Jordan McAlpine
SPORTS EDITOR
Throughout the first two weeks of the season, Kamryn Meyer was simply outstanding. The junior pitcher tossed a no-hitter, a one-hitter and had 26 strikeouts in the Incarnate Word Tournament, but she didn’t stop there.
Meyer followed it up by posting a 3-1 record and limited opposing batters to a .126 average the next week. In four starts against Central Arkansas, Georgetown, Southern Mississippi and Georgia Southern, Meyer pitched three shutouts and racked up 38 strikeouts.
That performance earned Meyer her second Summit League Pitcher of the Week honor already in the young 2022 season. Heading into Summit League play, Meyer sits near the top of the conference in ERA (1.13) and wins (6). Meyer also leads the Summit League with five shutouts.
As a team, the Mavericks finished non-conference at 11-8 and won six of their final 10 games. But a big part of that has been due to Meyer and the bat of senior infielder Jamie White, who leads or ranks near the top of nearly every offensive category on the Omaha roster.
White clubbed her team-leading fourth home run of the year in the home opener against Wichita State and her average on the season has also climbed north of .400. However, White’s fourth-inning home run against Wichita State wasn’t enough, as the Mavericks dropped the home opener, 3-1.
Omaha went 3-1 in the Central Arkansas Invitational with wins over Arkansas Pine Bluff (8-0), Saint Louis (3-2) and Central Arkansas (1-0). Later that week, the Mavericks ventured to Madeira Beach, Florida, for the Florida Spring Games. Omaha went 3-2 that weekend with wins over Georgetown (6-0), Radford (8-0) and Georgia Southern (3-0).
Meyer earned the wins over Georgetown and Georgia Southern, while Anna Chapman threw five shutout innings against Radford. Chapman allowed just two hits in that start and picked up her second win of the season.
Riding the momentum of back-to-back wins in the Sunshine State, the Mavericks returned to Connie Clausen Field for the first of 10 home games this season. In the loss to Wichita State, the Mavericks struck first, yet the Shockers answered with a pair of home runs in the fifth (two-run shot) and sixth (solo) innings.
Omaha made a valiant comeback effort late, but the Mavericks left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. Despite the loss, Meyer fired yet another complete game in the circle. She struck out seven Wichita State batters, bringing her season total to 100, and will look to roll that hot start over into conference play.
Omaha opens Summit League action at home with three-game sets against South Dakota State and North Dakota State. After that April 3 game against NDSU, the Mavericks won’t return home until April 30 against Kansas City.
