April 23, 2006

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Iowa jumped on top early and didn't let up, letting out its frustrations from the first three games of the series with a 17-3 win in front of 946 fans at Illinois Field to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Illini. The Hawkeyes pounded out 23 hits and Tim Gudex, who made his first start of the year after serving as Iowa's closer for the better part of the past two seasons, shut down the Illini. In the series, 4,381 fans visited Illinois Field, the fourth-highest series total in school history.

Iowa scored four in the second, two in the third and three more in the fourth to take a 9-0 lead. But the Hawkeyes weren't finished, adding four runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth to bolster the margin to 16-0. Gudex was impressive in his first start since March 14, 2005, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Illinois managed just two base runners in the first five frames, Shawn Roof getting hit by a pitch in the first inning and Ryan Hastings drawing a walk in the fifth.

Trevor Huisinga broke up the no-no in the sixth when he deposited a 2-0 pitch over the right-field wall for a solo home run. Ryan Snowden followed with a walk and, two outs later, Chase Kliment doubled to center field to put runners on second and third. Mike Rohde then drove in both of them with a single to right-center, making the Iowa lead 16-3. The Hawkeyes added a run in the eighth to put the final score at 17-3.

Starter Jake Stewart and relievers Scott Shaw and Brian Blomquist combined to allow 16 runs - 15 earned - in 5 2/3 innings.

Offensively for the Illini, Rohde was 1-for-3 with two RBI and Huisinga was 1-for-3 with a solo homer. Snowden and Kliment also scored for Illinois, and Roof was 2-for-2 stealing bases.

In the series, Kliment hit .462 (6-for-13) with three RBI and three runs. Dave Schultz went 4-for-10 (.400) with seven RBI, four runs, a team-high .800 slugging percentage and a team-best .533 on-base percentage. Rohde also hit .417 in the series with a homer and five RBI.

Up Next: Illinois travels to Eastern Illinois for a 3 p.m. game Tuesday before meeting Minnesota in a four-game Big Ten series at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.