March 25, 2009
IOWA CITY, IA — The Iowa baseball team defeated Coe College, 8-2, tonight at Duane Banks Field. In the win, the pitching staff threw a solid three-hit game, Iowa’s base runners stole six bases and eight Hawkeyes picked up a hit.
Starter Zach Robertson picked up his second win of the year, allowing only one run on two hits and striking out six Kohawks. The Hawkeye bullpen included Phil Schreiber, Kevin Lee and Mike Schurz.
To lead the Hawkeye offense, T.J. Cataldo went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double. Wes Freie, Phil Keppler and Kurtis Muller all went 2-for-3 on the day. Mike McQuillan went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Trevor Willis stole two bases.
Iowa (8-10) plated three with two outs in the bottom of the first to take an early 3-0 lead. To start the Hawkeyes off, Muller drew a two-out walk, and advanced to third on a bloop single by Freie. Cataldo picked up an RBI with an infield hit off the first baseman’s glove. Kevin Hoef loaded the bases after drawing a walk followed by Keppler continuing to swing the bat with authority to pick up two RBI with a single through the right side.
Coe College (7-9) cut down Iowa’s lead in the second with a solo shot for a 3-1 score.
The Hawkeyes added two in the bottom of the second for a 5-1 ballgame. Hawkeye catcher Dallas Burke turned on a pitch and hit a solo shot to right to start off the inning. With one-out McQuillan drew a walk, followed by a Muller single and a Freie walk to load the bases. Cataldo was patient at the plate, despite a pitching change and walked to pick up an RBI.
The Black and Gold added a run in both the sixth and seventh for an 8-1 advantage. The sixth inning featured a Freie RBI single and in the seventh, McQuillan had an RBI single.
The Kohawks tried to get a rally going in the ninth, plating one for a final 8-2 score. After scoring an unearned run, the Hawkeyes silenced Coe’s scoring threat with an unusual 5-3-6 double play. Schurz struck out the last batter to secure the victory.
Iowa will compete in its Big Ten home opener against Michigan Friday; first pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Duane Banks Field.
GAME SUMMARY
Coe College 010 000 001 - 2 3 0
Iowa 321 001 10x - 8 12 3
WP - Robertson (2-0)
LP - Raisch (0-2)