Hawkeyes Fall in Series Finale

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Feb. 16, 2014

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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Austin Peay scored the game’s final five runs to rally for a 7-4 victory over the University of Iowa baseball team on Sunday afternoon at Raymond C. Hand Park. The Hawkeyes won 2-of-3 games in the weekend series.

“I felt like our energy and effort were solid, but our execution was not,” said UI head coach Rick Heller. “It’s very disappointing because it was a game that had we executed, threw strikes and did basic things, we probably win 4-0.

“The story of the day was free bases from our side, free bases both from the pitchers and our position players, and it ended up costing us the game.”

The Hawkeyes broke a two-all tie with a pair of runs in the sixth inning to grab a 4-2 lead. Junior Kris Goodman started things off, reaching on an infield single to third base before moving to second on a Bryan Niedbalski groundout.

With pinch hitter Blake Hickman at the plate, Goodman scored Iowa’s third run from second base on a Caleb Powell wild pitch. Hickman then belted the next the next pitch he over the left centerfield fence to give the Hawkeyes a 4-2 advantage. It was Hickman’s second home run in as many days, after he belted a grand slam in Saturday’s season-opener.

The Governors quickly answered chasing Iowa starter Tyler Peyton following a pair of no-out walks. Freshman reliever Matt Allen followed with a four-pitch walk to load the bases before rebounding to strike out the next two APSU batters. With two-down, Logan Gray laced a two-run single to centerfield to tie the game at four.

Austin Peay took its first lead in the seventh inning. After consecutive one-out singles, Ridge Smith lifted a fly ball to right field to plate Alex Robles. The Governors added two runs in the eighth inning when Matt Wollenzin tripled to lead off the frame before scoring on a Garrett Copeland double. Copeland notched the game’s final run off a Hickman wild pitch.

Iowa and Austin Peay traded two-run innings in the first. Iowa got consecutive singles from Eric Toole and Jake Mangler to open the contest before Taylor Zeutenhorst laced an opposite field, two-run single to take a 2-0 lead. The Governors tied the game in the bottom half, courtesy of a two-run double by Smith.

Allen suffered the loss, allowing one unearned run on three hits in 1 1/3 innings of work. Peyton was solid in his first Iowa start, allowing four runs (three earned) in five innings with four strikeouts.

Toole and Goodman paced the team at the plate, both tallying multi-hit games. Toole went 2-for-5 with a run scored, while Goodman was 2-for-3 with a run.

Iowa (2-1) returns to action Friday, facing Mississippi Valley State in the opening game of the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.

“We have a couple of days this week to clean some things up,” said Heller. “Hopefully we can be more consistent next weekend.”