Neustrom Powers Iowa Past Red Top Sports

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Junior Robert Neustrom hit two solo home runs and finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the University of Iowa baseball team to an 11-6 victory over Red Top Sports on Thursday night at Duane Banks Field.

 The Hawkeyes sported the USA National Team jerseys for the first time thanks to an assist from equipment manager Kevin Foor.
 
“They are awesome,” said UI head coach Rick Heller. “Give credit to Kevin, he drove to and from St. Louis today so we could wear them in tonight’s game.”
 
The Hawkeyes finished with 15 hits and four players posted multi-hit games.  Sophomore Grant Judkins had a four-hit night, finishing 4-for-5 with two runs, while sophomores Ben Norman and Justin Jenkins had two-hit games.  Jenkins was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs.
 
Iowa scored four runs in the second inning on four hits, including two on a two-run double from Jenkins.  After pushing the lead to 7-2 in the fourth, Red Top cut the deficit to 7-6 with a four-run sixth, but the Hawkeyes scored two in the seventh off a Neustrom line drive home run and an RBI single from Lorenzo Elion and added two more in the eighth.
 
Seven Iowa pitchers took the hill, scattering 12 hits in the game.  Redshirt sophomore Derek Lieurance was credited with the win, allowing two hits over two innings and fanning one.  Iowa had 10 strikeouts in the game.
 
The Hawkeyes open play at the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kansas, on Sunday, facing the Wellington (Kansas) Heat at 7 p.m. at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.