April 23, 2010
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Iowa baseball team won game two at Michigan, 5-3, to sweep Friday’s doubleheader at Ray Fisher Stadium. Today marks the first time the Hawkeyes swept a doubleheader since at Indiana on April 12, 2008.
“This was an overall great team effort by everybody,” said Iowa Head Coach Jack Dahm. “I’m proud of our guys. Not too many teams have come to Michigan recently and won two games in one day. Every time Michigan tried to get momentum our pitchers made big pitches, we made big plays and came up with the timely hit and executed. Our pitching staff was tremendous today.”
Ryan Durant had a career game to lead Iowa to the doubleheader sweep in game two. The senior tied a career high driving in four runs on a pair of doubles. Durant collected four RBI for the third time in his Hawkeye career, last accomplishing the feat at Illinois State a year ago. Furthermore, he also shined defensively leaping against the right field fence and taking a homer away from Patrick Biondi in the bottom of the fifth.
“Ryan really had two outstanding defensive plays that kept the momentum in our dugout and that was great to see. Also, he always seems to come up with that timely hit, especially in conference games,” added Dahm.
Also pacing the Hawkeyes offensively tonight was its top three hitters in the order: Kurtis Muller, Zach McCool and Mike McQuillan. Muller went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. McCool had one hit, two sacrifices an RBI and a run scored. McQuillan was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
Hawkeye starter Nick Brown threw six and two-thirds, allowing only two runs on five hits, while striking out five in earning his third victory of the season. Closer Kevin Lee got the last three outs in the ninth, getting three Wolverines to strike out swinging to notch his seventh save.
Michigan (24-14, 6-5) struck first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Coley Crank powered a home run to right center to lead off the inning. Later in the frame, Nick Urban hit an RBI groundout to give the Wolverines the early 2-0 advantage.
Iowa (16-20, 5-6) tallied its first run in the fourth on a Durant RBI double down the left field line to score McQullian and make the score 2-1.
The Hawkeyes took a 5-2 lead in the top of the fifth. The visitors scored four runs on two hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. With two outs, McCool connected on a RBI single to right field to score Sean Flanagan. Two batters later with the bags full of Hawkeyes, Durant smacked his second double of the contest to clear the bases and give Iowa a three-run lead.
Iowa had opportunities to pad its lead in the sixth and seventh with a runner on third base and only one out both innings, but the Michigan pitching staff thwarted the Hawkeye scoring threats both times.
Michigan had a chance to cut into Iowa’s lead in the bottom of the seventh. The Wolverines had runners on second and third with only one out, but Brown got Nick Urban to strike out swinging and reliever Zach Robertson entered the game and induced an inning-ending ground out.
However, Michigan was able to push one run across the plate in the eighth to make the score 5-3. Crank collected his third hit of the game on a two-out RBI single. Then, with a runner on third and the tying runner on second base, reliever Zach Kenyon got Mike Kittle to ground out to end the inning.
The Hawkeyes and Wolverines are scheduled to conclude their three-game series with a single game tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. (CDT).