Fast start lifts Mavs past SDSU

BROOKINGS, S.D. (SDSU) — Haiden Hunt drove in four runs with a four-hit day and Tyler Bishop added four more hits for an Omaha squad that posted a 10-2 victory over South Dakota State in Summit League baseball action Friday afternoon at Erv Huether Field.

In winning the first two games of the three-game series, Omaha improved to 18-29-1 overall and 16-12-1 in Summit League play. The Jackrabbits were sent to the brink of elimination of qualifying for next week’s conference tournament in falling to 19-29 overall and 10-17 in The Summit League. SDSU will await the outcome of Friday night’s game between Northern Colorado and North Dakota State to see if Saturday’s regular season finale will be meaningful. A win by UNC either Friday or Saturday would eliminate the Jackrabbits from contention.

Omaha took advantage of a leadoff walk and a pair of misplays in the outfield to build a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The first run of the game scored on a groundout, while Hunt followed with a two-out single to center field off SDSU starter Arlen Peters .

The Mavericks extended their lead to 6-0 an inning later when Drew Lechnir connected on a three-run home run to right field.

Jake Goble , who came on in relief of Peters after the Lechnir home run, did his best to keep the Jackrabbits in the game by tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings before running into trouble in the seventh.

SDSU was unable to solve Omaha starter Harrison Kreiling as the right-hander struck out nine, did not walk a batter and scattered four hits over 5 2/3 shutout frames.

Cael Frost ended the Jackrabbit offensive drought immediately after Kreiling’s exit, launching a ball over the fence to the left of center field for his league-leading 21 ^st home run of the season. Cade Stuff added a run-scoring double to the deepest part of the park for SDSU in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to 7-2.

Hunt plated the final two Maverick runs with singles in both the eighth and ninth innings. Omaha ended the afternoon with a 17-8 advantage in hits.

Jordan Sagedahl was the lone player for SDSU with two hits.

Maverick closer Luke Gainer pitched the final three innings to earn the save. He tallied five strikeouts as Omaha notched 15 punchouts in the game.

UP NEXT
The finale between the two teams is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Cubby’s Feed the Fans featuring a pre-game hamburger meal begins at approximately 11:45 a.m. and the Jackrabbit senior class will be recognized at 12:40 p.m.

NOTES

• Omaha leads the season series, 4-1
• The Mavericks holds a 96-90-1 advantage in the all-time series
• Frost’s 145 total bases this season rank as the sixth-highest total by a Jackrabbit in program history
• Frost moved into a tie with Kerry Jacobson (2002) and Stephen Turner (2009) on the SDSU single-season RBI chart with 57
• Dylan Driessen made his 24 ^th pitching appearance of the season, tying him with J.D. Moore (2014) for seventh place on the SDSU charts

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