April 10, 2009
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IOWA CITY, IA — The Iowa baseball team lost game one of this weekend’s three-game series to Indiana tonight at Duane Banks Field, 6-2. In the loss, the Hawkeyes left 10 runners on base, including seven in scoring position. Iowa had solid defense; however a costly error in the ninth allowed three unearned runs to score and seal the Hoosier win. Indiana starter, Blake Monar tossed his first career complete game, striking out nine in his fourth win of the year.
Despite receiving the loss, Nick Brown had a tremendous outing on the mound, throwing eight and two-third innings and facing the Hoosier lineup four times. Brown allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits; he retired eight of the last 10 Hoosiers he faced. Mike Schurz entered the game in the ninth, with two outs, however yielded two runs before forcing a fly out.
“Nick Brown didn’t look like a freshman out there tonight,” said Head Coach Jack Dahm. “He made pitch after pitch all night and really showed that he’s going to be a special player. He pitched very well and we couldn’t push the runs across for him.”
Leading Iowa’s offensive effort was Kevin Hoef going 2-for-3 with a walk and hit-by-pitch. Kurtis Muller saw the ball well, going 2-for-4 with a walk on the evening. Justin Toole went 2-for-5 with a run scored and Ryan Durant went 2-for-4. Wes Freie led the Hawkeyes with two RBI, including a sacrifice fly.
Iowa (11-18, 2-5) broke the board in the first, taking a 1-0 lead. Toole led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a Hoef sacrifice bunt. Muller singled through the right side to move Toole to third, and advanced to second on the throw. With runners on second and third, Freie picked up an RBI with a groundout.
Indiana (14-17, 4-2) tied it up, 1-1, in the top of the second. The inning featured a Kipp Schutz double and run. The visitors broke the deadlocked game in the sixth, scoring two to take a 3-1 lead. Schutz, who had a game-high three hits tonight, continued to get the timely hit for the Hoosiers notching a two RBI with a single up the middle with two outs.
The Hawkeyes chipped away at the Hoosiers’ lead, scoring one for a 3-2 ballgame. Kody McManis started the inning off with an infield single. One out later, McManis reached second on a balk. Hoef continued to a seven-game hitting streak with a single to center to put runners on the corners. Muller was patient at the plate and drew a walk to load the bases for the Iowa cleanup hitter. Freie picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Hoosiers made a final run at the Hawkeyes, plating three runs in the ninth for a 6-2 final. Brown retired the first two Hoosiers, however, Vince Gonzalez reached on a costly Chett Zeise error and Schurz entered the game. Schurz faced four batters giving up two runs on two hits.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” Dahm said. “We need to find a way, bottom line. We’re right there and we just need to find a way to push runs across.”
The Hawkeyes will host Indiana in game two of the three-game Big Ten series tomorrow at Duane Banks Field. First pitch is set for 1:36 p.m. The contest will be shown on the Big Ten Network (HD).
GAME SUMMARYIndiana 010 002 003 - 6 10 0Iowa 100 000 100 - 2 10 1
WP - Monar (4-2)LP - Brown (2-2)