Iowa Hosts Penn State in Return to Big Ten Action

April 19, 2012

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Complete Release

THE SETTING:
Iowa returns to Big Ten action when it hosts Penn State for a three-game set at Duane Banks Field this weekend. The Hawkeyes (15-17, 4-5) and Nittany Lions (16-20, 4-5) will open the series at 6:05 p.m. on Friday. Iowa and Penn State will also play Saturday at 1:05 p.m. and Sunday at noon. Admission is $3 for adults, and free for students.

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.

ON THE AIR:
Fans can catch this weekend’s three-game series against Penn State online at hawkeyesports.com and on the radio at AM-800 KXIC (Friday) and AM-1360 KMJM (Friday and Sunday). The radio voice of the Iowa baseball team, Brent Balbinot, will call the action. Sunday’s contest can also be seen live on BTN.com.

PARKING NOTE:
The University of Iowa is hosting the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials this weekend at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Baseball fans attending the Saturday or Sunday baseball games against Penn State will have the option to pay the $10 U.S. Olympic parking fee in lots around Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena or park in ramps and pay the normal rate. In addition, they can ride free shuttles from downtown Iowa City and Hancher.

SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS:
Penn State is coached by Robbie Wine. He is in his eighth season at the helm of the program. The Nittany Lions are 16-20 overall and 4-5 in Big Ten action, tied for seventh in the league standings with the Hawkeyes. Penn State owns a 4-15 record in road games. The Nittany Lions have won nine of 11 contests to overcome a 3-14 start to the season. Penn State took 2-of-3 against Michigan at home last weekend and shut out Bucknell Wednesday night, 2-0. The Nittany Lions have played eight of their last nine games at home.

ALL-TIME SERIES:
The Hawkeyes are 26-34 all-time against the Nittany Lions. Iowa has taken 2-of-3 against Penn State in each of the last two seasons. Last season in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes won the opener, 11-4, behind a strong outing from starter Jarred Hippen. The visitors edged out Iowa in the middle game, 3-2, despite a strong outing by Hawkeye starter Matt Dermody. Iowa won the rubber game, 2-1 in 10 innings, on a walk-off RBI single by Taylor Zeutenhorst.

LEADING THE WAY:
Hawkeye senior Phil Keppler is leading the team with a .375 batting average. Entering this weekend’s action, the Manchester, Iowa, native leads the Big Ten with a .458 average (conference games only). Keppler ranks second on the team, in overall game statistics, behind Sean Flanagan (.463) with a .444 slugging percentage.

IOWA QUICK HITS:
– Iowa is 10-3 when scoring six or more runs.
– The Hawkeyes are 13-2 when leading after eight innings.
– Iowa’s pitching staff has yielded two or fewer runs eight times this year (7-1).
– The Hawkeyes are 11-3 when out-hitting their opponent.
– Senior Nick Brown has five career saves, all coming this season. The former starter ranks fifth in the Big Ten in saves.
– Iowa is 8-2 when playing errorless baseball.

DAHM EARNS WIN NO. 200:
Iowa won at Indiana on March 31, 4-0, giving head coach Jack Dahm his 200th win at the helm of the Hawkeye program. He ranks third all-time in victories at Iowa behind Duane Banks and Otto Vogel with 205 career wins.

APPROACHING THE HOME STRETCH:
Iowa has played 32 games this season. The Hawkeyes, 15-17 overall, have 19 regular season games remaining. Iowa has 10 home games left and nine road games remaining. The schedule features five more Big Ten series and five non-conference games. The Big Ten Tournament begins May 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

BRADLEY HOME RUNS DOWN IOWA:
Iowa fell to Bradley on Wednesday night at Duane Banks Field, 7-3, in the first of a four-game homestand. The loss marked Iowa’s first in its last five outings against nonconference foes and its first home loss since March 28 (3-1, Nebraska-Omaha). Six of the Braves’ seven runs came with two outs and six via three Bradley home runs.

HOME SWEET HOME:
The Hawkeyes return home for their first Big Ten series since hosting Northwestern March 23-25. Iowa has won six of its first nine home games. The Hawkeyes defeated Grand View, 20-1, on March 21 in their home opener before taking two-of-three from Northwestern to open the conference slate. Iowa fell to Nebraska-Omaha on March 28, 3-1. The Black and Gold swept South Dakota State in a two-game set April 3-4. Iowa defeated Western Illinois on April 10, 8-7, before falling to Bradley Wednesday night, 7-3.

