By Jared Myer, Contributor
After beating Creighton at TD Ameritrade last Tuesday, UNO ended the week with a victory at Iowa and then fell in a sweep at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. Pitching and defense once again guided the way in a 3-1 win at Iowa City, but the Mavs were shut out in their first game against IPFW, lost a 6-3 decision on Saturday, then dropped 13-7 decision on Sunday.
Senior Andrew Reck (1-3) got his first win of the year last Wednesday when he allowed only one run with three strikeouts in six innings of work against Iowa. Senior Colby McCord had three hits with an RBI and a run scored, while sophomore Caleb Palensky had a hit that drove in two runs.
Iowa was on the board first in the first inning, scoring their only run of the game off a walk that came around to score on an error. The Mavs tied it in the third on McCord’s RBI infield single then took the lead in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Palensky.
Palensky added to the lead and made the final score 3-1 with an RBI single in the seventh. Redshirt freshman pitcher Zach Williamsen came on in the eighth with bases loaded and no outs and struck out three in a row to end the inning. Williamsen went two innings to earn the save.
After the win against the Hawkeyes, the Mavs traveled to Fort Wayne, Ind., to face off against future Summit League foe IPFW. In the 4-0 game one, IPFW piled up 11 hits while limiting UNO to just five.
Sophomore Josh Bullock (0-2) took the loss giving up four runs on six hits while fanning six. Senior Brady Hohl extended his hitting streak to 18, going 2-for-4. McCord and Palensky also recorded a hit for the Mavericks.
In game two, UNO matched IPFW’s seven hits, but only scored three runs to the Mastodons’ six. The Mavs got off to a quick start, putting two runs up in the first inning, but IPFW answered with five in the third.
The Mastodons scored five on two hits and an error and cruised the rest of the way. UNO scored one in the eighth, but IPFW’s Steve Danielak shut down the Mavs the rest of the way.
Freshman Alex Mortensen had two RBI’s on two hits, and McCord went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Hohl also added a hit late in the game to extend his hitting streak.
Junior Derek Landis (0-1) took the loss as he went three innings, allowing five runs on three hits and four walks. IPFW starter Markus Kalber received the win, throwing seven and two-thirds, striking out five and allowing three runs on five hits.
In the series finale, the Mavs again got off to a hot start, scoring four runs in the first two innings. UNO led 4-3 after the sixth, but the Mastodons exploded for eight in the seventh.
IPFW scored the eight runs on seven hits and an error. One Mastodon hitter came to the plate twice in the inning, scoring one run in his first at-bat and hitting a three-run home run in his second.
The Mavs put up three runs in the ninth, but by then the nine-run deficit was too much to overcome. Hohl extended his hitting streak to 20 when opened up the game with a double.
Mortensen went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while McCord went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Senior Scotty Donner had three hits with an RBI and a run scored, and senior Mark Waldron hit his first home run of the season, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Curtis Smith (2-2) took the loss, allowing 10 runs, five earned, on five hits with a strikeout and five walks in one and two thirds of work.
The Mavs return to Omaha to face North Dakota State this weekend. Games are Friday at the Ballpark at Boys Town then a doubleheader at Werner Park on Saturday.
