OMAHA, Neb. – The Mavericks won their first series of 2024 today when they took the rubber game 3-0 from the 2023 conference champion and CWS participant Oral Roberts. This is the first time since 2018 that Omaha has won a regular season series against ORU at home.
Omaha is now just a game below .500 in the Summit League at 4-5 as they end the week at 6-19 on the year. As for the Golden Eagles, they fall to 2-7 in league play and 10-18 overall.
Innings 1-3
Caleb Riedel worked around a leadoff walk in the first as he struck out the very next batter before picking off the runner at first. Drew Lechnir would finish off the inning with a sliding catch right on the foul line in left. Riedel would work another scoreless inning in the second with two more strikeouts. Then, in the bottom of the second, Grant Sommers sent the first pitch he saw over the bullpen in left to make it 1-0 Omaha.
With the help of Matt Goetzmann who made an incredible diving catch in center, Riedel tossed his first 1-2-3 inning of the day in the third. The Mavericks had a chance to add to their lead in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with no outs, but the next three batters would all be set down.
Innings 4-6
Riedel was nearly perfect through the next three innings, allowing just two baserunners while striking out four more.
Omaha added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth on another first pitch swinging homer, this time from Tyler Bishop.
Innings 7-9
Pitching into the seventh inning for the first time this season, Riedel ended his day with one final scoreless inning as he completed seven shutout innings on 106 pitches. Harrison Kreiling then came in to pitch the eighth and stranded a runner at second to keep it a 2-0 game.
In the bottom of the eighth, Bishop crushed his second home run and the team’s third of the day to give the Mavericks a much-needed insurance run heading into the top of the ninth. Back out for his second inning of work, Kreiling ran into some trouble as two runners reached base, but thanks to his third strikeout and an easy flyball to left, he was able to blank the Golden Eagles and secure the victory.
Inside the Box Score
This is the fourth time Riedel has completed seven innings in a game.
Bishop is the first Maverick to record two home runs in a game since Eddie Satisky on May 24th of last year, coincidentally against Oral Roberts as well.
Up Next
The Mavericks have another weekend road series next week when they head up to St. Paul, Minnesota for three games starting on Friday at 3 p.m.