CLOSE CALLS:
Iowa is 5-5 in one-run decisions, 3-2 in two-run games and 1-1 in extra innings. The Hawkeyes are 13-2 when leading after eight innings.

ROAD WARRIORS:
Seven of the Hawkeyes’ last 11 contests have been away from Iowa City. The Black and Gold are playing their first Big Ten home series in nearly a month (Northwestern, March 23-25). Iowa’s first 16 games to start the season were away from Iowa City. Iowa is 7-8 this season in neutral site games, 2-6 in true road games, and 6-3 at Duane Banks Field.

KEPPLER EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY HONOR:
Phil Keppler was named Big Ten Player of the Week on April 9. It marked the senior’s first career weekly honor. The Manchester, Iowa, native collected 11 hits in 15 at-bats (.733) over five games against South Dakota State and Nebraska from April 3-8, while driving in seven runs and scoring five. He notched his first triple and home run of the season. In addition, Keppler registered three walks and a sacrifice fly while posting an on-base percentage of .778 and a slugging percentage of 1.067.

STRIKING FIRST:
Iowa has scored first in nine of its last 12 contests. The Hawkeyes are 6-6 in those games. The Black and Gold are 8-9 when scoring first and are 5-5 when scoring in the first inning.

BIG HITS:
The Hawkeyes are 11-3 when out-hitting their opponent. In addition, Iowa is 6-3 when scoring 6-9 runs and undefeated (4-0) when tallying 10 or more runs.

STEALING HOME:
Mike McQuillan stole home on April 3 in the win over South Dakota State as Iowa executed a double steal. It marked the first time a Hawkeye stole home since Trevor Willis accomplished the feat at Mississippi State on March 25 of last year. McQuillan leads Iowa and ranks 11th in the Big Ten with nine stolen bases this season. He has 11 attempts.

THE SECOND FRAME:
Iowa has outscored its opponents this season, 174-161. The Hawkeyes have scored 25 runs in the second inning, while limiting opponents to eight runs.

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 487-540-2 all-time (286-278-2 at Creighton, 204-264 at Iowa).

IF IT’S FAIR, IT’S GONE:
Sean Flanagan became the second Iowa player this season to launch two home runs in a single game in the 20-1 win over Grand View on March 21. The senior finished 2-for-2 with five RBI and two runs. Classmate Chett Zeise also recorded two long balls in a 17-3 win over Akron on March 2. Sophomore Taylor Zeutenhorst registered his first career home run in the win over Grand View as well.

PLUNK:
Iowa has been hit-by-pitch 52 times, marking the most of any Big Ten team, and 47th nationally. Nebraska is second with 49. Senior Sean Flanagan ranks second in the Big Ten with 10 HBPs. The Hawkeyes have been hit six times in one game twice (March 2 vs. Akron and March 4 vs. Youngstown State). Flanagan was hit three times against Youngstown State.

A LITTLE SMALL BALL:
The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten, and rank 48th nationally, with 37 sacrifice bunts. Jake Yacinich ranks second in the league with nine sacrifices and Chett Zeise is tied for fourth with seven.

STREAKERS:
Mike McQuillan enjoyed a 14-game hitting streak earlier this season, marking the longest for Iowa this year. Ryan Rumpf enjoyed a 10-streak earlier this season as well. McQuillan leads the Black and Gold with 12 multi-hit games. Jake Yacinich and Chett Zeise each have 10. Yacinich and McQuillan lead Iowa with four multiple RBI contests.

FRESH STARTS:
Eleven Hawkeye freshmen have seen action to open the season. Andrew Hedrick, Nick Hibbing, Taylor Kaufman and Sasha Kuebel have seen action on the mound, and Jake Yacinich, Ryan Rumpf, Jake Mangler, Kris Goodman, Anthony Torres, Nick Day and Eric Toole have seen action in the field.

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.

GOOD START OUT OF THE GATE:
The Hawkeyes took 2-of-3 from Northwestern from March 23-25 at Duane Banks Field in their Big Ten opening series. It marked the first time Iowa won a conference opening series since 1998 when it took three-of-four from Michigan State.

RUMPF GARNERS ACCOLADE:
College Sports Madness named Ryan Rumpf its Big Ten Baseball Player of the Week on March 6 for his efforts in the Austin Peay Tournament. The freshman went 7-for-17 with two runs, two triples, a double, six RBI and 12 total bases in the three games. In addition, Rumpf earned the win for Iowa on March 4 against Youngstown State. He opened the game as the Hawkeyes’ designated hitter before moving to the mound in the 10th. Rumpf pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed no hits. He struck out two while recording his first career victory.

