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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The University of Iowa baseball team had opportunities, but stranded 16 base runners in a 7-1 loss to Bucknell in its second game of the Snowbird Classic at North Charlotte Regional Park.
“It was another tough loss today,” said UI head coach Rick Heller. “It was a strange game. We had opportunities and let them slip by.”
With the game tied at one, Bucknell took control, scoring four runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to break the game open.
The Bison rally started with back-to-back walks in the seventh before Tyler Wincig doubled home run run to break the tie. Chuckie Scales followed with a two-run double down the right field line to make the score 4-1.
Bucknell added two more runs in the eighth.
The Hawkeyes lone run came in the in the third. Sophomore Mitchell Boe singled to center field and moved to second on a wild pitch. Senior Mason McCoy knocked in the game-tying run on a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore Cole McDonald (2-2) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings. He had five strikeouts to two walks in the game. Junior Elijah Wood had a solid outing, tossing two shutout innings.
“Cole pitched well,” Heller said. “He was much better than he was last week. It was his best start of the season. He went deep into the game, but we were just unable to get him any run support.”
Juniors Jake Adams and Matt Hoeg accounted for four of Iowa’s nine hits, both finishing 2-for-5.
Iowa (7-6) returns to action Sunday, facing Lehigh in a doubleheader, beginning 12:30 p.m. (CT).
