TULSA, Okla. – In the opening game of the 2024 Summit League Championship, the No. 1 Omaha Mavericks got within two heading into the bottom of the ninth, but could not complete the comeback as the No. 4 Northern Colorado Bears held on to win 4-2.
Omaha will now move on to the losers’ bracket where the team will have another chance to stay alive in the tournament vs. the loser of tonight’s game between No. 2 North Dakota State and No. 3 Oral Roberts game.
Innings 1-3
Following two scoreless innings, both teams got a run on the board in the third. After an error allowed the Bears to score in the top of the inning, Omaha immediately tied it up as Matt Goetzmann sent one up the middle to score Henry Zipay from second.
Innings 4-6
Bookended by a pair of looking strikeouts, Caleb Riedel tossed his third hitless inning of the day in the top of the fourth. The Bears, though, would plate three more the next inning on a two-out rally. Riedel recovered and finished his day with another hitless inning in the sixth.
Omaha had a chance to chip away at UNC’s lead as Tyler Bishop and Jackson Trout each recorded a single in the bottom of the sixth, but nothing would come of it.
Innings 7-9
Joe Hackmann came in to pitch the final three innings, holding the Bears scoreless and striking out three. The Mavericks got a run back in the bottom of the eighth as Drew Lechnir walked and reached second on a passed ball, setting up Trout for the opposite field RBI single. Omaha had one last chance to score in the bottom of the ninth as Zipay again got to second, but this time the Mavericks could not bring him around to score as they dropped the opening game of the tournament.
Inside the Box Score
Trout and Zipay each went 3-for-4 to account for six of Omaha’s nine hits.
In three appearances against UNC this year, Hackmann has thrown 7.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts.
Up Next
The Mavericks will be back out on the field at 12 p.m. Thursday against NDSU.
