SAINT PAUL, Minn. – A solid start from Mavericks pitcher Tanner Foertsch wasn't enough as St. Thomas outlasted Omaha, 4-1, in Summit League baseball Saturday. Omaha (17-24, 10-13 Summit League) saw their four-game win streak snapped by St. Thomas (22-19, 16-7 Summit League), with the rubber game of the three game series scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT Sunday afternoon at Koch Diamond in Saint Paul. All Summit League games stream live on the internet via the Summit League Network and Midco Sports.
Foertsch, a freshman from Elkhorn South High School, pitched a career-high six innings, allowing four unearned runs on just three hits, walking one and striking out four Tommies. Foertsch (LP, 2-2) was locked in a duel with St. Thomas pitcher Riane Ritter (WP, 4-1) who threw seven shutout innings in the win (7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K).
A pair of errors to open the fifth inning set the stage for the four-run frame, capped by a two-out, two-run homer by Ben Vujovich, providing the Tommies with all they would need in winning game two of a three-game set between first-place St. Thomas and fourth-place Omaha.
The Mavericks scratched out a run against the Tommies bullpen in the 8th inning. Jackson Trout singled to open the inning against Max Skilbeck (S, 4), and Tyler Bishop singled with one out to set up Noah Greise's two-out run scoring hit.
Trout (2-4, 1 R) extended his team-leading hitting streak to 14 games, while the league's leading hitter Henry Zipay (1-3) extended his on-base streak to 25 games. Firstbaseman Tyler Bishop (2-4) extended his hitting streak to 11 games, including the day's only extra-base hit for Omaha, his 10th double of the season.
Greise (2-4, 1 RBI) and Drew Borner (3-4) also had multi-hit games for Omaha. The Mavs left eight runners on base and saw the game end when the Tommies turned a 5-4-3 double play.
Freshman Carter Mick (1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 K) and senior Luke Gainer (0.2 IP, 2 K) pitched scoreless baseball out of the bullpen, which hasn't allowed an earned run in the last 10 1/3 innings of Summit League play. With his 61st career appearance, Gainer has moved into sixth-place in Omaha's all-time career games pitched list. Joey Machado (2018-2022) sits atop the list with 67 career appearances for the Mavs.
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 crosstown 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.
