The Seattle University baseball team let several scoring opportunities slip away, and Nebraska Omaha took advantage of its ninth-inning scoring chance, bringing two runs across and holding off the Redhawks for a 3-2 victory Tuesday afternoon at Bannerwood Stadium.
Brandon Kizer (Marysville, Wash.) produced another quality start, allowing just four hits, two walks, and one run in seven innings with striking out seven Maverick batters. He threw 101 pitches, 70 of them for strikes, as he set down eight of the last 10 batters he faced in the game.
Seattle U struck first in the fifth inning, as Riley Tompkins (Lynnwood, Wash.) and Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.) earned back-to-back singles and Sean Narby (Auburn, Wash.) drew a walk. Trent Oleszczuk (Beaverton, Ore.) drove in Tompkins with a sacrifice fly to center field, but after Zach Croonquist came on in relief of Maverick starter Derek Landis, Cullen Hendrickson (Auburn, Wash.) flew out to center field to leave two runners stranded.
Nebraska Omaha (2-7) tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth inning as Colby McCord hit a two-out home run to right field, the Mavericks' first home run of the season. Seattle U had a chance to break the tie in the bottom of the seventh, but Tompkins was thrown out at home plate on a safety squeeze play, and Hendrickson grounded out with the bases loaded to end the threat.
After Cory Mack (Spokane, Wash.) set down the Mavericks in order in the eighth inning, he walked Caleb Palensky to lead off the ninth inning. After a wild pitch advanced Palensky to second base, Cory Buckley was intentionally walked to set up a force play. Bryan Dalton (Vancouver, Wash.) came on in relief, but with two outs Mark Waldron sent a single into right-center field, scoring Palensky, and Ryan Tomlinson followed with a single that drove in Buckley.
Seattle U fought back, starting with a leadoff single by Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) and a walk to Tompkins. Roberts redeemed himself from failing to get the sacrifice bunt down, singling through the left side to score pinch runner Michael Tevlin (Billings, Mont.). UNO pitcher Brandon Winkelmann struck out both Narby and Oleszczuk, but he walked Hendrickson to load the bases with two outs. Doug Kincaid (Portland, Ore.) sent a fly ball into right field that settled into Waldron's glove for the final out of the contest.
Roberts finished the day 3-for-4 with a run batted in, while Tompkins went 2-for-3, including a double, with a walk and a run scored. No Maverick batter earned more than one hit in the game. Winkelmann earned the victory after pitching two innings of relief, while Mack took the loss.
Seattle University (3-5) will send Seafth Howe (Seattle, Wash.) to the mound for game two of the three-game series against Nebraska Omaha Wednesday, Feb. 29. The game is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m., but with the weather forecast calling for rain, which may change, so up-to-date information will be posted on GoSeattleU.com as well as the official Seattle U Athletics Facebook and Twitter pages.