• Roster
• ▪
• Schedule / Results
• ▪
• News
• ▪
• Archives

May 5, 2007

Box Score

WATERLOO, Iowa -

            The University of Northern Iowa baseball team was able to stay with No. 10 Wichita State through the first seven innings Saturday afternoon, but a two-out double by Matt Brown scored two unearned runs for the Shockers to give WSU a 4-2 win. Wichita State collected only one more hit than UNI, but the Panthers' four errors proved costly.

            Nick Kirk (3-3) took the loss for the Panthers, allowing four runs -- only one earned -- on eight hits and three walks through 7.2 innings. Kirk struck out seven along the way.

            Kyle Touchatt (2-0) came in relief for the Shockers to earn the win. Starter Rob Musgrave pitched 6.1 innings for the Shockers, allowing two runs, one earned, on seven hits and one walk. Musgrave tallied six strikeouts in the no-decision.

            Dane Embury was 2-of-4 with a run scored for UNI. Travis Hendrix and Jamie Ballesteros each notched RBIs in the loss.

Eric Hoffmann (Erskine, Minn./ Win-E-Mac) drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the first, and Brandon Douglas (St. Charls, Iowa/ I-35 Truro) reached on an error to move him to second. Dane Embury (Kelowna, BC/ Kelowna) laid down a bunt that allowed everyone to advance, and Jamie Ballesteros (Huntington Park, Calif./ Malibu) hit a ground ball to short to score Hoffmann and give UNI (19-22, 5-12) a 1-0 lead.

            Two UNI errors cost the Panthers in the top of the third. Harrison Dreiling reached on an error, stole second, and then scored on a two-out error to tie the game at 1-1.

            In the top of the sixth, Conor Gillaspie hit a two-out single and stole second. He scored on a single by Danny Jackson to give the Shockers a 2-1 advantage.

            UNI strung together three consecutive hits to lead off the bottom half of that inning. Embury started things with a single to right, and Ballesteros followed with a line drive that hit just off the tip of Damon Sublett's glove to put runners on first and third with nobody out. Travis Hendrix (Sonora, Calif./ Sonora) put down a bunt that did not allow WSU to make a play, scoring Embury and giving UNI runners at first and second. The Shockers retired the next three batters, however, to leave the game knotted at 2-2.

            In the top of the eighth, Kirk struck out Jackson for what would be the third out of the inning, but the ball snuck past catcher Jeremy Weih to keep the inning alive with runners on the corners. Matt Brown hit a two-RBI double off the wall to score both runners and give the Shockers the 4-2 lead.

            UNI was held hitless through the rest of the game, and the Panthers were unable to move a runner past first in the final two frames.

            The teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.