April 28, 2007
EVANSTON, IL – The University of Iowa baseball team won game one of Saturday’s doubleheader with Northwestern, 15-10, at Rocky Miller Park in Evanston, IL. Iowa ups its record to 20-15 (9-8 in the Big Ten). The Wildcats fall to 10-27 (3-15).
The Hawkeye offense once again pounded the Wildcat pitching staff, rapping out 17 hits in seven innings. Kyle Riffel led the way by going 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Six other Hawkeyes (Travis Sweet, Dusty Napoleon, Caleb Curry, Matt Wooldrik, Kevin Hoef and Justin Toole) had two hits each. Sweet added his second home run of the series in the second inning.
Starting pitcher Danny Bales gave up seven runs on eight hits in three and 2/3 innings, but earned the win. He struck out five.
The Hawkeyes struck early and often, taking a 5-0 lead in the second inning. Northwestern responded with three runs in the bottom of the second, but Iowa came back with a six-spot in the top of the third to take a commanding 11-3 lead. Napoleon had a two-run single in the inning, followed by an RBI single from Wes Freie, a two-run Wildcat error and a run-scoring single from Riffel.
Northwestern fought their way back into the game with four runs off five hits in the bottom of the fourth. The two teams traded runs in the fifth, and the Hawkeyes added three very important insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
The Wildcats attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, scoring a pair of runs with two outs before closer Mike Schurz ended things with a lineout to Napoleon.
GAME SUMMARYIowa 326 010 3 -- 15 17 0Northwestern 030 410 2 -- 10 15 6
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