ISU rallies in rubber match
April 16, 2001
The ISU baseball team won a weekend series with Kansas after a dramatic ninth inning comeback victory Sunday at Cap Timm Field.
The Cyclones plated four runs in the ninth inning to rally for a 5-4 win. The two split the first two games as Kansas won 5-1 Friday, and the Cyclones rolled to a 9-1 victory Saturday.
Sunday’s win was the third in the last four games for the Cyclones, who improved to 13-19-1 overall and 6-8 in the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks fell to 16-23 and 4-17 in the conference.
“This is a good win, it keeps us in the hunt for a conference tournament berth,” said ISU baseball head coach Lyle Smith.
Trailing 4-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Cyclone offense got hot at the right time. T.J. Bohn smacked a two-run double and then with two outs, Brandon Cashman drove in the winning run with a liner down the third base line.
Bohn was the only Cyclone hitter with multiple hits Sunday. The junior centerfielder finished two for four Sunday with three RBIs and a run scored.
Jayhawk pitcher Doug Lantz cruised through the first seven innings before faltering late. Lantz gave up a run in the eighth inning but stayed on the mound for the ninth, and it cost the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks used four pitchers in Saturday’s loss, and Smith felt that played a part in the Jayhawks sticking with Lantz instead of going to the bullpen.
“Kansas is probably scratching their head saying to themselves `maybe we should’ve done this with the bullpen, but we handled their bullpen pretty well yesterday,” Smith said.
Getting the start on the mound Sunday for the Cyclones was senior Charlie Bigwood who left the game in the seventh and got a no decision. Mark Hanrahan pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief to earn the win.
Bigwood struck out five over 6 1/3 innings of work scattering 11 hits. Despite giving up 11 hits, Bigwood only allowed three runs, only one of which was earned, in extremely windy conditions.
“You would think with the wind that today would be a real offensive day, but we had the right guy out there in Bigwood,” Smith said. “It wasn’t like they were pounding the fences down. You can give up a lot of hits, you just can’t give up the big bang. The pitching staff did a nice job today. They competed well and kept us in it so our offense could have a chance in the late innings.”
Saturday, the Cyclones exploded for 15 hits, including three from Bohn and Joe Urban. Adam Christ, Jason McNertney, Michael Wilcox and Cashman all picked up two hits.
The Cyclones took control early streaking to a 5-0 lead after four innings. The run support was more than enough for Alan Bomer who tossed a four-hit complete game. Bomer struck out nine and walked only one.
The Cyclones are back in action Tuesday taking on Northern Iowa at Waterloo’s Municipal Riverfront Stadium.