March 25, 2006
IOWA CITY – The Iowa baseball team spilt a doubleheader today with IPFW in its home opener at Duane Banks Field. The Hawkeyes won game one, 5-1, while the Mastodons captured game two, 1-0 in 10 innings.
Wes Freie plated the Hawkeyes’ first run in game one when he doubled home Travis Sweet with two outs in the bottom of the first. Iowa tallied two more runs in the bottom of the second, again with two outs. Jason White scored Iowa’s second run on a Justin Toole infield single in the second. Toole came around to score the Hawkeyes’ third run on an IPFW leftfielder error off the bat of Nate Price. Sweet went 1-for-3, one run scored and two stolen bases in game one.
IPFW (8-9) cut the three-run deficit to two after an RBI double in the top of the fourth. The Mastodons threatened in the fifth and seventh innings, but came away empty. IPFW loaded the bases with only one out in the fifth, but Hawkeye starter Jeff Maitland silenced the next two batters. In the seventh, the Mastodons had runners on the second and third with only out, but Maitland sat down the next two batters with a strike out and ground out.
Iowa (9-7) added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles by Dusty Napoleon and Kevin Hoef. Both Napoleon and Hoef went 2-for-4 with an RBI in game one.
Maitland struck out seven batters, scattered six hits and allowed only one unearned run in seven innings en route to his second victory of the year.
Game two was a pitchers-dual between Iowa’s Luke O’Loughlin and IPFW’s Cole Uebelhor. Both starters yielded only two hits each through seven innings. The Mastodons scored the only run in the top of the tenth. With runners on the corners and two outs, Brent Doty scored from third when Sweet bobbled a ground ball on the right side. IPFW recorded a game-ending double play in the tenth to end the game.
Uebelhor pitched all 10 innings for the Mastodons, striking out four and allowing only four hits. Hoef collected two of Iowa’s four hits, going 2-for-4. Hawkeye reliever Scott Brune earned the loss, allowing four hits and an unearned run in three innings. O’Loughlin pitched seven strong innings, struck out three and allowed only two hits and no runs.
Hoef finished the day going a combined 4-for-8 for the Hawkeyes.
The three-game series will conclude tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Duane Banks Field.
GAME ONE SUMMARYIPFW 000 100 000 -- 1 6 3Iowa 120 000 02x -- 5 9 2WP - Maitland (2-0)LP - Lambert (1-3)
GAME TWO SUMMARYIPFW 000 000 000 0 -- 0 6 1Iowa 000 000 000 0 -- 0 4 2WP - Uebelhor (1-2)LP - Brune (0-2)