MARION, Ill. – Omaha baseball capped off the weekend with an 8-0 shutout win over Chicago State behind stellar pitching from Richie Holetz and 11 team hits.
The Mavericks improve to 7-4 overall, while the Cougars fall to 2-9. Omaha finished the weekend 3-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Holetz earned his first win of the season (1-2) in dominating fashion behind 8.0 innings of shutout ball with only three hits and two walks allowed. Mark Ehresman came in the ninth and recorded a pair of strikeouts with two walks.
At the plate, three different Mavericks registered multi-hit performances in Grant Goldston, Brett Bonar and Breyden Eckhout. Bonar finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, two doubles and a run scored. Goldston also registered a double with a run, while Eckhout had two runs scored and an RBI.
INSIDE THE INNINGS
After six innings of scoreless ball, Omaha plated three runs in the seventh. Goldston doubled and set up Chris Esposito, who tripled and scored the first run of the game. Eckhout followed up with a single to short and scored Esposito to make it 2-0 Mavericks. The third run came courtesy of a Bonar double to right center and plated Eckhout.
Two innings later in the ninth, the Mavericks exploded for five runs and sealed the win. Bonar launched a ground-rule double that scored Esposito and Parker Smejkal. With the bases loaded, Masen Prososki was hit by a pitch, which made it 6-0 Mavericks. The final two runs came when Harrison Denk was walked and Keil Krumwiede was hit by a pitch.
LOOKING AHEAD
Omaha sets its sights on its home opener this Friday at Seymour Smith Park. The Mavericks welcome Portland for a Noon doubleheader March 6. The following day, Omaha takes on Creighton at 4:30 p.m. in TD Ameritrade Park.
