UI Athletics news release
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa baseball team dropped the series opener to No. 1 UCLA, 5-2, on Friday afternoon at Duane Banks Field.
The Hawkeyes fell to 15-9 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play.
“There are no consolation prizes,” said head coach Rick Heller. “We fought hard; we had two pitchers who gave us a chance. Offensively, we had some opportunities. Let’s look at what could have made it better, that’s getting guys on base and a couple guys clutching up when we needed to do some damage.”
Sophomore Jaron Bleeker got the start and worked four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He struck out six and walked one. Junior Maddux Frese was strong in relief, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits.
Iowa finished with six hits in the opener. Senior Mitch Wood and senior Caleb Wulf each recorded a hit, while senior Kooper Schulte and junior Kellen Strohmeyer accounted for the Hawkeyes’ other base hits.
UCLA struck first in the third inning with a two-run home run to deep right field. The Bruins added a solo homer in the fourth to make it 3-0. Later in the inning, a single to right field pushed the lead to 4-0 before a run-scoring groundout made it 5-0.
Wood put Iowa on the board in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run home run, his fourth of the season.
The Hawkeyes got the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but were unable to convert on the opportunity.
Up Next
Iowa and No. 1 UCLA continue the series Saturday at Duane Banks Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:02 p.m. (CT).