Baseball February 18, 2008

Hawkeyes to Open in Clearwater, FL

Feb. 18, 2008

SERIES INFORMATION ? The Hawkeyes will be traveling to sunny Clearwater, FL to compete against three teams at Jack Russell Stadium.

HAWKEYES ON TELEVISION ? None

HAWKEYES ON THE AIR ? Starting with Iowa’s first home game on March 22, tune into AM- 800 KXIC. Voice of the Hawkeyes Brent Balbinot will call the play-by-play, with former Hawkeyes Troy Wulf and Kurt Vitense supplying color commentary.

HAWKEYES THIS WEEK ? Iowa will have its first meeting against the NCAA Tournament qualifying Albany Great Danes and against the Liberty Flames from the Big South Conference. The Hawkeyes will also take on Notre Dame.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, 5 P.M.
IA-Nick Erdman (JR, R/R, 6-4 , 208)
UA-TBA
NOTING: Nick Erdman enters Friday’s contest after a solid sophomore season. He was named second team all-Big Ten last season and posted a team-best 7-3 record in 12 starts and 13 appearances.

SATURDAY, 2:30 P.M.
IA- Steve Turnbull (JR, R/R, 6-3, 190)
ND- Wade Korpi (SR, R/L, 5-10,190)
NOTING: Steve Turnbull served as Iowa’s Friday starter last season and led the team with 44 strikeouts in 13 starts.

SUNDAY, 9 A.M.
IA- Michael Jacobs (SO, R/L, 6-0,180)
LU-TBA
NOTING: Michael Jacobs made 19 appearances, including two starts and posted a perfect 3-0 record last season. He was the 2006 Kansas HS Pitcher of the Year.

SCOUTING ALBANY: The Great Danes reached the NCAA Regionals for the first time in school history and captured their first America East Conference championship last year with a 27-27 record. The Great Danes will be led by junior outfielder Dave West and relief pitcher Alexander Beaulieu. Both earned first team all-conference accolades. This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME: Notre Dame returns six position starters and four starting pitchers from last season’s squad that finished 28-28. The Irish also welcome a recruiting class that was ranked fourth by Baseball America and sixth by Collegiate Baseball. The Fighting Irish will be led by third team all-Big East senior shortstop Brett Lilley. Notre Dame leads the series 40-25-1.

SCOUTING LIBERTY: The Liberty Flames are projected to finish third in the Big South this season in the league’s annual preseason baseball poll. Liberty comes off a 36-25 mark in 2007, and its second-straight appearance in the conference’s title game. Under new coach Jim Toman, the Flames return a veteran club led by senior outfielder Garrett Young, along with six of its nine starters from last season. This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

SCHEDULE STRENGTH: Iowa will play one of its toughest schedules in 2008 as it will face nine teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Hawkeyes will welcome NCAA Tournament teams Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio State to Iowa City and will take on Albany, Creighton, Michigan, Rutgers, Stetson and Vanderbilt on the road. Iowa will face three teams in conference action that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

O’ROURKE OUT: Senior pitcher Casey O’Rourke has ended his collegiate career for medical reasons following his bout with testicular cancer in 2006. He will remain on the squad as a student assistant.

O’Rourke had 11 appearances and seven starts last season. He pitched 32.2 innings and had an 8.54 ERA. The native of Williamsburg, IA, was named to the academic all-conference team last year.

HAWEKEYES HIT THE CLASSROOM: In October, the Iowa baseball team was awarded the 2007 NCAA Public Recognition Award for being in the 90% percentile of Academic Progress Report (APR) for baseball.

THE 30-WIN CLUB: The Hawkeyes’ 31 wins in 2007 were the most under Coach Jack Dahm, in his career at Iowa, and the most at Iowa since 1993. The 1993 squad posted a 32-20 record under Duane Banks.

HAWKEYE SIGN EIGHT FOR 2009: The Iowa Baseball program has signed eight recruits for next year. Nick Brown, Sean Flanagan, Cory Glieden, Jarred Hippen, Mike McQuillan, Zach Robertson, Phil Schreiber and Chett Zeise all signed national letters of intent to attend the University of Iowa.

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY : Hawkeye baseball ties run deep, and it shows in the support staff. Baseball administrator Fred Mims, academic advisor Troy Wulf and volunteer assistant coach Kris Welker are all former Iowa baseball players.

LAST SEASON: Iowa posted a 31-23 record in 2007, the Hawkeyes placed fourth in the Big Ten Conference at 17-13, and earned their second trip to the conference tournament in the last three years — this after going just once the previous 15 years.

