April 21, 2004
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA — Northern Iowa defeated Iowa, 8-3, in the inaugural I-380 Corridor Classic played in front 2,098 fans tonight at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Iowa (10-23) scored the classic’s first run in the bottom of the second inning when L.J. Mims blooped an RPI single to right center that plated Luis Andrulonis. Andrulonis started the two-out rally when Northern Iowa pitcher Kory Kelchen plunked the Hawkeye first baseman. Iowa left fielder Gabe Haugland followed with a walk, which brought Mims to the plate.
Northern Iowa (14-18) answered the Hawkeyes in the top half of the third when Iowa pitcher Ryan Dupic hit Panther John Winter to start the frame. Nate Trumm followed with two-run blast down the right field line to give the Panthers a 2-1 advantage. The Hawkeyes ended a potential big inning by UNI by getting Dan Grant to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the scoring threat.
The Panthers stretched their lead to 5-1 in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs on three hits. The Hawkeyes posted their second two-out rally of the contest in the bottom of the frame. Mims sparked the Hawkeye offense again with a double to left. Jason White followed with a walk. Andy Lytle then tripled to right, which scored both Mims and White to trim the Panther lead to 5-3.
UNI tallied three insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Sean LaCoste scored the Panthers’ first run of the inning on Iowa reliever Aaron Reasland’s second wild pitch of the frame. Seth Moulton plated Joe Burgett on an RBI single to score UNI’s seventh run. Trumm, who reached on a walk, later scored in the inning when Iowa reliever Tim Gudex balked in the Panthers’ eighth and final run.
Sparking the Iowa offense tonight was Mims, who was a perfect 3-3 (single, 2 doubles, walk) scored a run and an registered an RBI. The native of Cedar Rapids collected his ninth multiple hit game of the season.
UNI and Iowa pitchers combined for seven hit batters in the inaugural I-380 Corridor Classic, which is a combined Iowa single game high this season. In addition, Hawkeye junior Kris Welker was plunked for the Big Ten-leading 13th time this season.
Tonight’s victory was UNI’s second straight over Iowa this season; the Panthers dropped the Hawkeyes (8-6) earlier this season in Iowa City. The two teams will conclude its three-game season series April 28 in Cedar Falls.
Iowa returns to conference action this weekend when the Hawkeyes travel to Penn State for a four-game series in State College, PA. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. (CST).