May 13, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – The University of Iowa baseball team took a 10-2, eighth inning lead against Purdue before heavy thunderstorms suspended play Friday afternoon. The game will be resumed Saturday at noon, with no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth.
Hawkeye ace Luke O’Loughlin left the game after one pitch in the bottom of the second with tightness in his back. He was replaced by freshman Travis Sweet, who threw great until being replaced by Chris Zinn in the eighth.
The Hawkeys struck first in the top of the second, getting leadoff singles from Nate Yoho and Kris Welker. Third baseman Andy Cox punched a single through to score Yoho, and Jason White gave Iowa a 3-0 lead with a double to the fence in centerfield.
Skyler Moss led off the top of the third with a double, then a pair of sacrifices stretched the Iowa lead to 4-0. Andy Lytle moved moss to third with a bunt, then Yoho brought him home with a high sacrifice fly to center.
The Boilermakers cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third with a pair of two-out runs. The Hawkeyes answered in the top of the fourth with three runs to take a 7-2 advantage.
Dusty Napoleon led off with a single up the middle, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a single from Jeff Engel. After White smacked a base hit, Nate Price brought them both home with a line drive single to center.
A thunderstorm rolled through in the bottom of the fifth, causing a 45 minute delay. When play resumed, the Hawkeyes picked up right where they left off with Sweet getting a quick 1-2-3 inning and the Iowa offense getting another run on a bases loaded passed ball.
The rain came back in the top of the eighth, but the Hawkeyes kept rolling. Cox led off with a triple, White was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners and Price ripped an RBI single to score the run. Moss pulled a single through the right side to score White to give Iowa a 10-2 lead.
Purdue loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth before the umpires pulled the players off the field and suspended play.