Nebraska Series

RobHowe

RobHowe

Administrator
THIS WEEK
• The University of Iowa baseball team looks for its fourth straight series win when it hosts Big Ten-leading and 30th-ranked Nebraska this weekend at Duane Banks Field.
• Friday's series opener is set for a 6:05 p.m. (CT) first pitch. Game two on Saturday will start at 2:02 p.m. (CT) and Sunday's series finale will begin at 1:05 p.m. (CT).

SERIES PROMOTIONS
Friday: Military Appreciation Night, including postgame fireworks. Baseball Bingo.
Saturday: Hawkeye Football Day (pregame autographs with the football team, quarterback Nate Stanley throwing out first pitch)
Sunday: Hawkeye Egg Hunt (postgame)

FOLLOW ALONG
• Friday and Sunday's games will be streamed live on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. It is a paid subscription service.
• Game two on Saturday will be televised live on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Scott Pose on the call.
• All Iowa games will also be available via the Hawkeye Radio Network with Zach Mackey and Steve Duncan on the call. The games can be heard on Hawkeye All-Access/TuneIn Radio.
Friday: AM 800 KXIC in Iowa City, KMJM 1360 AM in Cedar Rapids, KDEC-AM 1240 in Decorah, KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield.
Saturday: KMJM 1360 AM in Cedar Rapids; KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield, WDBQ FM 107.5 in Dubuque.
Sunday: KMJM 1360 AM in Cedar Rapids; KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield, WDBQ FM 107.5 in Dubuque.
• Live stats are available on hawkeyesports.com

FULL GAME NOTES
 
Big series RPI wise. Nebraska is sitting at 38. The only other teams left on the schedule that are currently ahead of Iowa (86) are UC Irvine (53) and @Maryland (77).

I don't follow the college baseball RPI and regionals selection process like I do for the basketball counterpart but it sounds like the margin for error down the stretch is pretty thin to get an at large bid at this point.
 
Adreon Walks Off No. 30 Nebraska



IOWA CITY, Iowa – Junior Zeb Adreon delivered a game-winning RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the University of Iowa baseball team to a 3-2 walk-off victory over No. 30 Nebraska on Friday night at Duane Banks Field.



“It’s a lot of fun,” said Adreon who helped the Hawkeyes improve to 22-14 overall and 8-5 in the Big Ten. “This is what you play for. This is was you dream about being a little kid in the backyard – being in those situations and delivering.”



“To come up big like he did,” head coach Rick Heller said. “He’s a good hitter and clutched up big time. I felt there was a really good chance he was going to come through in that situation the way he has been swinging it.”



Senior Tanner Wetrich started the ninth with a leadoff single before junior Justin Jenkins attempted a sacrifice bunt, but Wetrich was called out on a bang-bang play at second base. After Jenkins stole second, Adreon laced a 2-1 pitch to right field and the play at the plate wasn't close when right fielder Aaron Palensky air-mailed the throw, sending the Hawkeyes to their third walk-off victory of the season.



Senior Cole McDonald recorded his sixth quality start of the season, throwing six innings and allowing only two runs on four hits. Iowa’s bullpen didn’t allow a hit as Kyle Shimp tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief ball, while junior Trace Hoffman pitched the final 1 2/3 innings to earn his fifth victory of the season.



Iowa scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the third after consecutive two-out hits by Adreon and senior Chris Whelan. Whelan went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Sophomore Izaya Fullard also went 2-for-4.



Nebraska responded in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs with two outs. The Cornhuskers looked to add on in the fifth after the first two batters reached, but McDonald and the Hawkeyes escaped the bases-loaded jam.



The Hawkeyes tied the game in the bottom of the sixth after Whlean doubled to lead off the inning. Junior Austin Martin then drove in Whelan with an infield single.



Iowa finished with eight hits off Nebraska starter Matt Waldron, scoring runs in the third and sixth inning against the right-hander who entered the contest with the top ERA in the Big Ten.



“We kept battling and taking good at-bats all night and with them being at the top of the leaderboard, getting this first win on Friday night is real big momentum boost going in to the next two days,” Adreon said.



With a runner on third in the top of the eighth, junior third baseman Matthew Sosa made a game-saving play deep behind the third base bag to get out of the inning.



QUOTING HEAD COACH RICK HELLER

“It was a big game for us. It was a well-pitched game by (Matt) Waldron as advertised. It was a gutty effort tonight by our team. We did make a few mistakes, but we were able to cover them up. It was a good game. It was an intense game. It was a type of game that we expected it would be.”



