BROOKINGS, S.D. – For the third straight season, the Omaha softball team has reached the summit and can call itself Summit League tournament champions.
Omaha used a big second inning and solid pitching from
Maddia Groff to beat South Dakota, 4-2, in the title game of the Summit League Championship Saturday afternoon at Jerald T. Moriarty Field on the campus of South Dakota State.
The Mavericks (39-11) – in the Summit League title game for the fifth straight season and having won a share of the Summit League regular-season title for the first time in program history – close out the conference portion of their schedule with five wins in their last six games and an 18-2 mark in their last 20 contests.
Omaha also earns the league's automatic qualifier (AQ) to the NCAA Championship, beginning with the regional round. The NCAA Softball Selection Show airs on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. NCAA Regionals will be played from May 16-18, followed by Super Regionals on May 22-25 and the NCAA Women's College World Series, which begins May 29 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Mavericks will watch the selection show at DJ's Dugout in Aksarben Village in Omaha on Sunday, May 11.
The Mavericks advanced to the final of the Columbia NCAA Regional last year and went into the Summit League tournament this year with an NCAA RPI of 47, the highest in program history. Omaha also ranked No. 9 in D1 Softball Mid-Major Rankings, the highest ranking for
Mike Heard's ballclub since the poll began.
After a 9-1, five-inning loss in the first title game Saturday, Omaha rebounded in the second game, having lost two straight games only once all season and not having done so since a three-game slide in late March.
Groff worked out of trouble in the first two innings, including getting a ground out from the Coyotes to leave the bases loaded in the top of the second, before the Omaha bats picked her up in the bottom half.
Haley Wilwerding led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a bunt single by
Sammy Schmidt.
Rylan Ewoldt then grounded out, putting runners on second and third with one out.
Maggie O'Brien was walked to load the bases and
Rylinn Groff singled through the right side to bring home two runs and give the Mavericks a 2-0 lead.
Sydney Thomason then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home O'Brien to put Omaha in front, 3-0.
Groff and the Omaha defense took things from there, allowing just two hits in the third-sixth innings as the Mavericks returned to the rhythm that propelled them to five series wins in six Summit League series this season.
Still up 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Omaha added an insurance run when O'Brien doubled to right center field with two outs to bring home Schmidt, who had reached on an infield single earlier in the inning.
Despite trailing 4-0 going into the top of the seventh, South Dakota – which had won three straight elimination games to set up Saturday afternoon's "winner take all" game – didn't go quietly.
The Coyotes got a double and a two-run homer with one out to close to within 4-2, but a ground out and pop-up on the infield by the next two batters gave Omaha the final two outs it needed to claim its third straight Summit League title.
O'Brien finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI,
Marra Cramer was 2-for-2 with a double and Schmidt went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the Mavericks, who had 10 hits in the game. Groff (26-5) – who threw her 18th complete game of the season – got the win, allowing two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
South Dakota (32-24) had forced a second championship game with a one-sided win in the first title game Saturday. The Coyotes jumped on Omaha early, getting a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the first as South Dakota built a 4-0 lead after one inning.
Omaha got a run back in the top of the second when Wilwerding smacked a solo homer with two outs to get the Mavericks to within 4-1. However, the Coyotes kept their foot on the gas, getting the run back in the bottom half to lead, 5-1.
South Dakota pulled away from there, scoring three more runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to end the game early via the run rule. It was only the second run-rule loss for the Mavericks this season.
Wilwerding went 2-for-2 with her solo homer, O'Brien was 2-for-3 and Ewoldt had the Mavericks' other hit in the loss. Groff took the loss in the circle for Omaha, giving up six runs (three earned) on seven hits in 3-plus innings of work.
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