Junior pitcher David Garner struck out nine batters, but the MSU baseball team was unable to defeat Iowa, suffering a (2-1) loss Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans are now 28-16 overall and 9-8 against the Big Ten on the season, while the Hawkeyes improve to 19-26 overall with a 7-13 conference record.
In the bottom of the second, the Hawkeyes scored the games first run on two hits. Iowa junior first baseman Bryan Niedbalski started the inning with a double and was brought home by Iowa catcher Anthony Torres, giving Iowa a 1-0 lead.
The Hawkeyes succeeded in dominating the scoreboard until the top of the eighth inning when MSU sophomore Jimmy Pickens was sent home by sophomore first baseman Blaise Salter, tying the game.
With two outs and the bases loaded, the Spartans failed to bring a second man home when sophomore outfielder Anthony Cheky popped up to second base.
Error by sophomore shortstop Ryan Richardson landed Iowa sophomore infielder Nick Day on first. Garner succeeded in striking out the two batters that followed. But Day still managed to reach home allowing Iowa to gain a another victory over MSU.
MSU will face off against Iowa Sunday at 2:05 p.m., with hopes to gain one win in a three-game series.
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