Myrtle Beach Bound

Feb. 21, 2012

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Complete Release

THE SETTING:
Iowa continues action this weekend at the Coastal Carolina Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Hawkeyes will face three opponents on the road trip: Coastal Carolina (Friday, 3 p.m. CT), George Mason (Saturday, 10 a.m. CT) and Virginia Tech (Sunday, 9 a.m. CT). Friday, the Hawkeyes will play Coastal Carolina at BB&T Coastal Field, the home venue of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a class A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Iowa will play the final two games at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field, the home venue of Coastal Carolina.

ON THE NET:
Iowa baseball fans can follow the Hawkeyes with live stats (Gametracker) on hawkeyesports.com. Click on the GT link found on both the front page and the baseball schedule page.

ROAD WARRIORS:
Iowa’s first 16 games will be away from Iowa City. Following the Coastal Carolina Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Hawkeyes will compete at the Austin Peay/River View Inn Classic in Clarksville, Tenn. (March 2-4), and the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla. (March 10-16). Iowa was 7-12 in true road games and 6-7 in neutral site contests in 2011. The Hawkeyes opened the season in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge in Tampa, Fla., tallying a 1-2 record at neutral sites.

SCOUTING COASTAL CAROLINA:
Coastal Carolina, led by head coach 17th-year head coach Gary Gilmore, is 1-2. They defeated James Madison (7-1) to open the season, before falling to No. 17 Virginia (9-3) and Boston College (8-3). The Chanticleers were ranked 35th in the NCBWA preseason poll. Coastal Carolina advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, finishing with a 42-20 record. Friday will mark the first ever meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING GEORGE MASON:
George Mason is led by head coach Bill Brown. Brown is in his 31st season as head coach of the Patriots. George Mason is 1-2 to start the year. They defeated Appalachian State Friday (2-1), before dropping both games of a doubleheader at Elon Saturday (4-1 and 4-3). Iowa has never faced George Mason on the diamond.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH:
Virginia Tech, led by sixth-year head coach Pete Hughes, is 3-1. The Hokies have defeated Bradley twice, and split two contests with Kennesaw State. The Hawkeyes are 2-1 all-time against Virginia Tech.

ZEISE STARTS HOT:
Senior Chett Zeise opened the season with a stellar weekend in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. The Green Bay, Wis., native started all three games at third base. He finished 6-of-12, with three doubles, two RBI and two walks.

HAWKEYE SENIORS:
The Hawkeyes have 11 seniors on the roster: LHP/DH Patrick Brennan, RHP Nick Brown, SS Kasey Carling, UT Andrew Ewing, RHP Tim Fangman, OF/IF Sean Flanagan, LHP, Jarred Hippen, IF/RHP Phil Keppler, RHP Patrick Lala, IF Mike McQuillan and IF Chett Zeise.

BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE RECAP
The Hawkeyes opened the season with a 7-5 win over Pittsburgh Friday. With the game tied, 5-5, in the bottom of the seventh, senior Sean Flanagan delivered the game-winning hit. The designated hitter clubbed his second double of the game, allowing Phil Keppler and Dan Sheppard to cross home plate for the winning runs. Senior Tim Fangman pitched 3.1 scoreless innings to get the win. Saturday, Iowa led Notre Dame 2-1 in the eighth inning, before eventually falling 5-2. Sunday, the game was tied at 2-2 in the eighth, before West Virginia eventually won 4-3 in the challenge finale.

CLOSE CALLS:
The Hawkeyes held a lead or were tied in the eighth inning of all three Big Ten/Big East Challenge games last weekend.

FRESH STARTS:
Five Hawkeye freshmen saw action in the opening weekend. Jake Yacinich started Saturday at shortstop, Eric Toole saw action in all three games in left, and Ryan Rumpf saw action in two contests as a pinch hitter. On the bump, Sasha Kuebel started and Taylor Kaufman appeared in relief on Sunday.

