Omaha starting pitchers Kamryn Meyer and Sydney Nuismer limited South Dakota to two runs during a pair of wins Saturday at Connie Claussen Field. Scores were 2-1 and 8-1.
The victories push Omaha (23-14) ahead of South Dakota (19-20) and into second place in the Summit League standings at 9-4. The Coyotes are one game back at 8-5. Game three is 1 p.m. Sunday.
Meyer and South Dakota starter Clara Edwards are two of the top pitchers in the Summit League and they were as good as advertised in facing off in game one. The Mavericks used a second-inning double from Ava Rongisch and an infield single from Sophie Cerveny to produce an early run and that lead held until the final inning.
Meyer struck out eight and allowed just four hits, but South Dakota freshman Delaney White tagged her with a solo home run to left field to start the top of the seventh that tied the game at 1-1. It was the first collegiate home run for White, who grew up in nearby Lincoln.
Omaha walked it off in the bottom half. Lyndsey Tucker drove a one-out single up the middle, took second on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on a double to left centerfield by Maggie O’Brien. Tucker had two hits for Omaha in game one. Tatum Villotta had two of the four hits for South Dakota.
The Coyotes took an early lead in game two, but it was short-lived. Courtney Wilson singled and came around to score on a base hit by White in the top of the first. Wilson was 3-for-4 in game two and White was 2-for-3.
South Dakota had a chance to add to its lead in the third. Wilson reached on a bunt single and Aleesia Sainz walked behind her with one out. Nuismer got out of that jam with a 6-4-3 double play.
Omaha’s offense pounced from there. After USD starter Kori Wedeking had retired the first six hitters of the game, Marra Cramer led off the third with a base hit and Olivia Aden followed with a triple to the wall. She scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to give UNO a 2-1 lead.
A catcher’s interference – the second of the day on South Dakota – led to three unearned runs for Omaha in the fourth that made it 5-1. Cramer’s RBI single in the fifth made it 6-1 and chased Wedeking. The Mavericks tacked on two more runs in the sixth.
Tucker was 3-for-4 in the nightcap for five hits on the day. Aden was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Nuismer scattered eight hits, struck out four and walked three.
Source : Goyotes
