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Baseball
Panthers Split Double Dip With Illinois State
April 7, 2007
PANTHERS SPLIT DOUBLE DIP WITH REDBIRDS WATERLOO, Iowa-- The University of Norther Iowa baseball team split a two-day doubleheader with Illinois State, Saturday; dropping the first game 10-9 but rallying to a 10-5 victory in game two. Friday's matchup was halted after five innings due to frigid temperatures, setting up a 13-inning Saturday doubleheader. The Redbirds batted around and scored three runs in the top of the first. ISU plated three runs with help from four walks and left the top of the first with a 3-0 lead. The Panthers tied the game in the bottom of the first with a two-run triple to centerfield by Brandon Douglas (St. Charles, Iowa/I-35) and a line drive RBI single to right by Jordan Kraayenbrink (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah). Three Panther runs in the bottom of the first put the score at 3-3. The teams traded scoreless innings until the fourth. The Redbirds plated three runs on a pair of wild pitches and a balk and added another on an RBI single to bring the inning tally to four and put the score at 7-3. The Panther offense came to life and took an 8-7 lead in the last of the fourth. One more run in the fifth put the score at 9-7 through five. Play was suspended after the fifth inning due to cold weather. Play resumed on Saturday and the Redbirds immediately cut into the Panther lead. One run in the top of the sixth put the score at 9-8 with the Panthers clinging to a one-run lead. Brilliant ninth-inning defense put the Panthers an out away from victory, but a two-run home run by Redbird senior Matt Bolt erased the UNI lead and put ISU up 10-9 entering the bottom of the ninth. The Panthers went down in order in the ninth and the Redbirds captured a 10-9 victory. Kraayenbrink led the offense with four hits and drove in two runs in the loss. Eric Hoffmann (Erskine, Minn./Win-E-Mac) had three hits, drove in three and scored two. UNI scored nine runs on 14 hits but were betrayed by 13 walks from the pitching staff.
Nick Kirk (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) started for UNI and endured three shaky innings. Kirk allowed seven runs on just two hits and gave seven free passes, but escaped the loss. Jason Barry (Chilliwack, Canada) pitched the sixth, seventh and part of the eighth following the intermission. The sophomore escaped trouble in the sixth and seventh, but got into a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Bryan Westphal (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) entered and forced a weak grounder to first to end the eighth inning Redbird threat and protect the one-run Panther lead. Westphal took the loss after allowing the game-winning homer in the ninth. His record moves to 2-1. Game two began much the same way as the opener. The Redbirds put three runs on the board with a three-run homer in the first to open the game with an early 3-0 lead. Douglas drove in Deric Manrique (Sioux City, Iowa/North) in the following half-inning to ease the Redbird lead to two after one inning of play. Hoffmann doubled off the centerfield wall to start the third. The senior scored when Douglas traded places with him on an RBI double to center, cutting the Redbird lead to one. The Panthers tied the game when Douglas scored on a Dane Embury RBI groundout. UNI left the inning with the game tied 3-3. Manrique drove in Boone Bugger (Bozemon, Mont./Bozemon) with the seldom-seen RBI bunt single in the bottom of the fourth. Bugger's run gave UNI its first lead of the day at 4-3. Hoffmann squirted a ground ball up the middle to score Travis Hendrix (Sonora, Calif./Sonora) on the following play. Both plays were soon overshadowed by a Brett Featherston (Epworth, Iowa/Western Dubuque) grand slam. Featherston deposited Redbird pitcher Dan Sorce's offering over the right field wall for an instant four-run padding of the UNI lead. The Panthers left the fourth with a 9-3 advantage. Starter Guido Fonseca (West Covina, Calif.) allowed a run after loading the bases in the fifth, but pitched himself out of the jam with an inning-ending strikeout. The Panthers escaped the inning with a 9-4 lead after containing the Redbird threat. Taylor Sinclair (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) mowed down the Redbird lineup in the bottom of the sixth after allowing a leadoff walk. Sinclair struck out the side and stranded the lone Redbird runner to preserve the lead. Hoffmann scored on a balk by Sorce in the following half-inning to extend the UNI lead to six runs. Sinclair allowed a run in the seventh to bring the score to 10-5, but stopped the ISU offense in the eighth and ninth to secure a 10-5 victory. The junior was dominant at times and tallied seven strikeouts through four innings of work to earn his first save of the season. Fonseca earned the win with five effective innings and pushed his record to 3-3 on the season. Douglas was 3-3 with two RBI and two runs scored on the night. Featherston drove in four with one swing and finished 2-5. Hoffmann was 3-5 with three runs scored and finished the doubleheader 6-10. As a team, UNI scored 10 runs on 15 hits in game two. The Panthers move to 12-15 on the season, 2-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Illinois State moves to 13-15 overall, 4-4 in the Valley. The Panthers and Redbirds finish their three-game set tomorrow at 1 p.m. |
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