Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Iowa
Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Iowa
03/08/2003 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
March 8, 2003
Carbondale, Ill. - Greg Andrews' three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning helped lead Southern Illinois (5-5) to a 4-2 come-from-behind win over Iowa (1-3) in game two of a doubleheader earlier today at Abe Martin Field. The Salukis lost the first game, 13-1, before rallying to force a split in the nightcap.
SIU, who made its debut at home against the Hawkeyes, registered its fourth comeback win when trailing by at least one run after three innings.
Right-hander Jake Alley (1-0), who picked up his first win of the season, struck out three of the Hawkeyes' first four hitters early on.
After catching Kyle Thousand looking on strikes in the top of the fourth, Lance Guyer stepped in and blasted a solo home run to left center, giving Iowa a 1-0 lead.
Prior to Guyer's round-tripper, which marked his first hit of the year, Alley had retired 8 of the Hawkeyes' first 10 batters of the game.
After being held scoreless for four straight innings, Ross Kowzan hit a lead off double to right center in the bottom of the fifth. Nathan Emrick laid down a bunt which was ruled a fielder's choice that allowed everyone to be safe. P.J. Finigan also reached on a fielder's choice, but Kowzan was out on a force at third.
With runners on first and second, Nathan Boldt flied out to center for the second out of the inning. Sal Frisella then hit a routine pop-up to shortstop Jeff Gremley. Gremley, however, saw the ball bounce off the palm of his glove after charging in on the play. Emrick scored on the two-base error to tie the game at 1-1.
With Frisella on first and Finigan on third following the error, Andrews calmly stepped in and blasted a three-run homer over the left field wall to give SIU a 4-1 lead. For Andrews, the homer marked his first of the season.
Despite another solo shot by Guyer in the top of the sixth (4-2), SIU used strong relief pitching from Adam Snyder, Eric Haberer and Finigan to shutdown the Hawkeyes.
Finigan, who was awarded his second save of the season, threw the game's final inning, while allowing one hit and striking out Brian Bucklin for the last out. Snyder also pitched an inning without allowing a run to extend his scoreless inning streak to five frames.
In the first game, Iowa jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings, before using a six-run eighth to blow the game wide open.
Consecutive singles by Mike Best, Cliff Bruckner and Brian Bucklin quickly loaded the bases in the top of the eighth. After Best came home on a wild pitch, Gremley hit an RBI-single to center. An error by pitcher Marshall Tucker enabled Bucklin to score, unearned, to cap off a three-run, four-hit attack that later turned into a 13-1 Hawkeye win.
Ryan Mentkowski moved to 1-1 on the season after picking up the win on the mound. Mentkowski, who threw six scoreless innings, allowed just three hits, while striking out two. Best, Bucklin, Gremley and Thousand each had three hits and two runs scored to lead Iowa offensively.
Jerel Deitering (1-2) suffered his second loss of the season for SIU. Deitering lasted 2.1 innings in which he was touched for five hits and four runs. Offensively, the Dawgs registered just four hits, including three in the game's first six innings.
On the day, Kowzan broke out of a 0-for-14 slump with authority. Kowzan went 5-for-6 with a double over the two games. His batting average now stands at .273 after being just .148 before today's doubleheader.
SIU concludes its three-game series against Iowa with a single game on Sunday at noon.
