CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Omaha Softball completed a 4-0 weekend with a pair of one-run wins Saturday at the UNI-Dome Tournament.
Omaha opened the day with a 5-4 win over Iowa State before defeating Northern Iowa 7-6 when new starting shortstop
Taylor Sedlacek drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the eighth inning.
It's the fourth straight season that Omaha has won at least four games in the season-opening tournament at the UNI-Dome.
Head coach
Mike Heard said in the preseason that Omaha had the ability to put up more runs this season. The Mavericks did just that as they averaged 9.5 runs in the four victories. Omaha hit eight homers on the weekend as it got home runs from six players.
In Saturday's opener, Omaha defeated Iowa State for the second day in a row.
Omaha never trailed, opening a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning when
Emma Durr hit a two-run home run.
An RBI single by
Marra Cramer made it 5-2 in the fifth, then the Mavericks turned back a late Iowa State comeback bid.
Grace Hornbuckle worked into the sixth inning to earn the win, while
Alexis Wiggins recorded the final five outs for the save. Wiggins stranded the tying run at second base in the bottom of the seventh.
Wiggins also picked up the win in relief in the second game when she stranded the tying run at third base in the eighth.
Katherine Johnson, who had two RBI in the opener, drove in two more in the second game.
Trailing 3-1 after Northern Iowa scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, Omaha put together a five-run rally in the fifth. Johnson tied it with a two-run single up the middle.
Sammy Schmidt then blasted a three-run home run to right-center to give Omaha a 6-3 lead.
Maddia Groff struck out 10 in 6.1 innings, but Northern Iowa forced extra innings with a two-run home run in the bottom off the seventh.
Omaha scored the winning run in the eighth when
Rylee White moved to third base on a wild pitch with two outs before Sedlacek singled up the middle.
Omaha will play five games in San Diego next weekend, starting with Utah Tech on Friday.
