Baseball / March 3, 2008

Hawkeyes to Travel to Springfield, MO

March 3, 2008

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SERIES INFORMATION: The Hawkeyes will be traveling to Springfield, MO to compete against Missouri State at Hammons Field.

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 ON THE NET: Iowa baseball fans can follow the Hawkeyes this week, as live stats will be available on www.hawkeyesports.com. Just click on the Gametracker link found on both the front page and the baseball schedule page.

HAWKEYES THIS WEEK: The Bears are picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference this season after finishing with a 23-34 record in 2007. MSU will be led by senior outfielders Nolan Keane and Ben Woodbury, and by senior catcher Kyle Paul. The series is even, 5-5.

at Missouri St., 3 p.m., Friday
at Missouri St., 2 p.m., Saturday
at Missouri St., 1 p.m., Sunday

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE: The Bears record is 5-2 this season. They finished 2-2 against the University of Central Arkansas last weekend. Right fielder Nolan Keane had a standout weekend for the Bears, going 8-for-15 in the series.

Last season, the Bears finished 23-34 and 7-17 in the MVC.

Missouri State will be led by offensive threats, Kyle Paul, Nolan Keane and Ben Woodbury.

The series is even, 5-5.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, 3 P.M.
IA- Brock Alberts (RHP, SR, R/R, 6-0, 170)
MSU-Tim Clubb (RHP)
NOTING: Alberts last outing was against Xavier. He pitched five and one-third innings of relief, allowing no runs on five hits with 10 strike outs.

SATURDAY, 2 P.M.
IA- Michael Jacobs (LHP, SO, L/R, 6-0, 180)
MSU- Aaron Meade (LHP)
NOTING: Jacobs got his first win against Vanderbilt. In the start he pitched six innings, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out three. He has is now 1-1.

SUNDAY, 1 P.M.
IA- Nick Erdman (RHP, SR, R/R, 6-4, 208)
MSU-Buddy Baumann (LHP)
NOTING: Erdman has made two starts, this season and has a 1-0 record. He has posted a 3.12 ERA in eight and one-third innings pitched.

MUSIC CITY CLASSIC SUMMARY: The Hawkeyes pulled out a win, 12-9, against Xavier despite having three errors. The Hawkeyes had 15 hits and took advantage of five Musketeer errors to propel them to a 2-2 record. The Hawkeyes only allowed three earned runs in the contest and Brock Alberts got the win, pitching five and one-third innings only giving up five hits and striking out ten.

The highlight of the tournament was Iowa’s second game. Iowa upset No. 5 Vanderbilt in a 6-3 win. The Hawkeyes capitalized on four Commodore errors, utilized the bunt and continued to swing the bat well–out hitting Vanderbilt 14-9.

Michael Jacobs gave the Hawkeyes a solid start and earned the win, pitching six innings and only allowing three earned runs and seven hits. The Hawkeye bullpen threw three quality innings, Jason Belk, Andrew Porter and Matt Mossey all pitched, allowing no Commodore runs and only two hits. Mossey received his first save.

Second inning errors caused problems for the Hawkeyes Sunday afternoon. Iowa lost 9-5 against Kansas, dropping its record to 3-3 on the year. After out hitting No. 5 Vanderbilt Saturday, Iowa struggled to score runs and were over powered by Kansas’ offense. Iowa allowed four Jayhawk doubles and one homerun in the game.

In the loss, Caleb Curry and Kyle Riffel extended their hitting streak to six games.

STRIKING OUT THE COMPETITION: Senior Brock Alberts had a great season debut against Xavier last weekend. He came in the game during the fourth and pitched five and one-third innings, allowing no runs on five hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts having faced 21 batters.

HOT HITTING: Junior Wes Freie had a stellar weekend in Nashville. The first basemen was 9-for-12 with a double, homerun, two RBI and two walks. He led the team with a .750 batting average and .786 on base percentage.

Freie also led the Hawkeyes in the Vanderbilt win, going a perfect 4-for-4 with an RBI.

Senior Caleb Curry also continued to swing the bat well for the Hawkeyes. Curry hit 5-for-13 (.385) in the tournament with five RBIs.

TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM: The Hawkeyes have gotten hit by 13 pitches so far this season, with Kevin Hoef leading the team with four. In contrast, Iowa pitchers have only hit six total opponents in six games this season.

IOWA OFFENSE IS STREAKING: Kyle Riffel and Caleb Curry continued their hitting streak last weekend and are currently on a six-game rampage.

On top of that, Curry and Kevin Hoef both have four multi-hit games, while Justin Toole has four multi-RBI games.

DIAMOND THIEVES: This weekend the Hawkeyes continuted to run on opponents, going 8-12 in stolen bases, compared to last week’s 10-11. Iowa, in the past six games, have only given up three total stolen bases. Juniors Kevin Hoef and Justin Toole led the aggressive Hawkeyes last weekend with four total.

BREAKING THE RECORD BOOK: After being hit by two pitches in the Music City Classic, junior Kevin Hoef became the Iowa all-time leader of career hit-by-pitches with 33.

TWO-OUT TRIUMPHS: The Hawkeyes are hitting .365 with two-outs this season, driving in 22 runs. In contrast, Iowa’s opponents have hit a mere .268 against the Hawkeyes. Iowa pitchers only allowed 12 runs with two-outs.

ON DECK FOR THE HAWKEYES:
vs. Rutgers- Mar. 15-16
DeLand,FL – Conrad Park

Rutgers captured both the Big East Regular Season and Tournament Titles in 2007. This season, they are led by pitcher Casey Gaynor, outfielder Jarred Jimenez and DH Jon Gossard.

vs. Stetson- Mar. 18-19
DeLand,FL – Conrad Park

Stetson is 1-2 on the season. The Hatters are led by 2008 Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American closer, Robbie Elsemiller.