University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Iowa
Gophers Drop Iowa Series Opener 7-3
5/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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May 8, 2015
Minnesota tied the game in the sixth after trailing 3-0, but Iowa scored three runs in the same inning and won the series opener in Iowa City 7-3. The Golden Gophers (19-27, 7-12 Big Ten) had eight hits and committed two errors, while the Hawkeyes (35-12, 16-3 Big Ten) had seven hits and made one error.
Cather Matt Halloran had two hits for Minnesota, and center fielder Dan Motl extended his reached base streak to 20 games with a single. Tyler Peyton pitched seven innings for the Hawkeyes, and Eric Toole and Taylor Kaufman each had two hits.
The Hawkeyes started their first scoring rally on two balls that did not get past the pitcher's mound. Joel Booker led off the third with a chopper to pitcher Ben Meyer and beat out the throw to first. Kaufman bunted up the third base line for a single. Toole's single to center scored Booker. Kris Goodman drove in two more runs with a single to right to put Iowa up 3-0.
The Gophers trimmed the lead in the fifth with help from an error. Designated hitter Jake Bergren walked and first baseman Austin Athmann doubled to left. Both scored on a two-out throwing error that allowed center fielder Dan Motl to reach second.
Minnesota knotted the score the following inning, but only scored one run after loading the bases with no one out. Right fielder Matt Fiedler and shortstop Michael Handel hit singles, and Halloran bunted for a hit to load the bases. Bergren hit a sacrifice fly to score Fiedler, but Handel was thrown out trying to get to third and Peyton got a strikeout to end the inning immediately after.
Iowa went back ahead by three in the bottom of the inning on three hits, one walk, one hit batsman and a sacrifice fly. Toole picked up his second and third RBIs of the game with a two-out single. The Hawkeyes added another run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk before Minnesota turned a 6-4-3 double play.
Peyton (6-3) allowed six hits and three runs, one of them earned, and struck out five. Ryan Erickson pitched the last two innings for Iowa, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out two.
Meyer (4-5) allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out five in 5 2/3 innings. Brian Glowicki, Jordan Jess and Tyler Hanson all pitched in relief. Hanson pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.
NOTABLE
Motl's on-base streak is the first to reach 20 games since AJ Pettersen's 33-game streak in 2010-11 that encompassed a 22-game hitting streak.
UP NEXT
The Gophers and Iowa will continue their series Saturday with first pitch set for 2 p.m. CT. The game will be available on BTN Plus and free GopherSports.com audio.
