May 9, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA– The Iowa baseball team lost the series opener to Penn State in extra innings Friday night a Lubrano Park, 5-6. In the loss, the Hawkeyes scattered 11 hits and held the Nittany Lions scoreless in seven innings.
Penn State won the game in the bottom of the tenth, 6-5. The Nittany Lions took advantage of a failed pickoff attempt, two walks and two base hits to take game one from the Hawkeyes.
Brock Alberts pitched a solid game for Iowa, going six innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits. He struck out nine in his second straight start (Minnesota). Jason Belk threw three solid innings of relief for the Hawkeyes only allowing one hit.
“Jason Belk really through the ball extremely well tonight,” Head Coach Jack Dahm said. “That was his game until he got into trouble and he got tired out there. He was competing and his stuff was good tonight. It was great to see him attack the strike zone.”
The Hawkeye offense continued to hit balls hard and be aggressive at the plate. Justin Toole recorded his 22nd consecutive game with a hit. He went 2-for-4 with a walk, double and triple. Kevin Hoef went 2-for-5 with a double, RBI and run scored. Kody McManis went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored.
The Hawkeyes broke the board in the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits and taking advantage of two Nittany Lion errors to take an early 4-0 lead. Kurtis Muller got things started with a leadoff single through the left side. Tyson Blaser hit a liner to left center to move Muller to third. With runners on the corners T.J. Cataldo hit an RBI single through the right side. Both runners advanced on a failed pick off attempt, to put runners in scoring position. Kyle Riffel hit the ball in play and picked up an RBI. With one out, McManis laid down a bunt and reached on a fielder’s choice, Cataldo scored on a throwing error by the pitcher. Ben Geelan kept things going with a walk to put runners on first and second. Hoef hit an RBI single to right center to make it 4-0.
Penn State (21-27, 12-13) came back in the bottom of the fourth, plating two to make it 4-2. The inning featured two Alberts strike outs. Penn State continued where they left off in the fifth, adding another three runs to take a 5-4 lead. The fifth featured two Nittany Lion doubles and another two Alberts strike outs.
Iowa (20-28, 8-17) tied it up in the seventh with aggressive base running, making it 5-5. Hoef led things off with a single to center. One batter later, Caleb Curry singled to left field. With runners on first and third, Hoef reached home on the throw down to second as Curry attempted to steal.
Toole recorded his 80th hit of the season, to move up to third in the single-season hits. He passed Chris Hatcher’s 1989 record of 79. Hatcher was prepped by Toole’s father, Lee Toole, in high school.
“Last time I checked we lost our Friday game against Indiana but we came back out and won the series,” Dahm said. “Our guys don’t have to do anything extra, if we just go out and execute the game plan we will be successful.”
Iowa will take on Penn State at Lubrano Park tomorrow in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.
GAME SUMMARY
Iowa 000 400 100 0 - 5 11 2
Penn State 000 230 000 1 - 6 9 2
WP- Hawkins (2-3)
LP - Belk (1-1)