OMAHA, Neb. – The Mavericks opened their series against the reigning conference champions with a 1-0 loss to Oral Roberts on Thursday night.
Omaha drops to 2-5 in Summit League play and 4-19 overall, while the Golden Eagles improve to 2-5 in the conference and 10-16 on the season.
Innings 1-5
Charlie Bell had one of his best outings of the season today, starting things off with two scoreless innings on just 23 pitches. In the top of the second, a leadoff double followed by a single put a runner on third with one out, at which point Bell mishandled a comebacker and allowed an unearned run to score. He would quickly recover, though, getting the next two batters swinging to end the inning.
The Mavericks had a chance to score in both the fourth and fifth innings, but saw both potential rallies cut short as the team batted out of order in each inning, giving ORU two free outs. Meanwhile, Bell remained sharp, allowing only one more baserunner through the fifth inning.
Innings 6-9
Bell would work around another error in the top of the sixth, striking out his fifth and sixth batters of the day. Then, in the seventh, after two of the first three Golden Eagles out, Joe Hackmann came in to finish off the inning by striking out his first batter. Hackmann was lights out over the final two innings, racking up two more strikeouts while keeping it a one-run game.
Omaha got the leadoff men on in the sixth and seventh, with Drew Lechnir and Matt Goetzmann each advancing to scoring position only to remain stranded. The Mavericks were set down in order over the final two innings to give the 1-0 win to ORU.
Inside the Box Score
Bell was incredibly efficient tonight, only needing 90 pitches to get through 6.2 innings. This is also tied for the second longest outing of his career behind only his seven-inning performance vs. Western Illinois on May 7, 2023.
Up Next
Game two of the series will get underway at 5 p.m. on Friday.