HIPPEN GARNERS PRESEASON ATTENTION:
Jarred Hippen, a senior left-hander, is a two-time second team All-Big Ten honoree and a 2010 All-Big Ten Tournament team selection. He was one of three pitchers named to the 2012 Big Ten Preseason All-Conference First Team by College Sports Madness. Hippen ranks among the top 20 active pitchers with 182 career strikeouts. He also ranks first in the Big Ten. In addition, he ranks tied for seventh nationally, and first in the conference, with eight career complete games.

ACES WILD – HIPPEN:
Jarred Hippen has been Iowa’s ace since his freshman campaign. A year ago, Hippen started 14 games. He tossed four complete games and one complete game shutout. Hippen nearly threw a perfect game, allowing only one hit at Minnesota (Apr. 29). The outing marked Iowa’s first one-hitter since Troy Wulf one-hit Southwest Missouri State on March 14, 1998. Hippen tossed 94.2 innings and recorded an ERA of 3.14, finishing with a 4-6 record.

ACES WILD – DERMODY:
Left-hander Matt Dermody returns for his junior season. He was selected in Major League Baseball’s 2011 First-Year Player Draft by the Colorado Rockies in the 29th round (888th pick). Dermody finished 4-6 in 2011, and led the Big Ten with 75 strikeouts, which tied for 10th-most in a season in Iowa history.

NEWCOMER ON THE MOUND:
Freshman LHP Sasha Kuebel is the third starter in the Hawkeye rotation to open the season. The St. Louis native was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round (946th pick) of the 2011 MLB Draft. He was the Missouri State Pitcher of the Year as a senior. In his first start for the Hawkeyes last Sunday against West Virginia, Kuebel got a no-decision, throwing four and a third, allowing two runs on four hits.

ZEUTENHORST FINDS HIS STRIDE:
Taylor Zeutenhorst was a rock in the Iowa lineup during his rookie campaign. The Sheldon, Iowa, native recorded six multi-hit games and four multiple RBI games and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. He batted .261 in 88 at-bats with 15 RBI and ranked third on the team with 10 two-out RBI, all of which came against Big Ten competition, ranking first on the team. In conference action, Zeutenhorst batted .320 to rank second among Big Ten freshmen outfielders.

‘Q’:
Mike McQuillan, known as `Q’ by his teammates and coaches, returns for his season in 2012. The Evergreen Park, Ill., native has hit over .300 in each of his first three seasons in the Black and Gold. McQuillan, who has started 133 career games, led Iowa in batting average (.330), hits (66), at-bats (200), RBI (31), walks (27) and on-base percentage (.410) a year ago.

ONE THOUSAND
Iowa’s first game of the season against Pittsburgh, a 7-5 victory, marked the 1,000th career game for head coach Jack Dahm. He is 474-526-2 all-time (283-276-2 at Creighton, 191-250 at Iowa).

DUANE BANKS FIELD:
In 2010, the Hawkeyes added 500 chair back seats behind home plate of Duane Banks Field. The chair backs allow Hawkeye fans to purchase season tickets. Last year, Duane Banks Field underwent a facelift, with a complete resurfacing of the field. New sod, dirt and drainage system were installed. Additionally, new batting cages were put in place down the right field line. In 2009, the UI Recreation Building underwent a complete makeover. Improvements included: a new locker room, lounge, training room and weight room for the baseball program. The Hawkeyes open their home schedule against Grand View on March 21. Iowa opens the Big Ten slate March 23-25 with a three-game set against Northwestern. The Hawkeyes have not played the Wildcats since 2009.

