OMAHA, NEB. – Mavericks senior Ben Weber locked up in a scoreless duel against the Summit League Pitcher of the Year, but North Dakota State scratched out the game's only run in the bottom of the 10th for a 1-0 win on the opening day of the conference tournament in Omaha.
Third-seeded Omaha (19-29, 12-16), the host of the 2025 Summit League Championship, next meets the loser of Wednesday's Game 1, South Dakota State, at 12:00 p.m. CT Thursday. Second-seeded NDSU (18-31, 13-15) advances in the winner's bracket to Thursday's 6:00 p.m. CT game against top-seeded Oral Roberts. The double-elimination tournament runs through Saturday at Omaha's Tal Anderson Field. All games are broadcast on the Summit League Network.
The righthanded Weber, an All-Summit League First Team selection this season, matched zeros with Bison lefty Noah Johnson as the teams played nine scoreless innings. Johnson was removed from the game after walking two runners to open the eighth inning, throwing 119 pitches over seven-plus frames. Weber pitched the game of the season for the Mavericks, allowing four hits over 9.0 innings pitched, walking five and striking out a career-high 10 batters on 130 pitches. No Mavericks pitcher had thrown nine shutout innings this season.
The game ended in walk-off fashion, as NDSU's top-hitter Jake Schaffner tripled to deep right-center field to lead off the frame against reliever Oliver Mabee (L, 1-2). With the infield in, Mabee's second pitch to designated hitter Dante Smith scooted past catcher Noah Greise, allowing Schaffner to cross the plate for the game's only run.
Playing as the home team due to tournament seeding, the Bison threatened early, but stranded runners in each of the first five innings, leaving nine on base against Weber overall. Five times he closed out innings with strikeouts for the Mavs.
Both teams authored memorable defensive moments. All-Summit League outfielder Jackson Trout of Omaha ran down a deep fly in the left-field corner to rob Sam Canton in the fifth and Summit League Defensive Player of the Year Schaffner preserved the scoreless affair in the top of the eighth.
Aftrer Johnson walked the first two batters and was replaced by All-Summit reliever Danny Lachenmayer, Conference Player of the Year Henry Zipay executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving the runners into scoring position. Against a drawn-in infield the runners held on a high chopper to third for the second out. Then Omaha's RBI leader and All-League First Team infielder Tyler Bishop's hard hit ball up the middle caromed off the side of the mound and was beautifully played by Schaffner, whose low throw to first was dug out by Alex Urlaub for the final out of the frame. The Mavericks didn't threaten against Lachenmayer (W, 2-3) in the final two innings.
The Summit League's leading hitter, Zipay walked and had a sac bunt in four plate appearances, extending his season-best on-base streak to 30 games. Omaha had only four hits and three walks, leaving seven on base against the two Bison hurlers.
The tournament schedule calls for two games Thursday, the elimination bracket affair between Omaha and SDSU at noon, followed by the winner's bracket game at 6:00 p.m. CT. Friday's schedule calls for one game, the elimination bracket matchup between the Game 3 winner and the Game 4 loser. Saturday's schedule begins at 1:00 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field, with a final deciding game - if necessary - to follow.
Information regarding tickets, Summit League Network broadcasts and more can be found on the Summit League's Championship page.
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.
