April 6, 2007
WATERLOO, Iowa -
The Illinois State baseball team faced many of the same conditions that caused several games in the Midwest to be cancelled and the cold temperatures and strong wind were eventually enough, as Friday's game at Northern Iowa was suspended after five innings of play, with UNI leading ISU 9-7.
The game will be continued on Saturday at 2 p.m. as part of a doubleheader at Waterloo Stadium.
The `Birds jumped out to a quick lead, scoring three runs on just one hit and four walks to take an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. With runners on second and third and no outs, Kevin Dubler singled into right field and scored Collin Salzenstein from third base to give ISU its first run of the day. Dubler then stole second base and Jesse Griswold walked to load the bases. Kyle Cherney then struck out for the second out of the inning, but Kyle O'Brien walked in the next at bat to bring in Ryan Anetsberger from third base for the second run of the frame. Kevin Konsler then reached on an error by UNI shortstop Brandon Douglas, which allowed Dubler to score the third and final run of the inning.
UNI came back immediately by scoring three runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning off Theisen to tie the game at 3-3. An RBI ground out by Brett Featherston plated the first run for the Panthers and a triple to center field by Brandon Douglas then brought in the second run of the inning for UNI. Later in the inning, Jordan Kraayenbrink singled through the right side of the infield to score the third run and tie the game at three runs apiece.
In the top of the fourth inning, ISU regained the lead at 7-3 with four runs courtesy of some wild UNI pitching. O'Brien led off the inning with a single and then advanced to second base on an error. He then advanced to third base on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Konsler. The `Birds then loaded the bases and Mike Tokarski and Salzenstein scored on wild pitches to bring the score to 6-3. Matt Bolt then scored on a balk for the fourth run of the inning and ISU widened the lead to four runs with just two hits on the scoreboard.
Unfortunately for the Redbirds, the Panthers came right back with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take their first lead of the game at 8-7. A RBI double by Deric Manrique brought in the first two runs and then a single up the middle by Eric Hoffmann brought in two more runs to knot the game at 7-7. With the bases loaded, Kraayenbrink then hit a grounder to third base and the ball took a bad hop and hit Anetsberger in the face, knocking him out of the game and allowing Hoffman to score for the fifth run of the inning.
The Panthers then tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to widen their lead to two runs at 9-7. After the inning was over, the umpires and head coaches convened at home plate and decided to suspend the game until Saturday. The game will start in the top of the sixth inning, with Salzenstein leading off for ISU.
