April 15, 2005
IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa baseball team won their fifth game in a row and eighth of their last 11 Friday night with a 6-0 win over Indiana at Banks Field.
Hawkeye ace Luke O’Loughlin had his best day in the Black and Gold, throwing eight shutout innings while allowing just five hits and walking two. Coming in to the game, Indiana led the Big Ten in almost every offensive category, but were silenced by the junior hurler.
Iowa leadoff hitter Nate Price sparked the Hawkeye offense, going 3-4 and extending his hitting streak to 18 games.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early lead in the first when Price led off with a single and came around to score on an Andy Lytle base hit.
In the second, Iowa posted three more runs to up its lead to 4-0. Jesse Brownell led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, then ended up scoring after singles by Andy Cox and Jason White. Price laid down a sacrifice bunt that plated Cox, while White scored on an RBI single from Skyler Moss.
Iowa added a run in the fifth on an RBI double from Dusty Napoleon, then took a 6-0 lead in the sixth off Moss’s second RBI of the day.
The Hoosiers threatened in the top of the eighth, loading the bases for cleanup hitter Ryan Parker, but O’Loughlin got the junior to fly out to end the inning.
In the ninth, Indiana loaded the bases once again, but relief pitcher Kevin Sunderman was able to get out of the jam and preserve the Hawkeye win.
Iowa (12-15, 6-3) will battle Indiana (18-13, 2-7) in a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 2 p.m.