Hawkeyes Walk-Off Against Milwaukee, 10-9

Stats

May 1, 2012

Box Score

• 2012 Iowa Baseball Media Guide
• Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
• Take the Hawkeyes With You: Iowa Podcasts
• Iowa and the Big Ten Network
• Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
• 24 Hawkeyes to Watch

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa baseball team defeated Milwaukee on Tuesday night in a back-and-forth game at Duane Banks Field, 10-9. The Hawkeyes won in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI with the bases loaded by freshman Jake Yacinich. The game, which saw three ties and five lead changes, marks the first of four at home for the Hawkeyes.

Keith Brand was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the ninth. The sophomore then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Andrew Host. Freshman Eric Toole and senior Mike McQuillan were intentionally walked to load the bases. With the infield in, Yacinich lined a sharp ground ball to the second baseman. The second baseman was unable to make the throw home and Brand scored from third to give Iowa the one-run victory.

“It is fun watching Jake Yacinich in clutch situations,” said head coach Jack Dahm. “That is a freshman up there. It was a good win by our guys; we battled back. I thought Tim Fangman was key in this game, throwing some strong innings.”

Three Hawkeyes recorded multi-hit games to lead the offense. Yacinich went 2-for-5 with two RBI, tallying his 15th multiple-hit contest. Senior Chett Zeise finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Toole went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. The Hawkeyes recorded 12 hits while the Panthers tallied 10. Iowa is 12-4 when registering more hits than its opponents.

After a scoreless first inning, Milwaukee (17-24) used four hits to plate four runs in the top of the second, taking a 4-0 lead.

Iowa (18-22) answered in the bottom half of the frame, evening the score up at 4-4. With the bases loaded and one away, McQuillan launched a double to right center to clear the bases and make the score 4-3. McQuillan then scored on an RBI single by Phil Keppler to tie the game. McQuillan has reached base in 16-straight games.

The Panthers regained the lead in the top of the third. Designated hitter Phil Striggow hit a solo home run to left to give Milwaukee a 5-4 lead.

Iowa, which won its second-straight game in its last at-bat after winning at Minnesota Sunday in 12 innings, evened up the score again in the bottom of the sixth. Toole scored on a Milwaukee throwing error to make the score 5-5.

The visitors answered in the following frame, scoring three runs to regain an 8-5 lead.

The Hawkeyes roared back with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the seventh to take back the lead at 9-8. With the bases loaded and no outs, Brand singled through the left side to score two. After another walk loaded the bases, Toole singled through the left side to score Bryan Niedbalski and tie the score at 8-8. With the bases still full of Hawkeyes, Yacinich tallied a sacrifice fly to center to score Brand and give Iowa the one-run lead.

Milwaukee tallied a single tally in the top of the eighth to tie the score at 9-9, before the Hawkeyes won it in the final frame.

Andrew Hedrick started for Iowa and took a no-decision. The freshman tossed one and a third innings, allowing four runs on three hits. Patrick Lala, Tim Fangman and Nick Hibbing saw action out of the Iowa bullpen. Fangman tossed four innings. He was the only pitcher from either team to throw more than two innings. Hibbing earned his first career victory. The freshman pitched two innings, allowing one run on one hit.

Jordan Guth took the loss for Milwaukee. He pitched an inning and two-thirds, allowing one run.

“It is a big weekend for us,” said Dahm. “We have to stay in the moment and not worry about things that are out of our control.”

Iowa returns to Big Ten action when it hosts Michigan for a three-game set at Duane Banks Field this weekend. The Hawkeyes and Wolverines will open the series at 6:05 p.m. on Friday. Iowa and Michigan will also play at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults, and free for students. All three games can be seen on BTN.com.