April 15, 2006

Box Score

Waterloo, Iowa -

Small ball was the order of the day at Riverfront Stadium as the University of Northern Iowa baseball team bunted and sacrificed its way to a 3-1 conference victory over Evansville in the opening game of a Saturday doubleheader. The Panthers overcame two early-inning errors to earn the game one win.

 

Evansville manufactured a run in the opening frame after taking advantage of a UNI error to start the game. UE's Kyle Smith bunted over Jim Viscomi, who took third on the throw. Kasey Wahl followed the sac bunt with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Viscomi and give the Aces a 1-0 advantage.

 

With the sacks packed in the bottom of the first, Nick Cameron (West Des Moines, Iowa/Indian Hills/Valley) crushed UE pitcher Matt Brinkman's offering to the centerfield warning track, but a base running miscue prevented the Panthers from knotting the score and led to three stranded runners for UNI.

 

The Panthers made up for it in the second with an impressive suicide squeeze to tie the game. Mark Frieske (Spokane, Wash./Porterville CC) dropped a bunt in front of the pitcher's mound with Curt Bradley (Colombia, MO/Rock Bridge) sprinting toward the plate. Bradley skirted around UE catcher Robbie Minor's tag to score the first Panther run and erase the one-run Ace advantage.

 

Bradley drove in Brett Featherston (Epworth, Iowa/Western Dubuque) with an infield single in the following frame after Nate Trumm (Worthington, Iowa/Dyersville-Beckman) dropped a sac bunt to put Featherston in scoring position. The Panthers left the inning with a 2-1 advantage.

 

Brett Douglas (St. Charles, Iowa/I-35) led off the last of the seventh with a line drive double off the top of the left-center field wall and later scored on a passed ball after Brandon Douglas (St. Charles, Iowa/I-35) moved him over with a sac bunt. Douglas' run put the score at 3-1 through seven.

 

Starter Taylor Sinclair (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) sat down the Aces in order in the eighth before handing the ball to Bryan Westphal (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) who slammed the door on UE with a perfect ninth for his fourth save of the year.

 

Sinclair was brilliant through eight to earn his fourth straight win in as many starts. The sophomore allowed just four hits and struck out a season-high seven batters to bump his record to 5-3 on the season.

 

Bradley and Brett Douglas led the offense with two hits each. Bradley drove in and scored a run and Douglas added a run scored.

 

The Panthers move to 17-18 on the season, 3-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville moves to 20-17 on the year, 5-6 in the MVC.