Maddia Groff led Omaha Softball to a 3-2 victory over Creighton in front of 717 fans at Connie Claussen Field on March 25. Groff pitched a five-hitter, helping the Mavericks secure the win as they improved their record to 20-7.
The game was closely contested, with Omaha taking the lead by scoring twice in the bottom of the fourth inning and maintaining it for the final three innings. Head coach Mike Heard said, “We probably didn’t play our best game there. We kind of lost our approach offensively a little bit. But it’s nice to still be able to win games when you feel like you don’t play your best.”
Creighton, now with a record of 15-17 and a strong start in BIG EAST play, put pressure on early but could not capitalize beyond two runs scored in the third inning after Kaelan Schultz’s double down the left-field line. After that moment, Groff retired 13 of the last 15 batters she faced and improved her season record to 8-4. Heard commented on his pitcher’s performance: “You could tell she had a little adrenaline going.”
Omaha narrowed its deficit in the third inning when Taylor Sedlacek scored on a wild pitch before tying and taking the lead in the fourth inning. Sammy Schmidt hit her sixth home run of the season to tie it up; “That was huge,” Heard said about Schmidt’s contribution. “She’s been doing that for us all year. She put a good swing on a good pitch.” Ava Rongisch then singled and later scored what proved to be the winning run off Bailey Sample’s groundout.
Schmidt reflected on how small moments can change games: “Even the smallest things can make the biggest difference,” she said about starting off an important inning with just trying for a base hit.
Rongisch finished with three hits out of Omaha’s seven total for the night as Omaha looks ahead to continuing its homestand against Kansas City at Connie Claussen Field.
