March 3, 2010
- K. Muller Blog
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch (2009-10 Season)
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
Complete Release in PDF Format
THE SETTING: After a successful weekend at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge the Hawkeyes will bus down to Lawrence, KS, to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in a four-game series, Friday-Sunday. This road trip marks the halfway point in the Hawkeyes’ 18 straight games on the road to start the season.
ON THE NET: Iowa baseball fans can follow the Hawkeyes, as live stats will be available on hawkeyesports.com. Just click on the Gametracker link found on both the front page and the baseball schedule page. Whistlin’ Ray Gilmore enters his 33rd season with the Hawkeye baseball program and will be entering the stats.
ON WEBCAST: Hawkeye fans interested in listening along to this weekend’s action can. Kansas will be doing free audio only webcasts for all four games. Go to kuathletics.com and navigate to the baseball schedule, click on the audio link.
SCOUTING KANSAS: The Jayhawks are 4-2 after a loss Tuesday night to Arkansas. Leading Kansas in the loss, offensively, was clean up hitter Jimmy Waters. Waters went 2-for-4 with a double, homer and two RBI. This season the left fielder leads the Jayhawks in home runs (1), runs scored (8), hits (6), walks (9) and on base percentage (.600). Kansas’ pitching staff is solid with a 4.25 team ERA. The Jayhawks are led by starting senior Carmeron Selik. Selik boasts a .68 ERA with two wins in 13.1 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts. Reliever Brett Bochy has the Jayhawks lone save amassing four innings in two appearances and striking out eight.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES: Iowa trails the all-time series against Kansas, 11-7. The last time the two schools faced, Kansas won 9-3 on April 8, 2009 in Iowa City. In the loss, Nick Brown led the team at DH, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and six Hawkeyes recorded a hit.
BY THE NUMBERS: >Iowa has not lost a game so far this season when leading after the third inning. > The Hawkeyes have outscored their opponents, 49-38, this season. > Iowa has out-hit all five opponents it has faced. > As a team, the Black and Gold are hitting .397 with two outs, that includes 19 two-out RBI. > The pitching staff hasn’t allowed one round tripper this season, and lefties are hitting a mere .213 against them.
STACKING UP IN THE BIG TEN: The Iowa offense continued to tear it up at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge, especially when compared to other Big Ten teams. The Hawkeyes rank first in Big Ten batting average (.366), slugging percentage (.560), triples (4), sacrifice flies (4) and sacrifice bunts (4). They rank in the top three in: on base percentage (2nd, .429), runs scored (2nd, 49), hits (2nd, 70), home runs (2nd, 6), total bases (2nd, 107) and stolen bases (3rd, 9) The pitching staff also stacks up in the conference, they rank in the top four in: saves (1st, 2), wins (3rd, 3), hits allowed (4th, 49) and home runs allowed (1st, 0). The Iowa defense ranks fourth in the conference in double plays (5).
BIG TEN GAME HIGHS: The Hawkeyes racked up two more conference game highs over the weekend against West Virginia. Iowa laced two triples (off the bats of Trevor Willis and Mike McQuillan) and also collected two sacrifice flies (by Ryan Durant and Sean Flanagan). Iowa also hold Big Ten game highs in home runs (6) and total bases. Four home runs in the win over Illinois State ties with Michigan and Northwestern. Total bases, with 35, against Illinois State.
DURANT DELIVERS: The senior outfielder had a stellar weekend in Florida. Ryan Durant went 6-for-11 with a double, two-run homer, six RBI, a walk and two sacrifice flies to lead Iowa. He hit a whopping .909 slugging percentage, as well, from the clean-up spot. MULLER CONTINUES: After a 2009 season of lingering injuries, junior outfielder Kurtis Muller was back to his old self this summer. He continued to deliver in Iowa’s second weekend. Muller went 5-for-10 with three runs scored, a stolen base and two RBI. On the year, Muller is hitting .476 with a team-best seven runs scored, two doubles and one triple.
WILLIS GETS HOT: Junior Trevor Willis led Iowa in batting average over the weekend (.556) going 5-for-9 with 1.000 slugging percentage. He hit two doubles, walked and laid down a sac bunt.
LEE `SAVES’ ANOTHER ONE: New Hawkeye closer Kevin Lee picked up his second career save against Rutgers, picking up the 27th out by-way of a ground out. Lee recorded his first against Illinois State. He went one and on-third innings allowing no runs on one hit.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: With a 2-1 record, Iowa had several quality performances this weekend in Florida. Sophomore pitcher Jarred Hippen and senior outfielder Ryan Durant, however, were the two Hawkeyes to earn second team all-tournament honors by collegebaseball360.com. Hippen got his first win of the season, by-way of an eight and two-third innings performance with eight Ks and only one walk. Durant went 6-for-11 with a double, homer and six RBI.
HAWKEYES ARE STREAKIN’: Junior Kurtis Muller entered the 2010 season with a 12-game hitting streak intact. With hot bat so far this season, Muller continued on to a 16-game streak. Other Hawkeyes on a roll from a year ago who continued are: Chett Zeise (6). Ryan Durant and Mike McQuillan both have a five-game hitting streak, after recording a hit in each of Iowa’s games this season.
OFFENSIVE RANKINGS: When compared among Big Ten/Big East players last weekend, Trevor Willis’ offensive performance ranked sixth, Ryan Durant’s ranked 11th and Kurtis Muller’s ranked12th of all athletes who participated in at least two games and compiled at least seven at-bats. IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL: Sophomore Jarred Hippen had a long day in his win against Rutgers Friday. The lefty went eight and two-third innings, which was both a career best and a conference season-best. (The last time a Hawkeye went eight and two-third innings was Nick Brown against Indiana Apr. 10, 2009). Besides that, Hippen was one strikeout from his personal best (9, Michigan) and one from tying the Big Ten’s game-high.
QUALITY STARTS: The Hawkeyes got three quality starts out of their pitchers at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. Friday starter Jarred Hippen went eight and two-third innings. Saturday starter Phil Schrieber went five innings and Sunday starter Zach Robertson went five and one-third innings. The three pitchers recorded two wins and a no-decision. SANDQUIST SHUTS IT DOWN: Freshman righty Ricky Sandquist got his first action as a Hawkeye Sunday, pitching the final inning in the 11-2 victory over the previously undefeated Villanova. Sandquist struck out two in his first outing.
LEE CONTRIBUTES: Junior transfer Kurtis Lee came up big in Florida for the Hawkeyes. The shortstop played flawless defense in Iowa’s 6-3 victory over Rutgers. Lee knocked in a total of six runs with a double, sacrifice fly and sac bunt over the weekend. The nine-hole hitter has four two-out RBI this season, a team best.
PITCHING STAFF: The Hawkeye bullpen featured five pitching that threw for 6.2 innings combined, allowing only one earned run and striking out seven. Zach Kenyon went two and two-third innings allowing no runs on three hits. Patrick Schatz went one and two-third innings allowing no earned runs on three hits, Ricky Sandquist went one inning, allowing no runs with two strikeouts and Kevin Lee went one out to earn a save.