SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Mavericks hurler Ben Weber pitched Omaha to its fourth straight win Friday, as Omaha downed Summit League-leading St. Thomas 6-1 in the opener of a three-game series in Saint Paul.
Weber (3-4) turned in another steady start for Omaha (17-23, 10-12 Summit League), as the Mavs snapped a four-game slide against St. Thomas (21-19, 15-7). Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. CT at Koch Diamond in Saint Paul. All Summit League games stream live on the internet via the Summit League Network and Midco Sports.
The Mavericks broke open a scoreless game in the third against Tommies pitcher Marcus Kruzan. Tyler Palmer singled and stole second to lead off the inning and extend his hitting streak to eight games. Jacksn Trout then walked, and the league's leading hitter Henry Zipay singled to load the bases for hot-hitting Tyler Bishop. The junior first baseman singled home Palmer for his team-leading 40th RBI, followed by Mason Gaines' RBI fielders choice ground out to score Trout, giving Omaha the 2-0 lead. Bishop has now hit safely in ten straight games, extending his on-base streak to 14 games.
The Tommies answered against senior righthander Ben Weber with a solo homer by Matthew Maulik. The senior from Millard North High School equaled his season-longest outing of 7 IP, allowing four hits and one earned run, walking two and striking out three. Weber has gone at least five innings pitched in every Summit League start this season.
The Mavs added to their lead in the sixth. After Blake Stenger walked and stole second to open the inning, Drew Borner ripped a double into the left field corner to bring home the run and make it 3-1 Omaha.
Trout extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single to lead off the seventh, followed by Zipay's single up the middle that put runners on the corners with nobody out. Trout scored when Bishop's grounder to second was turned into a 4-unassisted-3 twin-killing and Omaha led 4-1 at the seventh-inning stretch. Zipay has reached base safely in 24 consecutive games. His 20th multiple hit games top the team.
Weber pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh. After Stenger made an impressive running over-the-shoulder catch in center to take a potential extra-base hit away from Easton Fritcher, the outfielder misjudged the next hit ball, which sailed over his head and under the outfield fence for a ground-rule double by Joe Vos. But Palmer made a running catch of a sinking liner off the bat of Adam Puder to retire the side.
Omaha added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth off reliever Zak Endras. After Dick and Borner reached on infield hits to start the inning, an error by shortstop allowed Zipay to reach and Dick to score. After Zipay stole second, Bishop brought in the game's final run on a sacrifice fly, giving him 41 RBI on the season.
Reliever Sam Beck, who recently made the transition from shortstop to a regular bullpen role, pitched two scoreless innings to preserve the 6-1 win.
The Mavericks entered the weekend in fourth place in the Summit League standings, 1/2 game ahead of fifth place SDSU and two games behind third place NDSU. Oral Roberts is in second behind St. Thomas, though the Tommies are not eligible for the post-season due to their Division 1 transition. Thus, teams two through five in the conference standings will play in the Summit League Championship at Tal Anderson Field, May 21-24.
Omaha returns to Tal Anderson Field for their final homestand of the regular season, beginning with a three-game Summit League series May 9-11 against SDSU. Their final home game of the regular season is the rubber match of this year's set with Creighton, May 13th at 6:00 p.m. CT. Omaha's non-league game at Kansas State scheduled for May 6 in Manhattan, Kansas has been canceled.
Ticket information and team updates can be found at Omavs.com. Fans can follow the Mavericks on social media: @OmahaBSB on X (formerly known as Twitter), @OmahaBSB on Instagram, #OmahaBSB on Facebook.
