OMAHA, Neb. — Junior Maddia Groff tossed a five-hit shutout Tuesday night as Omaha Softball earned a 2-0 win over Creighton in the final non-conference game of the regular season.
Omaha (32-9) swept the season series from Creighton (27-24), which is tied for second place in the Big East standings. Omaha won 3-2 at Connie Claussen Field earlier this spring.
The left-handed Groff improved to 14-5 as she threw her 11th complete game and fourth shutout of the season.
"I probably didn't have my 'A' stuff, and that's just how that goes. That's softball," Groff said. "I thought everyone did a good job of just gutting it out."
Omaha gave Groff run support in the third and fifth innings in a game in which both teams finished with five hits.
Omaha got on the board in the third inning when Sammy Schmidt singled up the middle and scored three batters later when catcher Rylinn Groff lined a single into left field.
The Mavericks left the bases loaded in the top of the third, then turned in the defensive play of the game that kept Creighton off the board in the bottom half.
With one out and Creighton's Ashton Pierson at first base, Zoey Greenwood doubled to center field. But Omaha threw out a sliding Pierson at home on a relay throw from center fielder Marra Cramer to second baseman Katherine Johnson to Rylinn Groff.
"They made a nice relay play there," Omaha head coach Mike Heard said. "You kind of had a sense by that time that it might be fairly low-scoring."
Added Maddia Groff: "We love outfield relay plays. That was really clutch. It was textbook. That's what we practice all the time."
Omaha made it 2-0 in the fifth when shortstop Taylor Sedlacek hit a home run over the wall in center. It was Sedlacek's team-best 15th homer this season.
Creighton put runners at second and third in the bottom of the fifth, but Groff struck out Greenwood to end that threat.
Sedlacek had three of Omaha's five hits on the night.
Omaha returns to action at 3 p.m. CT Thursday at South Dakota to begin its final regular-season series.
