BROOKINGS, S.D. – Top-seeded Omaha softball defeated (4) North Dakota 4-2 in the Mavericks' first game of the Summit League Championship Thursday. Third baseman
Sydney Thomason led the way for Omaha, picking up a pair of base hits to go with three RBI.
The Omaha offense wasted little time in going to work, as
Maggie O'Brien walked to open the game, followed by a single off the bat of
Rylinn Groff. Thomason doubled to center to plate both runs, handing the Mavericks an early 2-0 lead.
North Dakota got a run back in the following frame behind a solo shot from catcher Taya Hopfauf to cut the Omaha lead in half. The Mavericks answered in the third, when Thomason came up with her second double in as many at-bats to bring O'Brien in to score from second.
With two outs and the bases empty in the fifth,
Katherine Johnson left the yard for the sixth time this spring, pushing the lead to 4-1. A pair of North Dakota hits in the sixth combined to scratch across the final run of the day, running the Mavericks' current win streak to three games.
Maddia Groff was stellar in the circle for Omaha, keeping in a check a North Dakota offense coming off an eight-run explosion a day prior. Once again, M. Groff went the distance, fanning eight hitters en route to her 24th win of the season.
Omaha, the nation's third best defense, was the beneficiary of two web gems in the sixth as
Sammy Schmidt turned on the jets for a sliding grab in the right field corner to start of the frame.
Ava Rongisch came in from left center to rob North Dakota's Katelyn Neumayer of a potential home run.
Mike Heard's Mavericks will face (2) South Dakota State tomorrow, Friday, May 9 at 1 p.m. CT in Brookings, S.D. at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium live on the Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus.
Click here for championship headquarters.
Connect with Omaha softball on
X (formerly Twitter) and
Instagram,
@OmahaSB.
