Hawkeyes punch first, defeat Nebraska in the series opener
Rivalry series. Key conference series. NCAA Tournament implications. The Hawkeyes coming into the weekend that it was an important three-game set against Nebraska and they threw the first punch with an 11-6 series opening victory on Friday evening. Iowa used two five-run innings en route to the Friday night win.
“They came out and fought hard. I thought our at-bats were really good most of the night. We wanted to get Olson’s pitch count up and get him out of the game as quick as possible and we were able to do that,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Intense game, awesome crowd coming out to support us on a cold night. Great way to start the series, especially when we need to get back into the (Big Ten) race.”
The pitching matchup was a good one as it featured Nebraska’s Emmett Olson going up against Iowa’s Brody Brecht. Both pitcher’s have had really solid seasons, but it wasn’t quite the pitcher’s duel that some may have expected.
The first punch of the weekend came from the Iowa offense in the second inning. The Hawkeyes got on the board with a solid dose of Hellerball. Michael Seegers laid down a bunt to bring in Kyle Huckstorf and get the scoring was underway early. Cade Moss followed with a two-out RBI single and Iowa was out to a 2-0 lead. The inning easily could have ended with the next at bat, but Ben Wilmes legged out an RBI single to get keep the inning alive. It paid dividends, as Keaton Anthony delivered a three-run home run to make it 5-0 Hawkeyes.
“That’s just the type of player (Ben Wilmes) is. He’s a scrappy guy and found a way to get on base a few times tonight. That was really really crucial,” said Coach Heller. “You just felt like Keaton was going to do something like that tonight. You could just see it in his face and watching him in BP.”
“My first swing, I was right on a fastball on the outer half. Just missed it,” said Keaton Anthony. “He came back with another fastball and it kind of surprised me. I was thinking soft the rest of the time. Then he spikes a curveball and it was 2-1. He had to come at me, but I knew he probably wasn’t going to come at me with a fastball. He left a slider over the outside part of the plate. It’s a great pitch for me to go the other way with it and I just got my best swing off on it.”
On the mound for Iowa, Brody Brecht got the start, but for the second straight week he had to fight through some adversity. He worked around two walks in each of the first two innings, but bounced back with a 1-2-3 inning after the Hawkeyes put up five runs. A couple more walks in the fourth inning got things started for Nebraska. A wild pitch from Brecht scored Garrett Anglim, while an RBI infield single from Dylan Carey cut the Iowa lead down to 5-2.
In the bottom of the inning, three straight one-out walks issued by Huskers reliever Corbin Hawkins loaded the bases. He wiggled off the hook with just one run allowed, as a Raider Tello RBI groundout is all the Iowa offense could muster. The 6-2 lead did not last long and the outing for Brody Brecht did not either.
Brice Matthews led off the fifth inning with a double, while a hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. The day on the mound ended for Brody after 4.0+ innings. He struck out seven and allowed just two hits, but seven walks did him in. The fastball command just was not there for him and Brody was pretty matter of fact in the postgame talk.
“Bad (outing). Not acceptable. I feel like I’m a lot better pitcher than what I’ve been showing lately and I’ve just got to clean some stuff up. I’ve got to locate the fastball. Can’t just be having one pitch,” said Brecht. “My shoulders are opening too quick and I’m starting to yank it. I was cutting the ball tonight and I haven’t done that since my freshman year. I just have to slow my upper body down and just be straight through the catcher…I got to get back to the cones. I’ve got to start doing the drills and just get me straight to the catcher.”
Jack Whitlock came on from the bullpen and was able to limit the damage for the most part. A bases loaded hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly from Gabe Swansen plated two Nebraska runs, but the Hawkeyes escaped the inning with a 6-4 lead. Whitlock had another good outing. He went 2.1 innings with five strikeouts, while the two hits he allowed were back-to-back in the seventh inning. Luke Llewellyn was able to come in and get a 4-6-3 double play to end that threat.
The seventh inning is also where the Hawkeyes put the game away. Two walks and a hit loaded the bases off of reliever Jake Bunz. Shay Schanaman was next in line out of the bullpen, but Iowa added onto their lead in a big way. Michael Seegers got things started with a sacrifice fly, while an errant throw from shortstop Brice Matthews on a Cade Moss ground ball plated another Hawkeye run.
“We’re proud of our guys for just continuing to find a way and that was what we talked about with the offense tonight. Listen, if we have to score four, we score four. If we have to score seven, we score seven, if we have to score 12, we score 12,” said Coach Heller. “We just have to do whatever we have to do whatever we have to do to score more runs (than Nebraska).”
A walk from Ben Wilmes loaded the bases again and brought up Keaton Anthony in an RBI spot. As you would expect, he delivered a two-run single to get the Hawkeyes to double digit runs. A bases loaded walk later in the inning made it 11-4 Iowa and all the sudden they were in full control.
“It just makes us feel a lot more comfortable in here and on the field. There’s not a ton of pressure (with a big lead),” said Anthony. “Having a seven-run lead paid dividends in the ninth. They scored two runs.”
Luke Llewellyn got through 1.2 innings without much trouble, but lost his command in the ninth inning, which allowed the Huskers to plate a couple of runs. RBI singles from Max Anderson and Gabe Swansen cut the lead to 11-6, but Jacob Henderson came on and got a fly out to end the game.
“I feel really good about where we’re at and we’ll see if we can follow it up and show some toughness tomorrow (in cold weather),” said Heller. “That was the message to the team is, we need to show up tomorrow, we need to show up Sunday with that same focus and that same energy and that same toughness.”
A key point for the Hawkeyes was what the damage they were able to do to the Nebraska pitching staff in the first game of a three-game series. The offense knocked the Huskers best starter, Emmett Olson, out of the game after just 2.1 innings (64 pitches) and forced them to use their best arms out of the bullpen. Corbin Hawkins threw 42 pitches, which likely ends his weekend, while Jake Bunz and Shay Schanaman each threw under 20 pitches. The Nebraska coaching staff played their best cards tonight, which could help the Hawkeyes the rest of the weekend.
“That was what we had hoped we could do. Olson dominated us last year and pitched as well against us, as anybody the whole season last year. I thought we had a good plan and I thought our guys executed as far as not chasing,” said Heller. “Last year, he just pounded us inside with fastballs and got us to chase the breaking ball. Today, he was missing enough with the fastball, that he left some balls over the plate and we were able to hammer them.”
“We were able to see all those (top arms) tonight and even though they’ll still bounce back and come back (this weekend), it’s always a little tougher the second or third time, so good to get them out there on Friday night.”
Keaton Anthony led the way on offense with a game-high four hits and four RBI’s, which bumped his average up to .378 for the season. He did most of the damage, as the other five hits came from five other players. Three players drew two walks, including Ben Wilmes who finished with two walks, one hit and three runs scored. Kyle Huckstorf and Sam Hojnar each scored two runs.
Up next for the Hawkeyes…
With the win, Iowa moves to 27-10 and an even 5-5 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes make a six spot leap up to #52 in the RPI, with more potential ground to gain the rest of the weekend. Iowa will look to clinch a series victory tomorrow. Marcus Morgan will take the mound for the Hawkeyes, while it will be Jace Kaminska for the Huskers. First pitch is set for 2:05pm on BTN+.
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