Hawks collapse late against Northern Iowa at final Corridor Classic
CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa baseball coach Jack Dahm said it himself Tuesday night.
Despite playing seven solid innings, the struggling Hawkeyes didn’t deserve to win their final Corridor Classic against Northern Iowa.
At least, not after all the miscues on the field that ultimately contributed to a 9-3 loss.
Three late-game errors before an announced crowd of 1,953 at Veterans Memorial Stadium proved to be fatal for Iowa (14-26).
Currently riding a four-game losing streak heading into tonight’s midweek clash with Creighton, the Hawkeyes hadn’t lost a game all season when leading after the six innings.
“You don’t make plays defensively, it’s pretty simple,” Dahm said. “We were in control of that game, and we gave it to them.
“This one hurts because you had the opportunity, and you beat yourself.”
Leading the Panthers 3-1 heading into the seventh, a fielding error by freshman shortstop Chett Zeise helped Northern Iowa knot the game, 3-3.
In the bottom of the eighth, two more errors on the right side of the infield by sophomore Zach McCool and senior T.J. Cataldo in the bottom of the eighth allowed the Panthers to seize control of the ball game.
Northern Iowa (16-24) plated six runs on two hits and a pair of walks for a hefty six-run advantage.
Iowa senior hurler Mike Schurz, who had injured his elbow in the 2007 Corridor Classic and undergone Tommy John surgery last season, admitted he felt a little nervous taking the mound early on in the eighth.
But he didn’t shy from assuming any responsibility for the loss.
“We just couldn’t get the job done in the end,” Schurz said. “I don’t know, everything just hit the fan. We couldn’t make plays and ended up losing the ball game.”
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes scrambled to make plays in the beginning of the contest as well.
With no outs in the top of the first, Iowa threatened to take a commanding lead, but ultimately fell short with runners in scoring position.
Following a lead-off single by freshman catcher Dallas Burke, Northern Iowa starting pitcher Lucas O’Rear loaded the bases on two-straight hit batsmen and later brought in the first run of the game on a walk.
Iowa failed to capitalize further, though. Cataldo and freshman Sean Flanagan tallied back-to-back strikeouts, and veteran third baseman Kevin Hoef was caught stealing home for the third out.
“I thought I had it,” Hoef said. “[O’Rear] was taking a long time to deliver to the plate, and I thought I had it.”
For the Hawkeyes’ upcoming contest tonight, though, the former 48th-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox said his team has to do some soul searching.
“We have to figure a lot out,” Hoef said. “It starts with everybody. We just can’t put a whole game together right now, and it’s embarrassing.”
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