May 23, 2007
ANN ARBOR, MI – The University of Iowa baseball team fell in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, 12-3, to Illinois Wednesday in Ann Arbor, MI. Iowa (31-22) falls into the losers bracket, where they will play the loser of Penn State and Ohio State tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. (EDT).
Iowa collected nine hits against second team all-Big Ten pitcher Tanner Roark, but hit into five double plays the first seven innings – effectively killing any potential rally before it began.
“The bottom line is, when we are aggressive we are a good team – when we aren’t, we struggle,” Iowa head coach Jack Dahm said. “I’m a firm believer in making your own breaks. You can’t
The Fighting Illini jumped on the Hawkeyes early, getting a pair of runs on each of the first two innings off Hawkeye starter Steve Turnbull. Daniel Webb ripped a two-run, two-out double in the first, then got a run-scoring triple from Kyle Hudson and an RBI single from Brandon Wikoff in the second for a 4-0 advantage.
Hawkeye freshman Mike Jacobs replaced Turnbull to start the third, and after giving up an early run, immediately settled the Illinois bats down. He didn’t allow another Illinois run until the seventh, throwing a career-high six and 1/3 innings while keeping the Hawkeyes from using up all their bullpen on the first day of a tournament.
“Mike Jacobs did everything humanly possible coming out of the bullpen,” Dahm said. “He gave us exactly what we needed.”
Trailing 6-0 in the eighth inning, the Hawkeyes attempted a comeback. Ben Geelan led off with a single to center, followed by an infield single off the bat of Justin Toole. Jason White then ripped a liner right at the third baseman, who made a great catch for the first out. Travis Sweet then knocked a triple to right, plating a pair of runs and putting the Hawkeyes on the board. Dusty Napoleon then followed that up with an RBI groundout to first to cut the lead to 6-3.
It wasn’t to be, however, as Illinois finally got to a tiring Jacobs in the top of the ninth, using four hits and an error to plate six runs on him and Hawkeye reliever Andrew Porter.
Iowa went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Sweet ended up going 3-of-4 with two RBIs, while Geelan was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
GAME SUMMARYIllinois 221 000 106 -- 12 12 0IOWA 000 000 030 -- 3 9 1
WP - Tanner Roard (8-2)LP - Steve Turnbull (2-4)="http:>