CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Three-time defending Summit League tournament champion Omaha Softball opened the 2026 softball campaign with a pair of wins at the Doc Halverson-UNI Dome Classic in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The Mavericks, ranked fifth in the D1 Softball mid-major preseason poll, downed Iowa State 13-5 (6 inn.) to open the annual five-team event. Omaha (2-0) slammed Butler 13-3 (5 inn.) in the second game.
The pair of victories gives head coach
Mike Heard 150 wins as he begins his fifth season at the Mavericks' helm.
In game one, junior lefty
Maddia Groff, reigning Summit League Pitcher of the Year, struck out seven Cyclones in six-innings of work. In her second season with the Mavs, the Omaha Marian product now has 502 career strikeouts.
Newcomer
Bailey Sample, a transfer from Bradley, delivered the season's opening salvo with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first.
After the Cyclones tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the third, Omaha answered with five in the bottom half, highlighted by junior
Sammy Schmidt's two-run single and a run-scoring hit from senior
Ava Rongisch.
Junior second baseman
Katherine Johnson led off the fifth with a solo homer, as the Mavs plated three more runs to set the stage for a run-rule win.
In the bottom of the sixth, Omaha walked off the 13-5 victory on Schmidt's three-run home run.
Playing again as the home team in the second game against Butler, Omaha jumped out front in the first on a two-run home run by Johnson.
The Mavs then plated seven in the second, highlighted by shortstop
Taylor Sedlacek's three-run home run. The senior transfer from Wichita State was 4-5 on the day with three RBI and five runs scored. The Mavs built an insurmountable lead on
Rylee White's two-run homer to close out the fourth.
Senior righthander
Alexis Wiggins put the Bulldogs down in order in the top of the fifth to secure the 13-3, complete game win.
Omaha meets Iowa State a second time Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. CT before squaring off against host Northern Iowa at 4:30 p.m. CT.
The Mavericks play their first 26 games on the road before opening the Summit League schedule against North Dakota State at Omaha's
Connie Claussen Field, March 20 at 2:00 p.m. CT.
