Late-Inning Runs Push Iowa Past Duke, 7-5

Sunday, March 1

Minneapolis, Minn.

3 p.m.

Duke University

9-2

Iowa

5-4

Duke

Iowa Hawkeyes

Photo by: Craig Lassig

Late-Inning Runs Push Iowa Past Duke, 7-5

3/1/2020 7:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Boxscore

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The 14^th-ranked Duke baseball team fell, 7-5, to Iowa in a tightly-played contest that saw the Hawkeyes pull away late with four runs across the seventh and eighth innings on Sunday afternoon inside U.S. Bank Stadium. The loss snaps Duke's nine-game winning streak and moves the Blue Devils to 9-2 on the campaign, while the Hawkeyes improve to 5-4.

"I thought we played well," said head coach Chris Pollard. "I thought we did a lot of things well. We took good swings. The difference in the ballgame was that they did a good job hitting with two outs in the sixth and the seventh. We lost a ball in the roof that extended the inning, and they did a good job of taking advantage of it. All in all, I thought we played pretty well and I thought Iowa played well. It was a good baseball game."

Duke built an early 2-0 lead with a two runs in the first, before the Hawkeyes answered with a pair of runs in the fourth to even the score. The two teams traded runs across the next three innings, before the Hawkeyes put up a three-spot in the seventh to take a lead that they would not relinquish.

Blue Devil starter Jack Carey worked a career-high 6.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits, while yielding one walk and collecting six strikeouts. The sophomore right-hander tossed 78 pitches before turning it over to his bullpen and would not factor into the decision. The trio of sophomore Aaron Beasley, redshirt freshman Jimmy Loper and senior Eli Herrick went the rest of the way for Duke, as Beasley suffered the first loss of his career. The sophomore left-hander gave up three earned runs across three hits, while striking out two over 0.2 innings of action.

Offensively, Duke was led by leadoff man Joey Loperfido, who turned in a three-hit outing. The junior closed out the contest 3-for-5 with a team-high two runs scored. The duo of senior Matt Mervis and sophomore Ethan Murray also contributed multi-hit efforts, closing out the contest with two hits apiece.

Duke struck first in Sunday's contest, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first to grab the early advantage. Loperfido began things with a leadoff triple to left field before coming across to score the game's first run on a RBI groundout from senior Chase Cheek. One out later, Mervis notched his third home run of the season with a solo shot to right field, making it a 2-0 contest after the first half inning of play.

Iowa tied things in the home half of the fourth, plating two runs in the frame. The Hawkeyes began things with a leadoff double to left field to place a runner in scoring position. One out later, a two-run homer to right center placed Iowa in the scoring column, evening things at two apiece after four full.

The Blue Devils responded the very next half with a two-run inning of their own in the fifth to regain the lead. Redshirt sophomore Wil Hoyle led off the frame with his first career home run, sending a ball to deep right field on the second pitch of the at-bat. Loperfido followed with a single to left field, marking his third hit of the afternoon. Two outs later, Mervis lined an RBI double to score one and push Duke's lead to 4-2.

The Hawkeyes added a single tally in the sixth to trim the advantage. The Iowa leadoff man reached on a single to center field before advancing into scoring positon on a groundout in the next at-bat. Two batters later, an RBI single to left plated one run for the Hawkeyes, making it a 4-3 ballgame.

Duke answered right back in the seventh, tacking on one run to extend the advantage. Junior Michael Rothenberg led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Two batters later, Murray delivered a RBI double to plate Rothenberg and move the lead to 5-3 heading into the stretch.

Iowa plated a trio of runs in the bottom of the seventh to seize momentum. With one down, a pair of doubles resulted in one run for the Hawkeyes to make it a one-run contest. One batter later, a two-run shot to left field moved Iowa ahead, 6-5.

The Hawkeyes padded their lead with one run in the eighth. A hit-by-pitch followed by a single to right center placed runners on the corners with one down. A sacrifice fly in the next at-bat allowed one run to cross, setting the score at 7-5, the eventual final.

Duke returns to the diamond on Wednesday afternoon, as the Blue Devils are set to host in-state foe Campbell. The two teams are set for a 4 p.m. first pitch at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, with action airing live on ACC Network Extra.

For more information on Duke baseball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeBaseball". You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for "dukeathletics".

#GoDuke