6 NAMED TO AUSTIN PEAY ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Six University of Iowa baseball student-athletes were named to the Riverview Inn Classic All-Tournament team after Iowa won 2-of-3 games in Clarkesville, Tenn. (March 2-4). Shortstop Jake Yacinich, outfielder Kris Goodman, pitchers Matt Dermody and Jarred Hippen, designated hitter Ryan Rumpf and utility player Jake Mangler were recognized. Four of the six of the honorees were freshmen. Yacinich had five hits, two of which were doubles, scored five runs and had four RBI. Rumpf combined for a team-best seven hits in the three games, collecting two triples and a double to go along with six RBI. Mangler had four hits, a team-best seven RBI and scored three runs. Goodman had six hits and scored four runs. Hippen got his first win of the season in the win over Akron on March 2, throwing eight strong innings, allowing three runs while scattering 10 hits. Dermody got a no-decision on March 3 at Austin Peay, throwing six and two-thirds, striking out seven batters, and allowing only two runs.

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 has been Iowa’s ace since his freshman campaign. He ranks eighth in the Big Ten this season with 58.1 innings pitched. Entering last weekend, Hippen ranked first in the league. He did not pitch last weekend as his scheduled start at Creighton was rained out. 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.

NEWCOMER ON THE MOUND:
Freshman LHP Sasha Kuebel is the third starter in the Hawkeye rotation, joining Jarred Hippen and Matt Dermody. The St. Louis native was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round of the 2011 MLB Draft. He was the Missouri State Pitcher of the Year as a senior. Kuebel was named Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week on Feb. 27. The left-handed starter garnered his first career weekly honor. Kuebel (6-1, 200) started and took a no-decision despite a stellar outing against Virginia Tech on Feb. 26 in the Caravelle Resort Baseball at the Beach Tournament. In his second career start, the rookie pitched seven and a third, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out three Hokies. Kuebel has made eight appearances, all starts. He is undefeated and tied for the team lead with three victories (3-0) and holds an ERA of 3.14. Kuebel ranks first in the Big Ten in walks allowed (six) and seventh in opposing batting average (.228).

SPRING TRIP RECAP:
The Hawkeyes played seven games in seven days in Winter Haven, Fla., at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational for their annual spring trip. Iowa opened with losses to Georgetown (6-1) on March 10 and Illinois State (10-6) on March 11 before winning two-straight against Eastern Illinois (2-1) on March 12 and Bucknell (8-6) on March 13. On March 14, Iowa staged a late-inning rally but ultimately fell to Long Island, 5-3. The Hawkeyes closed the trip with a 6-3 win over Jacksonville State on Thursday and a 5-1 loss to Army on Friday.

HAWKEYES SCORE SEASON-HIGH 20 IN HOME OPENING WIN:
Iowa defeated Grand View on March 21 in its home opener at Duane Banks Field, 20-1. The Hawkeye offense scored a season-high 20 runs and belted out 15 hits. It marked the first time Iowa scored 20 or more runs since March 18, 2009, when it won at Tennessee-Martin, 25-6. It also marked Iowa’s largest margin of victory since the win over Tennessee-Martin. Thirteen Hawkeyes tallied hits. Sean Flanagan became the second Iowa player this season to launch two home runs in a single game (Senior Chett Zeise recorded two in a 17-3 win over Akron on March 2). The senior finished 2-for-2 with five RBI and two runs. Sophomore Taylor Zeutenhorst registered his first career home run as well. Mike McQuillan, Phil Keppler and Ryan Rumpf each tallied two RBI. Freshman Jake Yacinich tallied his fifth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. Yacinich was playing against his grandfather Lou, who is Grand View’s head coach. Andrew Hedrick started and earned his first career win. The freshman pitched five innings in his second career start, allowing one run while scattering seven hits. He struck out three Vikings.

`Q’:
Mike McQuillan, known as `Q’ by his teammates and coaches, returns for his senior 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 in his first three seasons, led Iowa in batting average (.330), hits (66), at-bats (200), RBI (31), walks (27) and on-base percentage (.410) a year ago. He is batting .342 this season and leads the team with 40 hits. McQuillan, who has started all 32 games, registered a team-leading 14-game hit streak earlier this season.

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 opened 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.

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:
The Hawkeyes will face Bradley again next Tuesday, April 24. Iowa travels to Peoria, Ill., to play Bradley at 6:05 p.m. The Black and Gold resume conference play at Minnesota with a three-game set beginning Friday, April 27, at 6:35 p.m.