Indiana Takes Game 2 Over Iowa

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April 6, 2014

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By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — No. 24/28 Indiana scored eight runs in the first two innings and finished with 14 runs on 17 hits in a 14-3 victory over the University of Iowa baseball team Sunday afternoon at Banks Field. The win clinches a Hoosiers series win.

“It was one of those days where we got beat pretty bad by a team that is swinging the bat well,” said UI head coach Rick Heller. “We ran into a buzz saw, and we knew Indiana was capable of that. You hope to catch a break and have some balls hit at you, but it wasn’t that way today. Every ball they hit found a hole or went over the fence.”

Indiana sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. The Hoosiers used an RBI single by Sam Travis and a two-run double by Scott Donley to plate three runs before Iowa recorded its first out.

Dustin DeMuth and Nick Ramos followed with back-to-back RBI singles to push the lead to 5-0 and chase UI starter Sasha Kuebel from the contest after just 1/3 of an inning. After a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, the Hoosiers were back at it, stretching their lead to 8-0 in the second.

DeMuth drove in the first run with a single through the right side to score Travis, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Will Nolden drove in IU’s seventh run with an RBI single through the right side before Ramos pushed the advantage to 8-0 driving in a run on a fielder’s choice.

The Hawkeyes got on the scoreboard in the third, plating three runs on three hits and one Hoosier error. Following a leadoff walk by Nick Day, junior Jake Manger roped a one-out double down the left field line to put runners on second and third.

Junior Jake Yacinich lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Iowa’s first run before Taylor Zeutenhorst drove in Iowa’s second run with an RBI single to right field. Junior Dan Potempa accounted for the final Hawkeye run, ripping a two-out RBI double off the base of the wall in left field to make the score 8-3.

The Hoosiers answered in the top of the fourth inning scoring their ninth run on an opposite field, solo home run by Donley against UI reliever Matt Allen. The score remained 9-3 until the seventh inning when DeMuth connected on Indiana’s second long ball of the game — a towering solo shot into the backdrop in dead center, making the score 10-3.

Indiana hit its third and fourth home runs in the ninth inning to push its advantage to 14-3. Brad Hartong hit a two-run blast over the fence in left field before pinch hitter Ricky Alfonso belted a two-run shot down the right field line.

Kuebel (2-3) suffered the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits in 1/3 of an inning. Iowa used four pitchers in the game, including a solid 6 2/3 innings effort from Allen, giving up four runs on five hits. The Hoosiers belted out 16 hits and had four home runs in the contest.

“The big positive for us was Matt Allen coming in and giving us 6 1/3 innings,” said Heller. “It is a great job by a freshman against a good team. He saved us today and I can’t say enough about the guts and grit he showed.”

Iowa finished with nine hits against three IU pitchers with Zeutenhorst and sophomore Jimmy Frankos accounting for four hits. Zeutenhorst was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Frankos was 2-for-4 in just his second start of the season behind the plate.

Luke Harrison (1-0) picked up the win in relief, allowing a single hit in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out seven of the 15 batters he faced.

The third and final game of the series will begin Monday at 1 p.m. (CT). Iowa right-hander Tyler Peyton will square off against Indiana southpaw Will Coursen-Carr.

“We have to wipe this game and go back to work,” said Heller. “We know we are going to have to play extremely well and Tyler is going to have to tough it out. He is going to have to pitch well, hit his spots and keep the ball down. If he does that, we’ll have a chance.”