Hawkeyes Fall to South Dakota State in 14 Innings

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March 29, 2011

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – – The University of Iowa baseball team fell to South Dakota State, 7-4, in 14 innings Tuesday evening at Duane Banks Field.

“I thought we tried to do a little bit too much in certain situations,” said Iowa Head Coach Jack Dahm. “We did some good things, but unfortunately we did not get it done from an offensive standpoint. We need to take better advantage of our opportunities. We have to find a way to bounce back and get a win tomorrow.”

After throwing a perfect first inning, the Jackrabbits tallied one run off Hawkeye starter Ricky Sandquist in the second. South Dakota State pieced together a double and a sacrifice fly later in the inning to claim an early 1-0 lead.

Iowa (9-12) answered, tallying a run of their own in the bottom of the second. Senior Zach McCool singled to right field to open the bottom half. McCool advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Ewing. With two away in the frame, Chett Zeise roped a single back up the middle to score McCool and tie the game.

South Dakota State (8-9) regained the lead in the top of the third inning. The Jackrabbits used a one-out single, followed by a run-scoring double to gain a 2-1 advantage.

For the second time in as many innings, the Black and Gold tallied a run to tie the contest. Back-to-back one-out singles by Mike McQuillan and Tyson Blaser put runners on the corners. With two down, McQuillan scored on an infield single by Ewing, tying the game 2-2.

With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Ewing smacked a go-ahead two-out RBI down the left field line. Ewing tied a season-high with his second three-hit game and fifth multi-hit game.

South Dakota State answered, notching two runs off Hawkeye closer Kevin Lee in the top of the ninth to grab a 4-3 lead. The Hawkeye offense responded with a rally of its own in the bottom half. Zeise carded a lead-off walk. Keith Brand sacrificed pinch runner Patrick Harshman to second. Senior Trevor Willis then launched a game-tying double to left, sending the game to extra innings.

Both bullpens kept the offenses at bay with solid pitching. The Hawkeye offense had runners in scoring position in the ninth, 11th and 13th innings, but was unable to push across the winning run. In the top of the 14th with the bases loaded, South Dakota State’s Eric Cain launched a double to right center on a 3-2 pitch to give the Jackrabbits the victory.

Sandquist took a no decision, throwing six and a third innings. The sophomore gave up two runs on five hits while striking out four Jackrabbits.

“I liked what I saw from Ricky (Sandquist),” said Dahm. “He really settled in and did a good job. That is a very talented offensive team that he was facing. He put us in a position to win the game.”

Jeff Pacha took the loss, throwing a career-high four innings. The senior gave up three runs on five hits, while striking out a career-high four batters.

Iowa and South Dakota State conclude their two-game set tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Duane Banks Field. Admission is $3 for adults and free for youths and UI students.