For a moment, it looked like Iowa was going to pull off a ninth inning rally to walk it off in front of the fans at Principal Park. Bases loaded, two outs, winning run on second base, with Raider Tello at the plate. The crowd of over 4,000 fans came to their feet, urging Tello to come up with a clutch hit. Instead, FIU reliever Ryan Carbacas came up with a strikeout to end the game. It just wasn\u2019t the Hawkeyes night, a sentiment that has been shared far too often this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally tough loss. Really tough to stomach one like that,\u201d said head coach Rick Heller. \u201cIt just wasn\u2019t to be, so we have to bounce back and play well tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hawkeye bats finished with nine hits, but outside of a Davis Cop solo home run in the third inning, there wasn\u2019t a whole lot of offense to be had. The Florida International pitching staff struck out 13 and walked just one, while their defense made play after play. It was an uncharacteristically well played night for the Panthers, who came in to the game ranked 214th in the country in walks per nine innings and 287th in errors per game.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, they threw more strikes than advertised. We knew they had good stuff, but there was some free base stuff in the scouting reports and video, but they pounded the zone tonight,\u201d said Heller. \u201cTip your hat, they had 90 errors coming into the game. They made some big time game saving plays\u2026just a weird game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor whatever reason we were kind of out of sorts, especially in the middle of the lineup. Lot of strikeouts in the 5-6-7 spots and we just really didn\u2019t get a lot out of that. Those spots killed us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hawkeyes were hoping to avoid the top arms in the FIU bullpen, but with the Panthers leading in the sixth inning, they turned to Zac Lampton and Ryan Carbacas. The two combined to throw 4.0 scoreless innings, including seven strikeouts to no walks. Although they were able to close it out for the win, it didn\u2019t come without a bit of drama.<\/p>\n
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Will Mulflur came up with a hard hit single to keep the game alive for Iowa. In the ensuing at bat, Rick Heller opted to try a risky bunt with Cade Moss and it paid off, as he turned it into a single. The Hawkeyes were in business with the top of the order coming up. Then, down to his last strike, Andy Nelson rolled a 45-foot infield single down the third base line to load the bases. Just when you thought Iowa was going to pull out the win, their luck ran out and Raider Tello went down swinging to end the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in some weird ones this year and that one was extra weird,\u201d said Heller. \u201cWe lose on a bases loaded walk and their only true single of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the season, with the pitching staff struggles, the offense has been leaned on to score runs and keep the team in games. Tonight, outside of a rocky first inning from Brody Brecht, the pitching staff was solid, including a huge relief outing from Aaron Savary. <\/p>\n
In preperation for the Big Ten Tournament, Brecht moved up to the top spot in the rotation and was on a strict 40-50 pitch limit. Pitching on two days less rest, Brody struggled, walking four and giving up a run in his only inning on the mound. Rick Heller says that he isn\u2019t worried about the results of an abbreviated start heading into Omaha.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in a great spot. I\u2019m not going to lie, two days less rest, his bullpen day and having to be in this environment was not ideal for him in any form or fashion,\u201d said Heller. \u201cI don\u2019t put too much stock into it. I feel like he\u2019ll be ready to go when he gets the ball next week\u2026He\u2019ll want to ammend this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a tough first inning, Aaron Savary came in from the bullpen and did a really good job settling the game down, giving the Hawkeyes a chance to stay in the game. Savary allowed one run on two hits over 5.0 innings, including five strikeouts to two walks. He threw 47 of his 84 (55.9%) pitches for strikes and was above 60% for much of the night. Despite the loss, a good appearance for Aaron is a really important momentum builder going into the Big Ten Tournament.<\/p>\n