March 9, 2004
FLORIDA HERE WE COME
The Iowa baseball team will travel to Florida to compete in eight games from March 13-20. The Hawkeyes will open up with a three-game series in DeLand, FL, at Stetson University’s Melching Feild. Iowa will finish the trip playing five games in Bradenton, FL, at the IMG Academy.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES LIVE
Fans can follow the University of Iowa baseball team live via live stats on www.hawkeyesports.com.
LAST WEEK
The Iowa baseball team lost three games to Southwest Missouri State in Ozark, MO.
In the series opener, the Hawkeyes fell 8-5 to the Bears. SMS jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the contest before Iowa battled back. The Hawkeyes scored four runs in the fourth inning after batting around in the order and scored another in the fifth to cut their deficit to 6-5. SMS added two insurance runs in the eighth inning to put away Iowa.
In the second game of the Saturday doubleheader, the Hawkeyes took a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning on a towering two-run homer by Jesse Brownell, but SMS answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and never looked back in the 17-5 win.
Iowa scored one run in each of the first three innings. L.J. Mims led the Hawkeyes as he went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
On Mar. 7, Iowa fell 13-2 to round out the three-game series. Iowa couldn’t get anything going offensively against SMS starter Derek Drage. Drage pitched seven strong innings of five hit ball against the Hawkeyes with six strikeouts.
Iowa scored its two runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Senior Jim Reid accounted for both the Hawkeye runs as he scored in the seventh and drove in Jeff Gremley with a double in the eighth.
REID-ICULOUS
Senior Jim Reid went 3-for-3 in his first action of the season against SMS. Reid pinch hit for Kris Welker in game two of the series and responded with bloop single over the first baseman’s head. In game three, Reid had two of Iowa’s five hits in the game with an RBI and a run scored.
SUNDERMAN TAKES THE MOUND
Sophomore Kevin Sunderman didn’t start in the field for the first time this season on Mar. 7 against SMS, but he entered the game in the seventh inning on the mound. In the inning, the righthander faced four batters and allowed one hit.
BROWNELL GOES DEEP
Jesse Brownell hit the first long ball of the season for Iowa against SMS on Mar. 6. The junior leftfielder tagged SMS pitcher’s Chris Krawczyk’s pitch over the left field fence for the two-run jack.
In the weekend series, Brownell collected three hits, two RBIs and scored two runs.
For season, Brownell is batting .292 with six RBIs. He leads the Hawkeyes with 13 total bases with a double, triple and homerun.
GUDEX SOLID OUT OF THE PEN
Sophomore Tim Gudex had his second strong outing out of the bullpen in the opening game of series against SMS. The lefty struck out three batters in 2 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits. Gudex entered the game with the bases loaded and struck out SMS pinch hitter Jake Manning on three pitches to get Iowa out of the inning.
Gudex has a 3.86 ERA for the Hawkeyes in 4 2/3 innings. He has struck out four batters and allowed five hits.
SUNDERMAN HONORED
Kevin Sunderman was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Mar. 2, after opening his Hawkeye career with a bang in the three-game series against Centenary College. Sunderman, who started all three games at third base, finished the series with a .700 (7-10) batting average, seven RBIs, three doubles and two walks.
IOWA VS. MAINE
Maine holds a 6-2 advantage over Iowa in eight meetings in the series. Last season, the Hawkeyes and Black Bears split two games. Nathan Johnson picked up the win in the first meeting when Iowa came away with a 3-1 victory. Maine won the second game, 8-6.
IOWA VS. STETSON
Stetson is undefeated against Iowa in four meetings in the all-time series. The last time the two schools met was in the 1986 season when they played a pair of games in DeLand, FL.
IOWA VS. UMASS
The Hawkeyes are 3-1 in four meetings with the Minutemen. In 1989, Iowa and UMASS split two games. Iowa won the first meeting 11-8 and fell in the second, 6-1.
IOWA VS. BUCKNELL
Iowa holds a 1-0 advantage against the Bison in one meeting in the all-time series. Iowa defeated Bucknell 13-2 in 1993.
IOWA VS. MIAMI (OH)
The game between the Hawkeyes and Redhawks on March 18 will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
IOWA VS. DARTMOUTH
The Hawkeyes are 2-0 against the Big Green in two meetings in the series. Iowa won both games against Dartmouth in 1989 in Orlando, FL.
IOWA VS. ARMY
The game between Army and Iowa on March 20 will be the first meeting between the two schools.
GAME VERSUS BRADLEY ON MAY 4 CANCELLED
The game that was scheduled on May 4 between Iowa and Bradley in Iowa City has been cancelled. The University of Iowa prohibits all teams from playing schools with a Native American mascot aside from the Illinois Fighting Illini.
DAHM INKS FIRST RECRUITING CLASS
Head Coach Jack Dahm and his staff signed his first recruiting class at the University of Iowa. The class, which was dominated by pitching, included 10 players, including the top-four pitching prospects in the state of Iowa. The Hawkeyes earned praise on the national level as Jerry Ford, the National Director of Perfect Game U.S.A, listed the class as “a top-50 and perhaps the top-25 class in the nation.” The class includes players from four states including Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Montana. Included in the class are: Danny Bales (Cedar Rapids, IA), David Conroy (Mount Vernon, IA), Travis Sweet (Cedar Rapids, IA), Josh Wheatley (Pocahontas, IA), Ben Geelan (Algona, IA), Dusty Napoleon (Wilmette, IL), Justin Berg (Antigo, WI), Cody Doonan (Cedar Rapids, IA), T.J. Cataldo (Carlisle, IA) and Kody McManis (Bozeman, MT).
IOWA COACHES
Jack Dahm enters his first season as Iowa’s head baseball coach and has a 283-276 career record. Prior to coming to Iowa, Dahm spent 10 years as the Head Coach at Creighton University, where he is the school’s all-time winningest coach. Dahm also played for four years for the Bluejays under current Chicago Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry.
Assistant Coach Nick Zumsande is in his first season as Iowa’s pitching coach after collecting 14 years of coaching experience throughout the Midwest. Prior to joining the Hawkeyes, Zumsande served as the pitching coach for Indiana State. Before joining the Sycamores, Zumsande coached for one year at Iowa State University where he helped lead the team to their first Big 12 Tournament appearance in school history.
Assistant Coach Ryan Brownlee is in his first season as Iowa’s hitting/fielding instructor and recruiting coordinator. Prior to coming to Iowa, Brownlee was the hitting/fielding coach at James Madison University, where he led the Dukes to school records in fielding percentage. Before going to JMU, Brownlee served as an assistant at his alma mater, Evansville.
Volunteer Assistant Coach Spencer Allen is in his first season with the Hawkeyes. Allen will coach first base during game days and is responsible for outfield instruction. Allen earned his B.A. in 2001 from Iowa State, where he was a three-year starter at second base.
DAHM SAYS
“Last weekend was a learning experience for our program. There were some positive and negatives that we need to learn and build on as we try and turn this progrom around. SMS is one of the premiere programs in the country over the last seven or eight years and we were excited to see how the guys reacted from their struggles against such a good team. Hopefully, the lessons we learned can lead to better weekends, starting in Florida.
In Florida, we need to use the trip to gain some experience. We’ll use the trip to get some questions answered in the line-up and the pitching staff. We need to use these games to gain some momentum heading into the Big Ten.”
