Creighton University
Iowa
Dahm Wins Return To Omaha as Iowa Baseball Tops Jays, 8-3
4/16/2008 7:45:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Longtime Creighton coach Jack Dahm won in his return to Omaha, as his Iowa baseball team defeated Creighton, 8-3, before 2,207 fans at Rosenblatt Stadium Wednesday night. Caleb Curry led the Hawkeye offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, homer and four RBI.
Iowa improved to 13-18, while Creighton fell to 24-11 with the setback.
Creighton scored unearned runs in each of the first two innings thanks to a pair of infield errors by the Hawkeyes. Robbie Knight was hit by his MVC-high 16th pitch of the season to lead off the bottom of the first. Knight would motor to third on Elliot Soto's sacrifice bunt, which was dropped by second baseman Curry after a good throw by catcher Kody McManis. Knight then scored on a sacrifice fly by Darin Ruf.
In the second inning, Vicente Cafaro singled and moved to second when shortstop Justin Toole kicked a tailor-made double-play ball off the bat of T.J. Roemmich. After Joe Servais bunted both men over and Brett Mieras walked to re-load the bases, Cafaro came plateward on Nick Nordgren's sacrifice fly.
Iowa claimed the lead in the top of the third inning, tallying four runs in the frame. After consecutive singles by Kody McManis and Justin Brauer, CU starting pitcher Roemmich hit Kevin Hoef to load the bases. Zak Moore would come in to relieve Roemmich, but couldn't halt the rally. Kyle Riffel singled home McManis with Iowa's first run on Moore's first pitch. After a fielder's choice cut down Brauer at home, both Hoef and Riffel scored on Curry's wind-aided double that Nordgren was unable to haul in. Toole later scored on a sacrifice fly by Kurtis Muller to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead.
Iowa's lead reached 5-2 with an unearned run in the fifth against Bob Lackovic. Hoef opened with a hustling double to left-center and moved to third on a bunt by Riffel. CU shortstop Soto threw home on a grounder by Toole, but his throw was in the dirt and allowed Hoef to change course and score the unearned run.
Iowa added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh against Matt Patterson. After Patterson retired the first two men of the seventh, Riffel would reach on a passed ball after a strikeout that would have been the third out. The defensive lapse would hurt the Jays, as Toole followed with a run-scoring double and Curry belted a homer to give Iowa an 8-2 lead.
Creighton added a run in the bottom of the seventh when Joe Servais scored after a leadoff double, but the Jays would not score again. CU stranded two men in both the sixth and eighth innings without scoring. In the ninth inning, Andrew Porer struck out the side to clinch the Hawkeye win.
Roemmich (2-1) was saddled with his first collegiate loss, while Hawkeye starter Zach Kenyon improved to 1-1 for his first career win. The Bluejays' recent offensive woes continued, managing just five hits in the loss while allowing 11.
Creighton returns to MVC action on Friday when it opens a three-game series at league-leading Northern Iowa (21-10, 8-1 MVC). Friday's game begins at 6:30 pm and can be heard on KOZN (1620 AM) and www.1620thezone.com.
NOTES: The game was played at Rosenblatt Stadium, with the gametime temperature standing at 69 degrees ... Iowa's Caleb Curry extended his hitting streak to 12 with a third-inning double ... Hawkeye starting pitcher Zach Kenyon was a ninth-round pick of the Kansas City Royals last year ... Creighton and Iowa had not met on the baseball field since 1998 ... Robbie Knight has scored 14 first-inning runs in 35 games this season ... Creighton has scored in the bottom of the first in 11 of 17 home games this season and are outscoring opponents 25-2 ... The crowd of 2,207 was a season-high for Creighton at home.
