Hawkeyes Fall to Jackrabbits in Game 2

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March 30, 2011

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – – The University of Iowa baseball team lost to South Dakota State, 10-5, Wednesday evening at Duane Banks Field.

“We did not play very well today,” said Iowa Head Coach Jack Dahm. “The bottom line is we need to play better defense. We had some mental lapses and we did not work our feet defensively; that is disappointing. They took advantage of those opportunities. Offensively, we are trying to do too much. We have to be better from an offensive standpoint and defensive standpoint. We are starting conference play now, and whoever plays better is going to win. It is pretty simple.”

Two Hawkeyes, Chett Zeise (3-for-4) and Mike McQuillan (3-for-4), tallied their second three-hit games of the season. Zeise has three multi-hit games while McQuillan has recorded eight.

With no score in the top of the second inning, the Jackrabbits tallied six runs. South Dakota State recorded four hits in the inning off Hawkeye starter Ben Bergman and took advantage of three Iowa errors to claim the early 6-0 lead.

The Hawkeye offense recorded two runs of its own in the bottom half of the second inning. McQuillan led off the frame with a single to right field. Kurt Lee reached on a fielder’s choice, replacing McQuillan at first. Andrew Ewing walked, placing runners at first and second. Zeise then launched a double to right, scoring Lee and advancing Ewing to third. Bryan Niedbalski then flied out to centerfielder, scoring Ewing and cutting the score to 6-2.

The Jackrabbits added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning, scoring a run to push the lead to 7-2. The Hawkeyes answered, tallying single runs in the bottom of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to cut the deficit to 7-5.

South Dakota State (9-9) pushed across two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to extend its lead back to five runs at 10-5.

Bergman took the loss in his first start of the season. The sophomore gave up six runs (one earned) on six hits. He struck out two Jackrabbits. Phil Keppler pitched a career-high three and two-thirds innings in relief. The junior gave up four hits, while striking out four.

Stephen Bougher pitched five and two-thirds to get the win for South Dakota State. He gave up five runs on eight hits.

Iowa (9-13) opens its Big Ten slate when it hosts Michigan State Friday night in the first game of a three-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Duane Banks Field. Admission is $3 for adults and is free for UI students and youths.