OF NOTE…

  • Wetrich extended his career-high eight-game hitting streak in the bottom of the ninth.
  • Tonight marked Iowa’s 12 come-from-behind win and third walk-off of the season.
  • The victory snapped Nebraska's nine-game Big Ten winning streak.
  • Iowa improves to 13-3 at Duane Banks Field this season.
UP NEXT

Game two is set for 2:05 p.m. (CT) start and will be televised on BTN. Saturday is Hawkeye Football Day with Iowa football players signing autographs pregame from 1-1:40 p.m. (CT). Senior quarterback Nate Stanley will throw out the first pitch.
 
Second best thing about this game is that as long as it was it blocked out all but 4 minutes of a Nebby football game from 1997 when they weren’t a Big10 member.

HA!
 
Offense Erupts in Series-Clinching Win Over No. 30 Nebraska


IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team scored eight runs in the fifth inning to fuel a 17-9 victory over No. 30 Nebraska on Saturday afternoon at Duane Banks Field. The Hawkeyes (23-14, 9-5) clinched their fourth straight Big Ten series win in front of a season-high 2,414 fans.


With the game tied at three after Nebraska hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the fifth, the Hawkeyes strung together seven two-out hits starting with senior Chris Whelan’s single to put an eight-spot up against the Cornhuskers.


After Whelan’s double, senior Mitchell Boe reached on a hit-by-pitch, which brought up junior catcher Austin Martin, who doubled to the center field warning track to drive in two runs.


Then, sophomore Izaya Fullard highlighted the two-out rally with a monster home run to center field to put the Hawkeyes ahead 7-3. It was Fullard’s third home run of the season and the baraage of hits had just begun.


“I’ve never been a part of a game or inning like that,” Fullard said. “Up-and-down the lineup, guys were barreling balls and finding holes. It was fun to be a part of.”


Fullard’s homer bounced Nebraska’s starting pitcher Nate Fisher, who sat down the first nine Iowa batters he faced.


“First time through the order, he got the best of us,” Fullard said. “We stuck to our approach. We had a good scouting report going into the game. We were confident in our at-bats and what he was going to do. That second and third time through the lineup we had a good idea that we were going to break it up soon.”


And the Hawkeyes did just that, scoring four runs on four consecutive hits from junior Ben Norman, senior Tanner Wetrich, junior Zeb Adreon, and redshirt freshman Connor McCaffery off Nebraska reliever Mike Waldron who failed to record an out.


Iowa’s eighth run of the inning came on a bases-loaded walk from Mitchell Boe. Iowa led 11-3 through five innings. In the sixth, Iowa added five more two-out runs.


With the bases loaded, junior Matthew Sosa doubled home Wetrich and Norman. Whelan then singled home Sosa before Boe launched a triple to right center field. The Hawkeyes led 16-4 through six innings.


Iowa’s first three runs came off the bat of Norman, who hit is team-leading sixth home run over the right center field wall. Norman and Fullard each finished with three RBIs, while Whelan went 4-for-5 with four singles.


It was starter Cam Baumann (3-2) who earned the win after going five innings, while allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. Baumann finished the game with seven strikeouts.


QUOTING HEAD COACH RICK HELLER:

“Sometimes baseball is crazy. When a guy (Nate Fisher) is so good like that, you get anybody else out there and it just seems a little easier. We’ve been talking as a group that we felt like we’re on the verge of breaking out offensively. It happened in the fourth, fifth and sixth inning. To score eight runs with two outs – that doesn’t happen very often.


“(It was) a great crowd today. I appreciate all the Hawk fans coming out to support us. It was a wonderfuk day and a beautiful atmosphere – it couldn’t have been any better.”


OF NOTE…

  • Wetrich extended his career-high and team-best hitting streak to nine games. Wetrich’s batting average is up to .274.
  • Norman was a triple away from the cycle.
  • Iowa’s 17 runs on 17 hits only trailed Iowa’s 18 runs and 19 hits versus Evansville on March 9.
  • Iowa moves up to third in the Big Ten standings and is looking for its second sweep. The series win is Iowa’s third series win over a ranked opponent this season.
UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes conclude their three-game series with the Cornhusksers tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. (CT) at Duane Banks Field.
 
Capture.PNG
DDThompson said:
Iowa’s RPI currently at 67
Nebby’s Has dropped to 46

A win today puts Iowa in a 2nd place tie with Nebby.

HAWKS!
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I think we would need Michigan to lose. The standings is weird due to some playing a much lower amount of games. But according to this standings Iowa is only a game behind Indiana for 1st place.
 
ssckelley said:
View attachment 5274

I think we would need Michigan to lose. The standings is weird due to some playing a much lower amount of games. But according to this standings Iowa is only a game behind Indiana for 1st place.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you’re right. I think Mich has 2x-header today.

Kinda wild to think Iowa’s 5 losses (4th currently) is just a loss difference from 10th
 
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