MINNEAPOLIS -- No. 1 seed Oral Roberts used a big sixth inning to oust No. 2 seed Omaha 9-0 during a loser's bracket game during day two of the 2026 Summit League Baseball Championship at Siebert Field. Player of the Year Makani Tanaka went 2-for-5 with two RBI and also threw out a runner at the plate as the Golden Eagles managed to stay alive after dropping a first-round game for the first time in program history.
ORU starter Brendan Asher went 5.2 scoreless innings and worked out of several jams as he stranded seven runners. Three of those came in the first when the first trio of Mavericks reached to open the game. Asher was able to produce three consecutive fly outs to keep Omaha off the scoreboard, however.
The Golden Eagle righthander worked out of another jam in the third when the Mavericks put runners on the corners. The ORU offense was able to manufacture a run to give their hurler a 1-0 lead after Tanaka singled with one out and stole second before scoring on two-out single by Cooper Combs.
The ORU offense that had been held to just four runs through the first 14 innings of tournament play, erupted for eight in the sixth to surge ahead 9-0. Tanaka had a two-run double in the frame, while Wailele Kane-Yates and Matthew Mainord each had two-run singles as the Golden Eagles combined for six hits.
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Mainord led a quartet of Golden Eagles with multiple-hits as the top eight in the order had at least one base knock.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Asher (3-4): 5.2 IP, 6 hits, 0 earned runs, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts
Loss – Foertsch (2-2): 5.1 IP, 9 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• Tanaka extended his hitting streak to 18 straight with a 2-for-5 effort, which was his 22nd multi-hit game of the season
• ORU improved to 78-10 with the win over the Mavericks, who were the only team during the regular season to take a series from the Golden Eagles
• Omaha's Jackson Trout had two hits to pace the Mavericks' offense to post his 23rd multi-hit game of the season
• Omaha head coach Evan Porter concluded his 10-year career leading the Mavericks with 196 wins
Up Next
Top-seeded Oral Roberts will play the loser of the Northern Colorado-South Dakota State matchup Friday at 4 p.m. CT in an elimination game.
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