Hawkeyes Cruise to Exhibition Win Over Kirkwood

Oct. 3, 2010

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team cruised to a 13-2 ten-inning exhibition win over Kirkwood Community College Sunday afternoon. A strong pitching and hitting performance by the Hawkeyes proved to be too much for Kirkwood.

“I was very pleased with our guys’ effort today,” said Head Coach Jack Dahm. “They played hard, especially on the mound, throwing nine shutout innings. Our guys went out there and threw strikes. We also executed on offense, doing the things we needed to do to score runs.”

Offensively, the Hawkeyes pounded out 14 hits en route to victory. Andrew Host, Kasey Carling, Dan Sheppard and Andrew Ewing all had multiple hits. Host collected a game-high three hits and also drove in a run and stole home. Carling went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Sheppard and Ewing each had two hits and a run scored.

Iowa’s pitching staff silenced the Kirkwood bats on this fall afternoon day, allowing only two runs on four hits while striking out a combined eight batters. In fact, Hawkeye hurlers Jarred Hippen, Zach Kenyon, Matt Dermody, Nick Brown, Ben Bergman and Tim Fangman combined for no runs allowed, six strikeouts and only one hit. Jeff Pacha, Ricky Sandquist, Patrick Lala and Kevin Lee pitched the last four innings for the Black and Gold.

Iowa took an early 3-0 advantage on three hits and an error in the second inning. Host and Carling tallied RBI groundouts, while Kurt Lee smacked an RBI double down the left field line. Chett Zeise powered a solo home run in the fourth frame. Trevor Willis later scored on a fielder’s choice in the fifth to extend Iowa’s advantage to 5-0.

The Hawkeyes broke the game open in the sixth, scoring five runs on five hits. Iowa plated four of the five sixth-inning runs with two outs. Host slide home safely on a double steal and Kyle Haen scored on a wild pitch. Mike McQuillan, Sheppard and Haen each tallied RBI singles to stretch Iowa’s lead to 10-0.

Iowa added three runs on one hit, two walks and a hit-by-pitch in the ninth. Haen scored his second run of the day on a bases-loaded wild pitch. Ewing clubbed a two-RBI double down the right field line for Iowa’s final two runs.

“Overall, I thought it was a very positive day,” added Dahm. “Our young guys were able to get their feet wet, put the uniform on and see game action today.”