Hawkeyes Top Panthers in the 9th

March 12, 2012

AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The University of Iowa baseball team defeated Eastern Illinois Monday evening, 2-1. The Hawkeyes trailed 1-0 entering the ninth, but scored two in the top half to earn the victory. The game was played at Lake Myrtle Park as part of the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

“Sasha (Kuebel) pitched great today,” said head coach Jack Dahm. “He was fantastic. We cleaned up our defense and had some big hits in the last inning. Our guys kept battling. It was a good win for us.”

Trailing 1-0 entering the ninth, Iowa (4-8) plated two runs to earn the come-from-behind win. With one down, senior Chett Zeise singled to right field. Junior Andrew Host entered for Zeise as a pinch runner and advanced to second on a single by freshman Jake Mangler. Freshman Ryan Rumpf followed with a single to left center to score Host and even the game up at 1-1. Rumpf and Mangler each advanced to second and third, respectively, on the throw. Catcher Dan Sheppard then notched the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly to right to score Mangler.

Eastern Illinois (5-9) scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single by catcher Jacob Reese.

Sasha Kuebel started and recorded his first career win. The freshman pitched eight stellar innings. He allowed one run and scattered seven hits. He struck out seven while allowing zero walks.

Senior Nick Brown earned his first career save for Iowa, pitching a scoreless ninth. He allowed a one-out double in the final frame, but struck out the final two Panthers to seal the win for the Hawkeyes.

Eastern Illinois’ Scott Houdek took the loss. He faced two batters in the ninth, allowing one earned run on two hits.

Iowa continues action Tuesday when it plays Bucknell in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. (CT).