Iowa baseball loses 5-3 at Illinois State
Redbirds score three runs in eighth inning to prevail
By Hawkeyesports.com
NORMAL, Illinois – The University of Iowa baseball team fell to the Illinois State Redbirds on Tuesday evening at Duffy Bass Field.
The Hawkeyes led 3-2 for most of the contest before giving up three runs in the eighth inning.
Free bases were the story of the game with Iowa allowing seven Redbird walks or hit by pitches.
“We didn’t play very well tonight,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Some bad baseball in the fourth and in the eighth did us in. It was one of those games tonight where neither team was putting up a lot of hits. Their starter Sinisko really gave us trouble for five innings. Still, we had a three-run lead in the fourth. One of those nights where it needed to be a close game type win, and we had the opportunity to do it and we made some mistakes.”
Four Hawkeyes totaled hits with Keaton Anthony the lone Iowa batter to record multiple going 2-for-4. Sam Hojnar had a two-run home run in the contest.
Will Christophersen was tagged with the loss allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in one inning of work, he faced four batters in the eighth but did not record an out.
Iowa scored two runs in the second and one in the fourth. Illinois State scored two in the fourth and three in the eighth.
“Just got beat,” said Heller. “They played better than we did tonight. Our top three hitters didn’t get on base and the bottom two guys didn’t get on so that’s stringing five hitters in a row that didn’t reach. They didn’t walk us, they didn’t make any errors, they played way cleaner baseball. We had the opportunity to match that because of Sam Hojnar’s home run and give ourselves a chance to win a close game on the road and we just didn’t get it done.
Of Note
- Iowa moves to 19-4 on the year.
- Hojnar’s home run is his third of the season.
- Iowa moves to 8-14 all time with Illinois State.
- Illinois State has won the last three matchups with the Hawkeyes dating back to 2012.
Up Next
Iowa hosts Maryland for a three-game series to open Big Ten Play on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Duane Banks Field.
