Hawkeyes Down Minnesota in Series Finale

Stats

May 1, 2011

Box Score

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Iowa baseball team defeated Minnesota Sunday afternoon in the series finale of a three-game set, 7-1. The series was played at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins.

Iowa’s offense recorded 12 hits against the conference rival. The first four Hawkeyes in the lineup each recorded multi-hit games, combining for nine hits. Iowa’s leadoff hitter, Trevor Willis, went 2-for-5. Chett Zeise, batting in the No. 2 spot, went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Mike McQuillan went 3-for-4 with two RBI. The junior leads Iowa with 17 multi-hit games this season, including five three-hit games. Senior Tyson Blaser went 2-for-5 with a home run. In addition, freshman Taylor Zeutenhorst tallied two RBI.

Willis set the tone for the Hawkeye offense early. The senior doubled down the left field line to leadoff the game. He later scored to give Iowa an early 1-0 lead.

Iowa (16-25, 5-10) added a run in the top of the third on an RBI single by McQuillan. His single to center scored Kurt Lee and gave the Black and Gold a 2-0 advantage.

The Hawkeyes tallied two runs in the top of the seventh. Iowa took advantage of two hits and a fielding error by the Gophers to push its lead to 4-0.

Minnesota (16-17, 8-7) scored its lone run in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the Hawkeye lead to 4-1. Iowa answered, scoring once in the eighth on a Blaser’s first home run of the season and two in the ninth on an RBI single by Zeutenhorst to make the final score 7-1.

Patrick Lala started and recorded the win for the Hawkeyes. The junior pitched five and a third, allowing no runs on two hits. He struck out two. Tim Fangman pitched the final three and two-thirds, earning his third save. He allowed one run on two hits, while striking out three.

Minnesota’s Austin Lubinsky took the loss. He went six and a third, allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits. The loss snapped Minnesota’s five-game conference winning streak.

Iowa returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Duane Banks Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, and free for UI students and youths.