OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha sophomore Maddia Groff compiled one of the rarest weekend pitching ledgers in Mavericks history, backing up three perfect innings Saturday with a seven-inning perfect game performance Sunday to beat visiting North Dakota, 2-0. Groff earned the win in game one of the series the previous day by retiring all nine batters she faced, combining with teammate Alyson Edweards on a perfect game win, 20-0 (5 inn.). In Sunday’s finale of the three-game set, Groff put down 21 consecutive batters with 13 strikeouts to improve to 13-4 on the season.
Omaha (22-9) produced the only run Groff would need in the first on a solo home run by Sydney Thomason (her 9th), and closed out the scoring in the bottom of the sixth with a pinch-hit solo homer by Katherine Johnson (her 3rd) off North Dakota (17-18) freshman Unity Nelson (4-2), who allowed just three hits and two runs in the tough-luck loss.
The perfect game was in jeopardy to start the seventh inning when Katie Joten slashed a ball for what appeared to be an infield hit, only to be ruled out of the batter’s box at the time of contact. After an umpire review, she was assessed a strike (no pitch charged to the pitcher), and flew out three pitches later for the first out of the inning. Groff, a sophomore transfer from Southern Illinois who along with her twin sister and batterymate Rylinn Groff played at nearby Marian High School, needed 96 pitches (74 for strikes) to close out her second career 7-inning perfect game. It was her fourth individual shutout of the season. Overall, the left-handed pitcher retired all 30 batters she faced, striking out 20.
Conditions for Sunday’s game, with temperatures in the low-50s and overcast skies, were still much improved over Saturday, when a steady rain soaked Connie Claussen Field in a doubleheader split. Both teams played well defensively in Sunday’s rubber game; there were no errors charged to either squad.
The Mavs play one more game in Omaha before opening a two-weekend Summit League road stretch when they travel across town to play Creighton University Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. CT.
