Hawkeyes slug past Ohio State in the series opener
The rain falling at Duane Banks Field varied throughout the night from a sprinkle to a moderate level. The Iowa offense went at a steady rate throughout, as they clubbed 13 hits and put up 16 runs to take down the Ohio State Buckeyes in a series opener slugfest.
“Similar to the Penn State game one, where they just said it didn’t matter what happened, we were going to find a way to win,” said head coach Rick Heller. “We knew they had potential to score runs and that they were dangerous. The plan was to try and be as clean as we can and make them earn it, but we certainly didn’t do that. Still found a way to overcome it offensively.”
The Hawkeyes wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. They took advantage of a pair of walks issued by Buckeyes starter Josh Timmerman in the first inning. Kyle Huckstorf laid down a bunt single to drive in Ben Wilmes and Iowa took an early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, the lead did not last a long time, as Brody Brecht struggled with command issues for a second consecutive week. He walked three and hit two batters over the first two innings, but got out of both jams to preserve the lead.
In the third inning, a walk, a double and a reached by fielder’s choice loaded the bases for OSU. Mitchell Okuley got the Buckeyes on the board with an RBI 5U-3 double play, but it was the Nick Erwin RBI double that followed that gave Ohio State a 2-1 lead. It also knocked Brecht out of the game after just 2.2 innings on the mound. His final line showed two runs on two hits, with six free bases to two strikeouts.
“I think it was a lot better than it was. Wasn’t what he wanted or what we wanted, but he fought and he fought through some jams,” said Heller. “He wants to be out there and he doesn’t want to come out. We just have to keep working on trying to avoid putting leadoff guys on without earning it and putting ourselves in bases loaded, first and second, nobody out.”
“We just have to keep improving and keep working towards more consistency. There were times it seemed like he made really good pitches.”
The Hawkeye offense was missing Keaton Anthony, but despite that, they had their sophomore pitchers back. A pair of singles and a hit by pitch loaded the bases in the third inning with nobody out. Brennen Dorighi walked up to the plate and took a 3-1 pitch off the batters eye in centerfield for a grand slam to put the Hawkeyes on top 5-2. Sam Petersen followed with a two-run moonshot to left field later in the inning and all the sudden Iowa led 7-2.
“First pitch was changeup down and when I was able to just take that pitch right there, I was trying to make sure I got a pitch in the middle of the plate,” said Brennen Dorighi. “I knew he was going to come with a bunch of fastballs. He was struggling to find the zone a little bit and I wanted to get my best swing off if I got my pitch and that’s what happened.”
“Recently, all teams have been trying to work fastball in. Since returning from injury, it’s been a pitch I’ve struggled with,” said Sam Petersen. “I’ve kind of learned to sit on it a little.”
Iowa added on in the fourth inning, but it was reliever Jacob Gehring that helped the cause. He walked the first four batters of the inning, while a walk by Brennen Dorighi brought in a run. Sam Petersen added a sacrifice fly later and the Hawkeyes extended their lead to 9-2.
On the other end, the Hawkeye pitching staff didn’t have the best night. They allowed the Buckeyes to put runs on the board and keep the game within moderate striking distance. A two-run double from Henry Kaczmar off of Jack Whitlock cut the lead to 9-4. Luckily for Iowa, the offense never stopped scoring. Leading 10-4 in the sixth, Sam Petersen slugged his second home run, a solo shot, to make it 11-4. After a Sam Hojnar single, Michael Seegers delivered an RBI triple to extend their lead to eight runs.
“There’s been times this year where the pitchers have picked us up, so just one of those nights where we had to pick them up,” said Petersen. “The two groups are really tight. Nobody blames each other when the other side is struggling. We just always work to pick each other up.”
The Buckeyes battled back in the seventh. An error by Ben Wilmes in right field allowed a run to score, while a pinch-hit two-run single from Joey Aden off of reliever Jared Simpson cut the lead down to 12-7. Then in the eighth inning, a two-run double from Nick Erwin whittled the Iowa lead down to 13-9. The Hawkeyes delivered the knockout blow in the bottom of the inning.
Iowa tagged reliver Jameson Campbell for three hits to begin the inning, including an RBI double from Sam Hojnar and another RBI triple from Michael Seegers. Seegers later scored on an error to make it 16-9 Hawkeyes. Luke Llewellyn struck out the side in the ninth to clinch a series victory for the Hawkeyes. It made the postgame fireworks a celebratory affair for the team.
“It was just an impressive night (offensively). We had guys getting on base and then guys delivering the blow,” said Heller. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. On a tough night, they came out and played hard.”
Every starter scored a least one run and eight of nine batters reached base at least twice. Sam Petersen led the way with three hits and two home runs, while Sam Hojnar, Michael Seegers and Cade Moss each had two hits. Ben Wilmes drew three walks and scored three runs. The offense was 8/21 (.381) with runners on base and 5/14 (.357) with runners in scoring position.
While the pitching staff struggled overall with 12 free bases and eight hits allowed, they were able to get out of some jams. The Buckeyes were just 4/19 (.211) with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners stranded.
Up next for the Hawkeyes…
With the win, Iowa moves to 33-11 on the season and 9-6 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes move up to fourth place in the Big Ten standings. Up next, it will be game two in the series against the Buckeyes. It will be Marcus Morgan on the mound for Iowa, while Gavin Bruni will take the mound for Ohio State. First pitch is set for 1:05pm on the Big Ten Network,
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