By Hawkeyesports.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team fell to No. 5 Oregon, 9-6, to drop the series at Duane Banks Field on Friday evening.

The Hawkeyes set an all-time attendance record at Duane Banks Field with 3,339 fans in the stands.

“The guys fought hard. It was good to see the bats wake up today,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Oregon is good, and they’re hot right now. They’re tough to beat.”

Iowa (32-19-1, 21-8) batted .324 overall and .300 with runners on. The Hawkeyes totaled 12 hits to the Ducks’ 13.

Oregon (40-13, 21-8) struck first, scoring one run on two hits in the first inning.

Iowa took a 3-1 lead in the third as Gable Mitchell hit an RBI sac fly, Caleb Wulf singled in a run and Miles Risley smacked an RBI double.

The Hawkeyes added another run in the fourth as Kellen Strohmeyer hit a leadoff double and ended up scoring on a fielder’s choice from Reese Moore. Wulf and Daniel Rogers then hit back-to-back bombs in the fifth frame to put Iowa ahead by four.

Moore, Wulf, Rogers and Frost all had multi-hit games with two each.

The Ducks hit solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings and then scored four in the seventh to regain the lead, 7-6. Oregon added two more insurance runs in the ninth, and Iowa couldn’t complete the come back in the bottom of the frame.

RHP Aaron Savary started on the hill for Iowa. He gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out two over 5.2 innings of work.

“I thought Savary was really good tonight,” said Heller. “I’m really happy to see him bounce back today and give us a legitimate chance to win a game we should’ve held on to. He showed a lot of toughness bouncing back after a rough one last week.”

Brant Hogue was the first Hawkeye out of the bullpen and gave up three runs on two hits. Justin Hackett entered the game in the seventh and gave up the go-ahead run.

Chas Wheatley pitched the ninth inning and allowed the final two runs to score (both unearned).

“We turned to the bullpen, and they didn’t get it done,” said Heller. “Giving up six runs in the last three innings, you’re just not going to win, especially against a team like that. We felt like we had the right guys in line, just didn’t get it done.”

Iowa needs to beat Oregon tomorrow to clinch a share of the regular season Big Ten title.

“We have one more shot at this, one more chance to come out and find a way to get it done,” said Heller. “We have one more opportunity to go out there and play our best baseball. That’s the message.”

Up Next

The Hawkeyes and Ducks will close out the series tomorrow at noon (CDT). The Hawkeye seniors will be recognized ahead of the game. The series finale will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and the Hawkeye Radio Network.