Spartans Begin IIAC Action at Home
Mar 31, 2013 | J.Crane
DUBUQUE, IOWA – The University of Dubuque Baseball team opened the 2013 Iowa Conference season on Easter Sunday with two games versus Coe College (6-4, 2-0). The Spartans lost Game 1, 9-5 in 12 innings. UD would go on to lose Game 2 by a score of 10-7. The two teams will finish their four game series on Monday, April 1st with two games beginning at 1:15 pm. Dubuque is now 2-8 on the season and 0-2 in the Iowa Conference.
Game 1: UD-5, Coe-9 (12 Innings) BOX SCORE
The Spartans would lead for most of the opening game after two first inning runs. Trailing 1-0 going into the bottom half of the first inning, Andrew Danna (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) would draw a leadoff walk. After being moved to third on a sac bunt and wild pitch, Danna would score on a groundball out off the bat of Michael Campbell (Clinton, Mo./Clinton). Chris Briggs (Lombard, Ill./Montini) would follow with a two out RBI double down the left field line to score Spencer Kuehn (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills) and give UD a 2-1 lead.
Both starting pitchers would settle in over the next five innings as neither team would score from the second through sixth inning. Spartans starter Josh Eastman (Edgerton, Wis./Edgerton) would get UD within one out of the victory in the seventh before the Kohawks tied the game. Eastman finished the day with eight innings pitched, seven strikeouts, one walk, and one earned run allowed before exiting in the ninth inning. Freshman Alan Kopp (Verona, Wis./Verona Area) would throw three scoreless innings of relief to keep the Spartans in the game.
Things would go south for UD in the top of the 12th as Coe scored seven runs on four hits and three Dubuque errors. The Spartans would not go away quietly though with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. All three runs came on a Brock Grubbs (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar) home run to left field.
Briggs, Danna, Nick Martin (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew), and Aaron Laskowski (Edgerton, Wis./Edgerton) all finished with two hits. Vince Parisi (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) had a double.
Landon Klostermann (Epworth, Iowa/Western Dubuque) took the loss for the Spartans allowing five unearned runs in 2/3 of an inning of work.
Game 1: UD-7, Coe-10 (7 Innings) BOX SCORE
UD would once again jump out to a first inning lead in the second game of the doubleheader. The Spartans would score five runs on three hits, and three Coe errors to take a 5-3 lead after one complete. Dubuque would load the bases on singles by Danna and Jordan Gawronski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago), and a walk by Kuehn. A pair of errors on a ball up in play by Grubbs led to three runs for UD. With runners still in scoring position, Austin Monfross (Big Timber, Mont./Sweet Grass) singled to right field to score Grubbs.
The Spartans were held scoreless over the next four innings as Coe took a 7-5 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning. In the home half of the sixth, UD would string together singles by Gawronski, Briggs, and Campbell to get within one run at 7-6. Unfortunately Coe would respond with three runs in the top of the seventh open extend their lead.
The loss in Game 2 went to Tyler Trifiletti (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury). Joey Kilsdonk (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) pitched the final 4 1/3 innings, allowing three unearned runs on four hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
Gawronski would lead UD at the plate with four singles in five at bats. Campbell and Monfross each had two hits.
UP NEXT: Dubuque will finish its four game home series with Coe on Monday, April 1st. Start time for Game 1 is 1:15 pm. Live Stats available online at: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/dbq.portal#
