March 26, 2004
DES MOINES, IA – The Hawkeyes fell 3-0 to Northern Colorado in the opening round of the Iowa Cubs/Hawkeye Classic. Bear starter Craig Ayers struck out 11 batters and allowed two hits in the complete game victory.
Ayers allowed a lead off single to Jeff Gremley in the first and didn’t allow another hit until Jason White’s leadoff single in the ninth. The Hawkeyes didn’t have a base runner past second in the entire game.
Northern Colorado put two runs on the board in the first inning. Shane Roberts was hit by a pitch to start the game and Craig Troxnell followed with a base on ball. The Bears then used three straight singles off Iowa starter Austin Seward to take a 2-0 lead.
Seward settled down and allowed one earned run over the next six innings. The righthander retired the side in order in the fourth and sixth innings, but allowed one run in the fifth. The Bears scored in the inning on an RBI double by Brad Baker.
Northern Colorado scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to extend its lead to 5-0.
Patrick Perry went 3-for-5 with three RBI and Baker went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in.
In the opening game of the I-Cubs/Hawkeye Classic, Minnesota edged Northern Illinois 5-4 in 11 innings. The Golden Gophers scored the game-winning run on a soft grounder to Huskie second baseman Josh Owens.
Play resumes tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. when Northern Illinois and Northern Colorado square off at Sec Taylor Stadium. The Hawkeyes and Gophers will follow at approximately 2 p.m.