Red-Hot Mavs Seize Series Sweep at WIU

Sunday, April 14

Macomb, Ill.

12:00 AM

Omaha

14-15, 8-0

Western Illinois

7-25, 1-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Omaha	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	5	9	1
Western Illinois	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	3	12	2

Red-Hot Mavs Seize Series Sweep at WIU

Apr 14, 2013 | Baseball, General

Box Score

By: Omaha Athletics

Box Score (PDF/HTML)

OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha baseball team continued its hot streak on Sunday, defeating Western Illinois, 5-3, at Boyer Stadium. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 14-15 (8-0 Summit League) on the season, stretched their win streak to eight straight games and maintained their place at the top of the conference standings.

Freshman Alex Schultz starred offensively and had a hand in four of Omaha's five runs, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Senior Cory Buckley added two hits, and junior Caleb Palensky went 1-for-3 with two runs driven in.

Western Illinois was paced by Jameson Henning, who went 4-for-5 with two RBI, and Zack Burling, who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Steve Kedroski and Mark Garton chipped in two hits apiece.

Junior Steven Schoonover (2-2) picked up the win on the mound, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over 5.0 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. WIU starter Mason Pingel (1-4) took the loss, surrendering three runs on four hits with one strikeout over 2.0 innings. The save went to senior Derek Landis (3), who struck out two and gave up just two hits over 1.1 scoreless innings.

As was the case all weekend, Omaha jumped out to an early lead, 3-0, with four hits in the second inning. A two-out single to center from Schultz scored senior Tyler Splichal from second, followed by Palensky's two-run double to center that plated Schultz and freshman Cole Gruber to spot UNO a quick 3-0 advantage.

Western Illinois chipped away with a run in the third and another in the fifth, pulling it to 3-2. The Mavericks came back for another run in the sixth, as Schultz reached on a fielder's choice, allowing redshirt freshman Connor Messinger to score and bringing the tally to 4-2.

The Leathernecks posted three hits in the seventh, as Burling and Henning both singled to put two on for Kedroski, who singled up the middle to score Burling at 4-3.

Omaha, however, put up an insurance run in the top of the ninth to hold off Western. Schultz led off with a single through the right side, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Palensky and moved to third on a groundout. Sophomore Alex Mortensen then reached on a fielding error, which pushed Schultz across and pushed the Mavs' lead to 5-3.

The bottom half of the inning saw Burling lead off with an infield single, but Landis fanned Dan Dispensa for the first out, and Henning flew out for the second. A Kedroski single up the middle then put two runners on, and Matt Risdon represented the go-ahead run at the plate. Omaha got a flyout to right to end the threat, and the Mavericks captured their eighth consecutive win for a perfect 8-0 start to league play.

Omaha returns to action on Tuesday, April 16, hosting Iowa. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Werner Park, and links to live stats and audio will be available on OMavs.com. The game will also be broadcast live on KVNO 90.7 HD-2, with student broadcasters Jared Meyer and Paul Dobler on the call.