Dreyer Pitches Iowa Past Kent St. in Opener

RobHowe

Administrator
Dreyer Leads Iowa to Opening Day Win

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla
. -- Redshirt sophomore Jack Dreyer dominated Friday, punching out eight Kent State hitters over five innings to lead the University of Iowa baseball team (1-0) to a 3-1 victory in the season opener at the Snowbird Baseball Classic.

"It feels great," said head coach Rick Heller following the win. "It was a hard-fought game against a good team. I am happy with how we played in our first outing. We got good pitching."

The pitching effort began with Dreyer, who started his first game since missing most of last season with a shoulder injury. The southpaw allowed a leadoff walk before retiring nine straight batters, including a streak of four straight strikeouts.

"He started out a little shaky with the strike zone," Heller said. "He fought out of that and cruised through the next four innings. He was solid, and I am happy with how Jack pitched."

The Johnston, Iowa, native induced an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play on his final pitch to leave the game allowing no runs and only two hits, while issuing one walk.

"It felt good," Dreyer said. "It felt nice to be with the team again and travel with them. My confidence was at an all-time high. I know that my team is going to help support me on defense and offense. We went out there and did our jobs tonight."

Iowa's offense started slow but pushed the game's first run across in the third inning. Sophomore Brendan Sher, who started at shortstop, doubled down the third-base line on a high chopper over the third baseman's head to start the inning. He came around to score on a wild pitch for his first of two runs scored.

In the fifth, Sher began the inning with a leadoff walk, before advancing to second on a balk, and third via a passed ball. On an 0-2 count, senior Ben Norman singled through the left side, knocking in Sher to give the Hawkeyes a 2-0 lead.

The Golden Flashes used two hits and an errant throw to second base on a stolen base to score their only run of the game in the seventh inning.

The Hawkeyes tacked on an insurance run in the eighth via two Kent State errors to give closer Grant Leonard a 3-1 lead heading to the ninth. Leonard struck out two Golden Flashes to earn his first save of the season and 17th of his career, which moved Leonard into a tie for fourth all-time.

Iowa's relievers -- Drew Irvine, Ben Beutel, Trace Hoffman, and Leonard – combined for six strikeouts over the last four innings, while allowing only three hits.

OF NOTE...
  • Today marked the seventh time in Dreyer's career he's struck out at least five batters in a game.
  • The Iowa pitching staff combined to strike out 14 Kent State hitters, while Iowa only struck out six times at the plate with four walks.
  • Iowa pitchers limited Kent State to just 2-for-13 (.154) with runners in scoring position.
  • Senior catcher Austin Martin went 2-for-4 out of the five hole.
UP NEXT
Iowa will face Saint Joseph's tomorrow at 2 p.m. (CT) at CoolToday Park, the new spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. Saint Joseph's beat No. 24 Ohio State, 7-3, in their season opener.
 
https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2020/2/16/baseball-hawkeyes-fall-in-opening-weekend-finale.aspx

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.
-- In a game that saw five lead changes and two ties, the University of Iowa baseball team fell, 10-8, to Pittsburgh on Sunday in the finale of the Snowbird Classic.

Iowa finished the weekend 2-1 with wins over Kent State and Saint Joseph's

Pitt scored the game's first run in the bottom of the first off starting pitcher Duncan Davitt, who went three innings, allowing one hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

The second time through the batting order, Iowa's offense figured out Pitt starter Matt Gilbertson. The Hawkeyes recorded four hits in the inning, highlighted by sophomore Izaya Fullard's three-run home run. His first hit of the season gave Iowa a 4-1 lead.

Pitt answered in the fourth inning with three runs of their own to tie the game at four.

In the seventh inning, Iowa secured its second lead of the game when junior Dylan Nedved scored on a misplay by the left fielder. Pitt responded again with a run of its own in the seventh to tie the game at five.

The Hawkeye offense went to work in the eighth inning, using three singles and two walks to take an 8-5 lead. Senior Austin Martin singled to center to record the go-ahead RBI at the time, and Nedved's RBI-single to center capped off the three-run inning.

It wasn't enough as Pittsburgh scored five runs with two outs in the eighth to go ahead 10-8. Iowa put one base runner on in the ninth, but couldn't muster the comeback.

Redshirt senior Grant Leonard was saddled with the loss.

OF NOTE...
  • Five Hawkeyes pitched out of the bullpen, including Hunter Lee and Nedved, who made their season debuts.
  • Nedved and Justin Jenkins recorded multi-hit games.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to San Diego from Feb. 21-23 for the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament . Iowa will face San Diego State, Arizona, and San Diego.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Stay up-to-date on all the happenings with the Iowa baseball program on social media via Twitter (@UIBaseball), Instagram/UIBaseball, and Facebook/IowaBaseball.
 
Here's Saturday's roundup.

NORT PORT, Fla. – Yesterday it was Jack Dreyer in the spotlight. Today it was senior Ben Norman’s day.


On his birthday, Norman racked up four hits and was on base five times to help lead the University of Iowa baseball team to a 7-2 victory over Saint Joseph’s on Saturday afternoon at the Snowbird Baseball Classic at CoolToday Park. The Hawkeyes scored three runs in the first inning, and added two in the fifth and eighth to put away the Hawks.


“I liked the way it started,” said Iowa head coach Rick Heller. “The guys came out with a lot of energy. Grant Judkins went five innings and pitched extremely well. Ben Norman, on his birthday, went 4-for-4 and had a great day.


“Overall, it was a good day. We played solid defense and had great pitching. We beat a good team in Saint Joseph’s.”


Norman, who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and a double, led Iowa’s offense out of the leadoff spot. In the first inning, he singled to center, stole third, and advanced to third on a Zeb Adreon single. Adreon stole second, followed by an Izaya Fullard hit by pitch to bring up freshman Peyton Williams with the bases loaded.


Williams recorded his first career hit and first two career RBIs with a single through the right side to give Iowa a quick 2-0 lead. Fullard scored Iowa’s third run of the inning on a wild pitch to lead 3-0 after the first.


Sparked by Norman’s double to leadoff the top of the fifth, Iowa scored two more runs to extend its lead to 5-0. It was Norman’s third hit of the day.


“Luckily we had a good scouting report on the guy,” Norman said. “I got some good pitches in some good locations, got my barrel on it, and found some holes. I’m glad to get on for the guys and they can hit me in.”


Senior right-handed pitcher Grant Judkins (1-0) got the ball for the Hawkeyes in the No. 2 spot of the rotation, striking out six Saint Joseph’s hitters along the way. He retired eight straight batters before getting tagged for two runs on two hits in the bottom of the fifth.


The bullpen picked up right where it left off Friday, throwing four innings of scoreless relief.


Highlighted by junior Trenton Wallace, who threw three innings of one-hit ball without giving up a run. In his first appearance of the season, he recorded six strikeouts.


Norman drove in two runs in the top of the eighth to cap of his birthday and give Iowa a 7-2 lead.


Redshirt sophomore Ben Probst pitched a perfect final frame with two strikeouts in his first appearance since missing most of last season to Tommy John surgery.


OF NOTE...

  • Norman’s four hits tied a career high he last set in 2017 as a freshman. It was the fourth time in his career he stole two bases.
  • Sophomore Brendan Sher recorded his second double in as many days.
  • With 12 strikeouts today, Iowa’s pitching staff has struck out 26 batters and only walked three in two games.
  • The Hawkeyes out-hit the Hawks at a 10-4 clip.
  • Iowa went 5-for-12 (.417) with runners in scoring position.
 

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