April 8, 2007
Box Score
Redirds Plate Five in 10th to Top UNI, 7-3
WATERLOO, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa and Illinois State baseball teams were knotted at two at the end of nine innings, but the Redbirds were able to bat around in the top of the 10th to score five and take a 7-2 win in the rubber game of the Missouri Valley Conference series.
Kyle O'Brien took the win for Illinois State (14-15, 5-4), pitching three innings and giving up three hits and one run. Tim Flattery (Ft. Dodge, Iowa/ St. Edmond's) took the loss for UNI (12-16, 2-7), giving up four runs, two earned, on three hits through three innings worth of work.
Aaron Jenkins (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) allowed six hits and two runs, striking out eight and walking eight in 6.1 innings in the start for UNI.
Eric Hoffmann (Erskine, Minn./ Win-E-Mac) was 2-of-4 for the Panthers with 2 RBIs and a walk. The Panthers' runs came on nine hits, one walk and two ISU errors. The seven ISU runs came off 11 hits, 10 walks and three panther errors.
Hoffmann put the Panthers on the board first in the bottom of the first when his double to deep center field scored Deric Manrique (Sioux City, Iowa/ Sioux City North) from first.
Ryan Anetsberger led off the top of the third with a walk. Kevin Dubler followed him with a single. Anetsberger moved to third on a passed ball, and Dubler moved to second with a stolen base. Jesse Griswold singled to right to dive in Anetsberger, and Dubler scored on a fielding error by the Panthers, putting Illinois State in front, 2-1.
Gabe Schultz (Lansing, Iowa/ Lansing Kee) led off the bottom half of that inning with a single. Manrique moved him to scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and Schultz advanced to third on a ground out by Hoffman. Dane Embury (Kelowna, BC/ Kelowna) reached on a two-out fielding error by Illinois State, allowing Schultz to cross the plate and tie the game at 2-2 at the end of three.
Illinois State put runners on first and second with nobody out in the top of the tenth. Flattery fielded a bunt by Mike Tokarski and threw out the lead runner at third to record the first out of the inning. Mike Bolt followed with a single into right that scored Collin Salzenstein and put the Redbirds in front, 3-2. Tokarski moved to third on the play, and Bolt advanced to second on the throw. Kyle Cherney was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Anetsberger hit a bloop single into right to score two and put the Rebirds in the lead, 5-2. The Redbirds tacked on another run when Cherney scored as the Panthers attempted to throw out Dubler as he stole second. Kyle O'Brien hit a single into left, scoring Dubler from second. UNI was able to tag out Griswold when he attempted to move from first to third on the play.
Manrique hit a two-out double to right in the bottom of the tenth. Hoffmann followed with a single up the middle to score Manrique, but the rally ended with a ground ball to short by Embury that put out Hoffmann at second.
The Panthers return to action on Wednesday when they host Minnesota at 3 p.m.
