with the bullpen for a shutout Saturday,
Maddia Groff hit the reset button Sunday and did it again, scattering three hits, striking out nine and allowing a fourth baserunner to reach via HBP over five frames. With the Mavericks leading 9-0,
Alexis Wiggins pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning, closing out the combined shutout on the run-rule. It was Omaha's eighth overall shutout of the the season.
Sydney Thomason (1-3, 3 R, 2 RBI),
Haley Wilwerding (2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) and
Katherine Johnson (1-3, 3 RBI) all homered for the Mavericks. With 42 home runs through 35 games, the Mavs have already surpassed their total from 2024 (29).
Omaha scored in the first and never relinquished the lead, as
Rylinn Groff was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on Wilwerding's double off starter Addie Bowers (3-6) for NDSU.
Johnson's three-run homer to center field in the third, her fifth, made it 4-0 Omaha. O'Brien chipped in with a run-scoring single in the fourth and the Mavs led 5-0. Wilwerding ripped her sixth homer of the year in the fifth, a two-run shot to give Omaha a 7-0 lead. They closed out the scoring in the sixth on Thomason's team-leading 10th home run, a two-run blast that made it 9-0.
Omaha travels to Kansas City for three games before returning to
Connie Claussen Field April 18-20 for a three-game Summit League series against South Dakota. Links to live statistics and streaming video can be found on the softball
schedule page at OMavs.com.
Season tickets for home games at
Connie Claussen Field are on-sale now at
OMavs.com/Tix.
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