During the season, Iowa defeated five teams (Nebraska, Fresno State, Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan) that reached the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes also posted a 12-game winning streak, which is the second-longest in school history. Included in the streak was a school-record 10-game Big Ten winning streak.

WHISTLIN’ RAY: Of all the members of the Hawkeye baseball program, the longest tenured is “Whistlin'” Ray Gilmore, who serves as Iowa’s official scorekeeper. Gilmore started as a batboy in 1978, and has since served as manager, public address announcer and unofficial mascot for Iowa Baseball. Iowa’s record since Gilmore joined the program is 833-750-3 (.526).

IN MEMORY OF ROSE GILMORE: Iowa Baseball lost a true Hawkeye January 23, 2008. Long time supporter Rose E. Gilmore (mother of Ray Gilmore) lost her battle with cancer at the age of 77. Rose was an Iowa City native who retired from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in 1996 after 19 years of dedication. Rose also served as a Captain in the US Army from 1966-1970 and was an avid Hawkeye and Cubs fan.

HEAD COACH Jack Dahm: Jack Dahm is in his fifth season as head coach of the University of Iowa baseball team.

Last season, Iowa took another step forward by recording its best record in 14 years with a 31-23 mark. The Hawkeyes placed fourth in the Big Ten Conference at 17-13. Iowa earned its second trip to the conference tournament in the last three years — this after going just once the previous 15 years.

In Dahm’s 14 years as a head coach, he has produced 23 first team all-conference performers, seven freshmen All-Americans and two All-Americans. In his four years at Iowa, Dahm has coached 19 all-Big Ten selections, including seven first teamers.

Before coming to Iowa City, Dahm spent 18 years as a member of the Creighton Bluejay baseball program. He left the Bluejays as the winningest coach in school history, having compiled 283 wins against 276 losses in 10 seasons as a head coach.

Twenty-seven of Dahm’s players have been selected in the MLB draft, while four have gone on to play in the major leagues. In the past three years, nine Hawkeyes have inked contracts with professional teams, including three this past spring.

In the classroom, Iowa is in the 90th-percentile in the NCAAs Academic Progress Report, placing them in the top 30 baseball programs, academically. During his Iowa tenure, Dahm has seen 33 players named academic all-Big Ten, including a team-record ten players in 2006. That is the best four-year total in the history of the program.

The 41-year old Dahm and his wife, Lynn, have been married 14 years. The couple has three children – sons Casey and Tyler and daughter Lyndsey.

THE ASSISTANT COACHES: Head Coach Jack Dahm is assisted by batting coach Ryan Brownlee and pitching coach Nick Zumsande, along with volunteer assistant coach Kris Welker and Director of Baseball Matt Haddy.

Ryan Brownlee enters his fifth season as Iowa’s hitting, infield instructor and recruiting coordinator.

As hitting coach, Brownlee saw the team’s batting average vault 55 points from 2005 to 2007 (.269 to .324). Additionally, the team also scored more runs (273 to 401) had more RBIs (249 to 345) and walks (152 to 245) during that time span.

Nick Zumsande enters his fifth year as the Iowa pitching coach.

Under Zumsande’s guidance, the Hawkeye pitching has had a pitcher named first team all-Big Ten three of the last four years, and a pitcher named all-conference in each of his four years.

Kris Welker is in his second year as the team’s volunteer assistant. Welker works with the Hawkeye catchers and outfielders, prepares scouting reports and coaches first base.

As a senior, Welker earned third team all-Big Ten honors, helping Iowa to a third-place finish in the Big Ten and a trip to the conference tournament. He led the team with a .354 batting average, 46 RBIs and 16 doubles. Welker also received the Bob Oldis, Jr MVP Award

Matt Haddy is in his third season as the Director of Baseball Operations for the University of Iowa.

He assists the coaching staff with the day-to-day operations and administrative areas of the program. Haddy also serves as the travel coordinator and director of Hawkeye Baseball Camps.

2008 Unity Council: The Unity Council is a group elected by their teammates to communicate internally with the coaching staff on behalf of their teammates. This years council includes: senior Ben Geelan, junior Kevin Hoef, junior Justin Toole, sophomore Tyson Blaser, sophomore Michael Jacobs and freshman Kurtis Mueller.

SAME FACES, NEW PLACES: When you look around the diamond this season, your eyes don’t deceive you. There are several familiar faces in the lineup playing different positions. Junior Kevin Hoef moved from third base to shortstop, while senior Caleb Curry moved to center field from left field.

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