Ben Wilmes starting to flourish in his new role
Iowa Baseball sophomore Ben Wilmes comes from a sports family. Both of his parents attended Grand View University in Des Moines. His dad, Alan, played baseball, while his mom, Andrea, played softball. Two of his sisters, Abbey (Grand View) and Brooke (Missouri) played collegiate softball, while a third sister, Bailey, played collegiate soccer at Simpson College in Indianola. The sports connections run even deeper, as his grandfather Lou Yacinich was the head coach of the Grand View baseball program for 48 years, before retiring at the conclusion of last season.
Given his families background in collegiate sports, it’s no surprise to see Ben contributing to the Hawkeyes 30-10 record that has them projected to make the NCAA Tournament with four weeks remaining in the regular season. He’s also done his fair share of work to get on the field in the first place.
Although Ben was recruited to be a utility player by the Iowa coaching staff, he spent nearly all of his time playing shortstop for the Johnston Dragons in high school. As a true freshman last year, Wilmes started eight games at third base due to injuries sustained by Brendan Sher and Andy Nelson. He started seven games at second base and an additional six games in left field because Coach Rick Heller wanted him in the lineup, but the infield was full. Over this past offseason, Wilmes added catching to his arsenal, but has found a home in left field, where he has made 23 starts this season.
“I was recruited as a utility player. Of course, I played shortstop in high school, but I always played all nine positiions whenever I could,” said Wilmes. “It’s good that we finally found myself a spot, but whatever the teams needs, I’m there for it.”
While Ben was able to play and learn all nine positions prior to arriving at Iowa, there is a difference between playing behind the plate or in the outfield in high school and doing it at the college level.
“I’m just glad to have upperclassmen like Brayden Frazier, Ben Tallman and Cade Moss to help me out. Whatever position that is. I had Brendan Sher at third last year and he helped me quite a bit at second and third,” said Ben. “Once I moved to the outfield, Frazier kind of took me under his wing and Tallman has done the same thing in the fall with catching, so that was pretty nice.”
This season started with Wilmes on the bench. He started just two of the first 18 games and got just 20 plate appearances. His starts came against Coe College and the series finale against Texas Tech. Although he was not getting a ton of playing time, the Hawkeyes were winning, which makes sitting on the bench a bit more enjoyable. Still, Ben waited for an opportunity to arise.
“The mindset was very simple. We were winning, so it didn’t matter if I was on the field or not. I just hope to play that role of the guy whenever they need me and if they don’t need me and we still win, then it really doesn’t matter at the end of the day.”
In the series finale of a brutally cold series against South Dakota State, rightfielder Chase Moseley went down with a hamstring injury. All the sudden, Ben Wilmes was needed. Two weeks later, Sam Petersen went down with a finger injury against Maryland. That further solidified Ben’s spot in the lineup.
“He’s done an awesome job and Ben was chomping at the bit to get out there and was being patient working on some things that we ask him to work on that would make that happen,” said Coach Heller.
The last 15 games have seen him move into another new role. Ben has been the leadoff man in the starting lineup. He got off to a slow start, as he was just 3/19 (.157) with four walks over his first five games batting in the leadoff spot. He said that nothing changed with his mindset despite that early struggle.
“Role didn’t really change. My approach in the box speaks for itself, so whether I’m first, second or ninth, I’m just going to go out there and do the same thing everytime.”
“One of the rules that I like to play by, is getting the pitch count up as much as possible. Whether that’s one pitch and a barrel or it’s a 12-pitch walk, that’s always what I’m looking to do just one pitch at a time, every time.”
That commitment to being himself in the batters box has started to pay off over the last couple of weeks. He is batting .353 with 12 hits over the last ten games, including a pair of home runs, the first two of his Iowa career. Ben’s on-base percentage for the season up to .473, as he is second on the team with 25 walks and has an additional six hit by pitches. His 21.7% walk rate ranks 20th in the entire country.
“He’s been just outstanding in the leadoff spot. He gets on base at a crazy high rate,” said Heller. “Keep working on cutting strikeouts down a little bit. I know he’s always going to have elite strike zone discipline and take his walks and find ways to get on base. That’s why he’s up there. He has a tremendous knack for getting on base.”
“Been feeling really good. Our coaching staff puts us in a really good spot before the game, so that helps us quite a bit,” said Wilmes. “As the old guys say, they face some Big Ten pitchers, so they tell me what’s on the scouting report, but just using the knowledge to my advantage, that has been the biggest part (of my success).”
After missing nine games, Sam Petersen has returned the lineup to play right field. Chase Moseley is still working back from his hamstring injury, but the coaching staff could go to veterans like Brayden Frazier or Brennen Dorighi to fill that last outfield spot. Instead, Wilmes continues to be a staple in the starting lineup.
“It’s really good that Petey is back. We really needed him, although he won’t say so. I’ll say it for him, but it’s pretty nice just to stay in the lineup when I can. At the same time, I’m making sure everyone else is good just in case I go down (with an injury).”
As mentioned before, the Hawkeyes have themselves in a position to make the NCAA Tournament. While the RPI right now is in a good spot and they have climbed back up the Big Ten standings, there are still big weekend series remaining on the schedule. The Hawkeyes travel to Penn State this weekend, before returning to Iowa City for weekends against Ohio State and Michigan State. Ben is looking to stay on track and help the team reach their goal of winning the regular season title and making the NCAA Tournament.
“Just trying to dominate my role, my one-ninth as Coach Sutherland says. It’s really just taking it one day at a time. We’re going to go get Penn State on Friday,”
The Hawkeyes series opener on Friday against the Nittany Lions is set for a 4:00pm first pitch on the Big Ten Network.
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