Michigan State University
Iowa
Baseball Takes Series Finale From Iowa, 11-7
4/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 27, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State baseball team slugged 11 runs on 14 hits to defeat Iowa in the series finale, 11-7, Sunday afternoon (April 27) at Kobs Field on the MSU campus. With the series split, MSU stands at 14-27 (6-12 Big Ten), while Iowa is now 13-21 (5-14 BT).
MSU pounded Hawkeye pitchers for 14 hits, including three doubles, two home runs and a triple. Charlie Braun (Sr., Grosse Pointe) led the way for the Spartans, tying his career high with four hits and four runs to go along with a triple. Spartan left fielder Erik Morris (So., Orchard Lake) continued to stay hot at the plate, going 3-for-3 with four RBI while hitting his first career home run. First baseman Scott Koerber (Jr., Harper Woods) added three RBI with two hits.
Spartan starter Jeff Gerbe (Fr., Shelby Twp.) struggled in the first, but settled down after giving up three runs in the first frame to earn his second win of the season. Gerbe (2-2) threw seven solid innings and struck out five while scattering nine hits for six runs. Right-handed reliever Ryan Golem (Sr., Dearborn) held off the Hawkeyes in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the victory.
MSU bounced back with two runs in bottom half of the first on back-to-back RBI singles by Koerber and Morris. The Spartans took the lead for good in the third as they scored four runs in the inning, triggered by a two-run shot off the bat of Morris.
The Spartans would go on to score runs in every inning the rest of the game except the fifth. Shortstop Alan Cattrysse (Fr., Chatham, Ontario), who collected two hits and two runs, hit his first homer as a Spartan with a deep drive to left field in the fourth. He almost repeated that effort in the fifth as he drilled a flyout that was caught at the edge of the warning track.
The Hawkeyes' running game was stymied early by Spartan catcher Brady Burrill (Sr., Newhall, Calif.), which set the tone for the rest of the game. Burrill threw out four runners in the first four innings, and the Hawkeyes - which rank second in the Big Ten in stolen bases - did not attempt to steal a base the remainder of the afternoon.
MSU's returns to action with a four-game series at Illinois next weekend (May 2-4). The first game is scheduled for Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m. CDT.
GAME SUMMARY R H EIowa 301 010 101- 7 13 1MSU 204 201 11x- 11 14 1
WP: Gerbe-MSU (2-2)LP: Hasz-IOWA (0-1)