THE ASSISTANT COACHES:
Head Coach Jack Dahm is assisted by coach Ryan Brownlee and pitching coach Chris Maliszewski, along with volunteer assistant coach Brian Miller and undergraduate assistant coach Dusty Napoleon. Brownlee is in his ninth season at Iowa. Over the past 11 seasons, Brownlee has had 28 players he coached or recruited drafted; two more signed free agent contracts. In the past three years, Kurtis Muller, Patrick Schatz, Steve Turnbull, Kyle Heim, Mike Schurz and recruits Matt Dermody, Dan Sheppard, Patrick Lala, Taylor Zeutenhorst, Derrick Loveless, Sasha Kuebel and Nick Hibbing were drafted by major league teams. In six years of coaching summer collegiate leagues, he has seen 33 of his players sign pro contracts, including Khalil Green of the Padres and Kevin Cash of the Yankees, Joe Thatcher of the Padres, Dan Meyer of the Marlins and Luke Scott of the Astros. Last season, Brownlee coached Trevor Willis and Tyson Blaser to third team all-conference honors and helped freshman outfielder Taylor Zeutenhorst earn Big Ten All-Freshman accolades. Blaser led the Hawkeyes and tied for second in the Big Ten with 18 doubles, which ties for the fourth most in a single season in Iowa history. Additionally, Willis led the league and ranked second nationally with a career-high nine triples, which established a new school single-season record.

Maliszewski is in his fourth season as the Hawkeye pitching coach. In addition to his role as pitching coach, Maliszewski is also responsible for the team’s travel arrangements and assists with the youth summer camps. In 2011, Maliszewski guided his pitching staff to one of the best seasons on the mound in Hawkeye history. Iowa registered an ERA of 4.22, the lowest since 1980 (4.14). Starting lefty Jarred Hippen earned second team all-conference laurels for the second consecutive year. Starting LHP Matt Dermody and Hippen, ranked first and third in the Big Ten, respectively, in strikeouts during the regular season. Hippen, who has thrown eight complete games in the last two seasons under Maliszewski’s tutelage, nearly threw a perfect game against Minnesota, allowing only one hit. In addition, Maliszewski helped guide newcomers Tim Fangman and Patrick Lala to successful first years in the Black and Gold. Fangman finished in the top ten in the Big Ten in numerous categories, including ERA, opposing batting average, games finished, hits allowed, runs allowed and walks allowed. Maliszewski had three players he coached or recruited drafted in 2011. Junior starting left-handed pitcher Matt Dermody was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 29th round (888th pick) and incoming recruits Sasha Kuebel and Nick Hibbing were also selected. Kuebel was picked by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round (946) and Hibbing was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 42nd round (1262).

Miller and Napoleon are each in their first seasons on the Hawkeye staff. Miller has worked as a baseball coach since 1992, including serving as the head baseball coach at Mid-Prairie High School from 2000 to 2010. He served as the Kirkwood Community College pitching coach from 2006 to 2011. Miller also coached the Iowa City High School sophomore baseball team from 1993 to 1999 and was an assistant baseball coach at Iowa City Regina High School in 1992. Napoleon played at Iowa from 2006-07 before being drafted by Oakland in the 19th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. He played at all four minor league levels from 2007-2010 and made it to the Triple A level in 2010. As a Hawkeye, Napoleon appeared in 105 games and made 100 starts. The former catcher and first baseman led the team with 34 RBIs and tied for the team lead with two home runs in 2006 as a freshman. In 2007, Napoleon ranked third on the team with a .354 batting average. He ranked first on the team in RBI (56), walks (50), on-base percentage (.506) and was second with 12 doubles, 44 runs scored and 62 hits.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!:
Hawkeye fans can purchase 2012 Iowa baseball season tickets now. Fans can reserve their own chair backs for the 2012 season by calling the UI Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-IA-HAWKS. Reserved chair back season tickets are available for $25, while general admission season tickets are $15.

HEADSHOTS AVAILABLE:
Up-to-date head shots of all Iowa players and coaches are available on the internet at pics.hawkeyebaseball.com. Contact the Iowa Athletic Communications office if you are in need of additional photos.

ON THE HORIZON:
Iowa travels to the Austin Peay/River View Inn Classic in Clarksville, Tenn. The Hawkeyes will face Akron next Friday at 11 a.m. In addition, Iowa will play host Austin Peay Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Youngstown State Sunday at 11 a.m. All times listed are central.