April 13, 2005
IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa baseball team won a 8-7 thriller in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday at Banks Field. The Hawkeyes (11-15, 5-3) have now won four in a row and seven of their last ten games.
Trailing 7-6 in the final inning, freshman Travis Sweet came through with a two-run single to give the Hawkeyes the win. Sweet finished the day 2-3 with two RBIs.
Designated hitter Kris Welker led off the inning by getting hit by a Nick Hall pitch, then moved to second when Dusty Napoleon laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached when Tug Gillingham threw the ball into center. Neal Coleman moved them to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Boomer Engel drew a one-out walk to load the bases and set up Sweet’s heroics.
Iowa pounded out 11 hits on the day, with Sweet, Napoleon, Andy Lytle and Justin Petty getting two hits each.
After giving up run in the top of the first, Iowa took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning with RBIs from Lytle, Nate Yoho and Napoleon.
Northern Illinois came back to take a 4-3 lead in the third, getting an RBI double from Mike Santoro followed by a two-run home run by cleanup hitter Brian Toner.
Senior Luis Andrulonis tied the game with a sacrifice fly, but the Huskies came right back with another three spot in the fourth to take a 7-4 lead.
Centerfielder Nate Price cut the lead to 7-6 in the fifth by ripping a two-run single to right.
Iowa returns to action this weekend when it hosts a four-game set against Indiana. Friday’s game is set to begin at 6 p.m.