April 25, 2004
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – With an inning not allowed to begin past 1:30 p.m. due to Iowa travel arrangements, the Hawkeyes used a five-run fifth inning to salvage a split with the Nittany Lions in a cold, wet afternoon at Beaver Field.
The Hawkeyes batted around and erupted for five runs on six hits in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Nate Yoho gave the Hawkeyes the lead with a sacrifice fly to shallow right field before Welker followed with a two-RBI single to left field to stretch the lead to 4-1. Jesse Brownell hit an RBI double down the right field line and Jeff Gremley drove in the final run with a single to left field to make the score 6-1.
Penn State scored one run in its final at-bat to make the final score 6-2.
After the first two innings, the contest was deadlocked at one. Penn State scored first after using three consecutive one-out singles to take an early 1-0 lead. Scott Gummo hit an RBI single to left field to knock in Mike Milliron.
Iowa evened the score in the second. Jim Reid doubled with one out and made his way to around to cross the plate after two straight wild pitches by Penn State starter Clayton Hamilton. Penn State threatened in the bottom of the inning after Matt Harter was on third base with one out. The Nittany Lions attempted a suicide squeeze, but Travis Laird couldn’t get his bat on the ball as Harter was left out to dry.
Penn State put runners on first and third with nobody out in the fourth. Iowa starter Andrew Hansen struck out Brett Showalter before being replaced by reliever Scott Brune. Brune entered the contest and induced Harter into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Reid was 2-for-2 on the day with a double and run scored before leaving the contest in the fourth with a strained hamstring. Gremley and Lytle also collected two hits apiece in the contest.
The Hawkeyes will return to action on Wednesday night against Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.