April 19, 2008

Box Score

WATERLOO, Iowa -

            The University of Northern Iowa baseball team split a doubleheader with Creighton, dropping the first game 3-2 and winning 4-2 in the second Saturday afternoon at Riverfront Stadium. The Bluejays (25-12, 8-6) broke a 2-2 tie with a two-out run in the top of the ninth in game one. UNI (22-11, 9-2) scored in the bottom of the first and held onto the lead the rest of the way in game two.

            Pat Venditte (5-2) pitched five innings of relief to earn the win for the Bluejays in game one. Mike O'Leary (2-2) was charged for the loss for the Panthers. UNI starter Guido Fonseca allowed two runs through eight innings in the no-decision.

            Brandon Douglas was 2-of-3 from the plate with a double, and Dane Embury and Eddie Almonte were each 1-of-4 with an RBI.

Taylor Sinclair (5-1) earned the win in game two for the Panthers, allowing just one earned run in 7.0 innings and striking out seven in the process. Joe Gonzalez earned his sixth save for UNI after pitching two innings with just two hits and one run scored.        

Brett Douglas was 2-of-4 with a solo home run, and Deric Manrique was 2-of-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Robbie Knight led off game one with a single. He stole second and moved to third on a single into left by Vicente Cafaro. Darin Ruf hit a ground ball to Brett Featherston, and the first baseman threw out Knight at the plate to keep the game scoreless. That did not last long though, as Steve Winkelmann doubled to score Cafaro and give the Bluejays an early 1-0 advantage.

            The Panthers put runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, but they could not send anyone home until Eddie Almonte singled down the left field line to score Brett Featherston and tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

            In the top of the seventh, Knight hit a one-out double into right. Cafaro singled, and Ruf followed with a double that scored Knight and put the Bluejays in front, 2-1. The Panthers elected to intentionally walk Winkelmann, giving Creighton bases loaded with just one out. Guido Fonseca was able to strike out T.J. Roemmich, and Joe Servais flied out to left to limit the damage to one run in the inning.

            With two out in the bottom half of that inning, Deric Manrique was hit by a pitch. Dane Embury doubled into right center, scoring Manrique from first and tying the game at 2-2. Chris Lopez singled into left, and Embury was gunned down at the plate on a relay throw from left to end the inning.

            Knight drew a full-count walk to lead off the top of the ninth. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Cafaro. UNI intentionally walked Ruf, and Winkelmann flied out to right to record the second out of the inning, but advanced Knight to third in the process. Nick Nordgren hit a pitch-hit double into left to score Knight, putting the Bluejays in front 3-2.

            The Panthers were retired in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

            Creighton held a slim 10-9 advantage in the hits column. UNI stranded eight men on base, five in scoring position. The Bluejays left 12 men on base in the game.

            In game two, Manrique reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the first. He moved to third on a single by Embury. Brandon Douglas hit into a double play, but Manrique scored on the play to put UNI in front 1-0.

            Embury singled in the bottom of the third, and he moved to second on a single to center by Lopez. Featherston singled up the middle to score Embury and give UNI a 2-0 lead.

            Brett Douglas led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run over the center field wall. Almonte hit a one-out single, and he moved to second on a ground out by Cory Ege. Manrique singled through the left side to score Almonte and extend the Panther advantage to 4-0.

            Creighton started chipping away, however, and Winkelmann hit a sacrifice fly to score Cafaro in the top of the eighth, making it a 4-1 game. In the top of the ninth, Brandon Knox hit a one-out double into left center. Elliot Soto singled to center to move Knox to third and bring the tying run to the plate with one out. Knight flied out to left, and Cafaro reached on an error to score Knox and keep the game alive. Ruf drew a full-count walk to load the bases with the Bluejays trailing 4-2, but Gonzalez was able to retire Winkelmann to earn the save.

            The Panthers and Bluejays will play in the final game of the series Sunday at 2 p.m.