Ben Helwig
CONTRIBUTOR
The Omaha Baseball team got their season started on the right foot, picking up a pair of wins over Big Ten foe Northwestern on the weekend of Feb. 14-16.
In a three-game series that took place down in Glendale, Arizona, Omaha took the first two games before dropping the series finale on Sunday.
In game one, Omaha overturned a two-run sixth inning deficit by tallying four runs of their own in the sixth, ultimately taking the first game of the season 5-4.
The big hero was redshirt junior Jack Lombardi who notched a three-run double in the four-run sixth, his only hit of the day. Transfer Harrison Denk had a solid afternoon as well, going 3-5 in his first game as a Maverick. Picking up the win was sophomore pitcher Jackson Gordon, who pitched two scoreless innings in relief, as well as three strikeouts. It was the first career win for the Skutt graduate.
For Omaha, it was their first win over a Big Ten school since 2018 when they beat Nebraska 8-7 at Haymarket Park.
Game two was a little less stressful, as Omaha dominated the Wildcats with a 9-2 victory in a Saturday matinee.
Transfer and Bennington, Nebraska native Masen Prososki picked up his first career hit as a Maverick, going 2-5 from the plate. The Louisiana-Monroe transfer had a triple, a run and 4 RBIs in the win. Omaha, as a team, had 12 hits, compared to Northwestern’s eight, but the real difference maker came in fielding. The Wildcats committed five errors as opposed to Omaha’s zero, as Northwestern gifted the Mavs base-runners throughout the day due to fielding miscues.
Sunday, Northwestern finally got the ball rolling as they toppled Omaha 7-2 in the series finale. Newcomer to the Maverick rotation, Richie Holetz, started the game on the bump, going 3.2 innings and giving up seven runs, four of which were earned on five hits and three walks.
Senior Keil Krumwiede had an exceptional day at the plate despite the loss, going 3-4 with an RBI.
This is the second time in three seasons that Omaha has opened up the season with a series win over Northwestern, doing so in 2018, as well.
Omaha will open up the season at home at Seymour Smith Park on March 6, hosting the Portland Pilots in a two-game series.
