University of Minnesota Athletics
Indiana Defeats Iowa 7-4 in Big Ten Tournament
5/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Indiana, after allowing Iowa to score the first four runs of the game through four innings, stormed back to score seven unanswered runs, and take game one of the 2002 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, 7-4. The Hoosiers were led by junior third baseman Vasili Spanos and freshman second baseman Jay Brant. Spanos, a first team all-Big Ten selection, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and made several sterling defensive plays from the hot corner. Brant was 2-for-3 also and collected two RBI. Ace hurler Nick Vitielliss got the win for the Hoosiers, boosting his record to 8-1.
Iowa drew first blood in the second inning when, with Chris Groth on second and John Paul Cappellano on first, Iowa designated hitter Brian Bucklin lined a single to left field. Hoosier left fielder Mark Calkins could not field the shot cleanly, allowing Groth to score from second base, giving the Hawkeyes the early 1-0 advantage.
The Hawkeyes extended their lead two innings later in the fourth stanza. After Kyle Thousand drew a base on balls, Chris Groth smashed a home run over the right field fence to put Iowa up 3-0. Two hitters later, Bucklin blooped a double to left field behind the third basemen and in front of the left fielder. Jeff Gremley then drove Bucklin home with a solid single to left-center field.
Indiana got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Shortstop Eric Blakeley reached base with an infield single on a dribbler down the third base line. Vasili Spanos brought him home from first base with a double that he lined down the left field line. Spanos' RBI cut the Hoosier deficit to 4-1.
Indiana eliminated the Iowa lead in the fifth inning; a feat that was aided by three Iowa errors. Mark Calkins reached first base on a throwing error and was quickly moved to second on a wild pitch from Iowa's Reed Pawelk. Josh Romero scored Calkins on a single to center field but was able to reach second after another Iowa fielding gaffe. Romero was then brought to the plate by a Jay Brant double. A Kennard Jones single to left field scored Brant. On the play, Jones went to second on the Hawkeyes' final fielding mistake of the inning. The frame ended with the score knotted at 4-4.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Hoosiers moved on top for the first time in the game. Mark Calkins singles to right field and then stole second base. After a Romero strike out, Gibran Hamdan looped a single to shallow right field, scoring Calkins. Jay Brant then earned a free pass to first base promopting Iowa pitcher Reed Pawelk to be replaced by Dyson Miguel. The first batter Miguel faced, Kennard Jones, fisted a single up the middle, bringing in Hamdan and boosting Indiana's lead to 6-4.
The Hoosiers added an insurance run in the eight inning and then held on to defeat the Hawkeyes, 7-4. Indiana relief pitcher Ryan Smith, who came in to throw the final 1 1/3 innings, set a new school record for saves in a season with nine.
Post-game Quotes
Indiana head coach Bob Morgan
"This was a good come from behind victory for us. Things were going their way for the first few innings, but the kids hung in there, got some runs, and kept the momentum going. Securing the win, I felt good about that."
"It can be frustrating to make errors like Iowa did. In this league, in athletics overall, teams make runs at you. You have to be able to make the fundamentals, errors gives he other team the win. When you have errors, they can be contagious and the kids start to get frustrated."
"This league, from tenth place to first, there is not a lot of difference. Baseball is a funny game that way. I feel good about this win, I'm happy our team is here this year."
Pitcher Nick Vitielliss
"For the first few innings, my fastball was right over that plate. It hung up and they were hitting it. Once the momentum was on our side, I regained my confidence. I realized what I had to do. The last innings I felt more composure than the first few."
"I've always had lots of confidence, both defensively and offensively, in my teammates. I knew they were going to get some hits, that wasn't a concern of mine. Once they scored, I had to help them hold it."
Iowa head coach Scott Broghamer
"We just out to a 4-0 lead, but we gave Indiana lots of opportunities. They swung the bat well; we made mistakes. They took advantage of them. We had chances to get runs across, but it just didn't happen. Now we've got to bounce back and get ready for tomorrow."
On playing in the post-season:
"The game doesn't change whether it's a conference tourney or a regular season game. There's a physical and mental approach that we have to stay within. We got out of that in a couple of plays and helped Indiana out."
Second baseman Chris Groth
"We weren't concerned with the wind at all. We were just trying to hit line drives. Maybe we were a little content with the four run lead. We need to learn from that and stay aggressive."
