OMAHA, Neb. — South Dakota State silenced Omaha's bats in the opener of the regular-season-ending series Friday, handing the Mavericks a 5-0 loss in Summit League baseball at Tal Anderson Field.
With the win, SDSU (21-27, 12-12 Summit) secured a conference postseason berth. Omaha (18-24, 13-11 Summit) has already clinched one of the four spots in next week's Summit League tournament, along with Oral Roberts.
The two teams close out the regular season with 6 p.m. CT games Thursday through Saturday at Tal Anderson Field.
Playing as the home team, South Dakota State scored a run in the bottom of the first inning against freshman
Chris Coy, making his first career start, and never trailed. The game had been rescheduled from earlier this season in Brookings due to weather.
Omaha was held hitless through six innings by winning pitcher Drew McDowell, who improved to 4-1. The Mavericks' best chance came in the seventh against reliever Ty Madison. With two outs,
Edoardo Cornelli beat out an infield single and
Eli Hoerner followed with a base hit up the middle, but Jackrabbits shortstop Keagen Jirschele made a diving stop on a hard grounder from
Jackson Trout and flipped to second for the force out to end the inning.
The Summit League Championship, featuring the top four teams, will be hosted by St. Thomas at Siebert Field in Minneapolis from May 20-23.
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