March 18, 2004
BRADENTON, FL – The Iowa baseball team got the bats going and took advantage of a strong outing by Nathan Johnson to defeat Bucknell, 9-3, at the IMG Academy.
Johnson overpowered the Bison batters as he struck out a season-high nine batters in seven innings to pick up his second victory of the season. The right hander allowed three runs on six hits and did not walk a batter.
With a 4-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning, Iowa first baseman Mike Best hit a two-run homer over the left field fence for his first homerun of the season. Best, who was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, drove in Nate Yoho, who lead off the inning with a double down the right field line.
The Hawkeyes closed the door on the Bison with a three-run ninth after three straight singles started off the inning. Yoho led off with a hit to left center field and stole second. Best followed with his fourth hit of the game and Jesse Brownell had an RBI single to right center. Best scored on a wild pitch and Brownell crossed the plate on a throwing error on the Buckenell pitcher.
Iowa jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after the third inning. Bucknell had trouble in the field early in the game as they as they had four of their five errors in the first three frames.
The Bison scored one run in the third, sixth and seventh innings off of Johnson.
Aaron Reasland pitched two innings of two-hit ball to pick up his first save of the season. Reasland struck out four of the eight batters that he faced and forced Bison pinch hitter Matt Belmont to hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Five Hawkeyes accounted for all 13 hits in the game. Brownell went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Mike Mogard, L.J. Mims and Yoho each had two hits apiece.
Iowa plays Miami (OH) at 3:30 (CST) at the Cincinnati Reds Spring Training Complex.