OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha's last-inning rally fell short as South Dakota State used two big innings to take a 7-3 win at Tal Anderson Field Friday night. It was the opening game of the final homestand for Omaha (18-25, 11-14) as the Mavericks and SDSU (15-29, 11-13) battle for seeding in the Summit League tournament.
The Mavs host the Jax Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CT and Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field. All Mavericks home games can be streamed on the Summit League Network. Omaha closes out the home portion of thr schedule Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. CT against crosstown rival Creighton, with the final three conference games of the season scheduled for May 15-17 at NDSU.
Omaha had a 1-0 lead through four innings after manufacturing the game's first run in the third. Paul Schuyler singled to left and was sacrificed to second base by Blake Stenger. One out later Henry Zipay stroked a pitch to the opposite field for the RBI single, scoring Schuyler. The hit extended the senior third baseman's on-base streak to 27 games, longest on the team this season.
Senior righthander Ben Weber (LP, 4-4) pitched into the seventh inning, his fifth straight start of six or more innings, but couldn't avoid the big inning by SDSU. The Jax took the lead with four runs in the fifth, only one earned, keyed by Carter Sintek's two-run double. Weber (6+ IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 7 K, 5 BB) settled down and pitched into the seventh, but the bullpen allowed three more runs and SDSU took a 7-1 lead to the final frame.
The Mavericks put up a fight against reliever Jake Goble, as Mason Gaines opened the inning with a double, and after a pair of walks loaded the bases, Jackson Trout singled in two runs to cut the lead. With the potential tying run on deck, hard-throwing stopper Dylan Driessen struck out the league's leading hitter Zipay to close out the 7-3 win. Starter Arlen Peters (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) earned his first win of the season (1-3) and Driessen was credited with his sixth save.
Trout (1-4, 2 RBI) extended his hitting streak to 16 games, and Tyler Bishop (2-3) to 13 games for Omaha.
With Northern Colorado's loss to ORU Friday night, Omaha's magic number to secure a playoff spot is down to three with five league games remaining. The two teams are separated by just 1/2 game in the Summit League standings for the last two playoff spots in the the Summit League Championship at Tal Anderson Field, May 21-24 in Omaha.
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.
