May 24, 2007
ANN ARBOR, MI – The University of Iowa baseball was eliminated from the 2007 Big Ten Baseball Tournament with a 5-3 loss to Penn State Thursday at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, MI. Iowa ends the season with a 31-23 record.
“We’re very disappointed that we didn’t find a way to win,” Iowa head coach Jack Dahm said. “Both pitchers did a good job, but we gave them some momentum with a few walks and they took advantage. Six run in two games isn’t enough to win in the postseason.”
The Hawkeyes jumped on Penn State starter Craig Clark in the top of the first. Jason White led off with a bunt single, and Travis Sweet blasted a two-run home run into a stiff wind over the leftfield fence.
Iowa took a 3-0 lead in the fourth, taking advantage of a Nittany Lion error. Kevin Hoef and Ben Geelan roped back-to-back singles with two outs, then Justin Toole hit a hit pop fly to right field. Penn State’s Rick Marlin had to fight the strong winds and ended up dropping the ball, allowing Hoef to score.
Penn State bounced back in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game at 3-3. Back-to-back walks to lead off the inning put a pair of runners on, and Cory Wine ripped a triple over Sweet’s head in center to bring a pair home. Mike Deese then tied things up with an RBI groundout.
The Nittany Lions threatened in the fifth, loading the bases for the heart of the order before Nick Erdman got Wine to pop up to White at short and end the inning.
Penn State broke the deadlock in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of runs. Matt Cavagnaro led off with a single, then Scott Gaffney laid down a bunt that turned into a hit on a miscommunication by the Hawkeye infield, who converged on the ball but didn’t field it. The mental lapse proved costly when Rob Yodice singled home a run and Joe Blackburn hit a sacrifice fly to give Penn State a 5-3 lead.
GAME SUMMARYIOWA 200 100 000 -- 3 9 1Penn State 000 300 20x -- 5 8 1
WP - Craig Clark (6-4)LP - Nick Erdman (7-3)SV - Drew O'Neil (11)="http:>