Iowa Set to Host Michigan in 3-Game Set

May 3, 2012

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Complete Release

THE SETTING:
Iowa returns to Big Ten action when it hosts Michigan for a three-game set at Duane Banks Field this weekend. The Hawkeyes (18-22, 6-9) and Wolverines (17-27, 4-11) will open the series at 6:05 p.m. on Friday. Iowa and Michigan will also play at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults, and free for students. All three games can be seen on BTN.com.

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 Michigan online at hawkeyesports.com and on the radio at AM-800 KXIC (Friday) and AM-1360 KMJM (Friday and Saturday). The radio voice of the Iowa baseball team, Brent Balbinot, will call the action.

THE RACE FOR COLUMBUS:
The Big Ten Baseball Tournament will be held May 23-26 at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. The top six teams in the conference standings qualify for the annual tournament. Entering this weekend’s Big Ten action, Purdue leads the conference race with a 14-4 record. The next eight teams are separated by only three games. Minnesota and Indiana are tied for second at 9-6. Four teams sit at 8-7 (Nebraska, Michigan State, Illinois, Penn State). Ohio State is 8-10 and Iowa sits at 6-9, three games out of second and two games out of fourth place.

SCOUTING THE MAIZE AND BLUE:
Michigan is coached by Rich Maloney. Maloney, the 18th coach in program history, is in his 10th year. The Wolverines are 17-27 overall and 4-11 in Big Ten action. They have dropped eight of their last 10. Michigan is 2-11 on the road this season. The Wolverines have not competed since last weekend. Michigan was swept at home by Indiana (8-1, 11-8, 11-5).

CLOSE CALLS:
Iowa’s last four games have been decided by one run. The Hawkeyes dropped the first two games at Minnesota last weekend, 5-4 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. The Black and Gold downed the Gophers in 12 innings on Sunday, 5-4. The Hawkeyes defeated Milwaukee Tuesday night at Duane Banks Field, 10-9. Iowa is 7-7 in one-run decisions, 4-3 in two-run games and 2-1 in extra innings. The Hawkeyes are 14-2 when leading after eight innings.

SERIES HISTORY:
The Hawkeyes are 45-102 all-time against the Wolverines. Michigan won 2-of-3 last year in Iowa City. Iowa won the series opener behind starter Jarred Hippen (13-7) before the visitors claimed the final two games. In 2010, the Hawkeyes won 2-of-3 at Michigan. Iowa swept a Saturday doubleheader, winning game one (5-2) behind Hippen and game two (5-3) behind starter Nick Brown.

IOWA QUICK HITS:
– Iowa is 11-3 when scoring six or more runs.
– The Hawkeyes are 14-2 when leading after eight innings.
– Iowa’s pitching staff has yielded two or fewer runs 10 times this year (8-2).
– The Hawkeyes are 12-4 when out-hitting their opponent.
– Senior Nick Brown has six career saves, all coming this season. The former starter ranks fifth in the Big Ten in saves.
– Iowa is 9-4 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 208 career wins.

TOPPING THE CHARTS:
A pair of Hawkeye seniors, Mike McQuillan and Jarred Hippen, are moving up the Iowa baseball career rankings lists. McQuillan ranks first all-time in singles (187) in program history. The infielder also ranks third all-time in hits with 229. McQuillan is eight hits away from tying Craig Conti who ranks second with 237. Hippen owns the Iowa record for innings pitched (332.2) and ranks second in strikeouts behind Allen Rath with 228. Rath recorded 246 from 1987-90. Hippen is seventh all-time in appearances (55).

APPROACHING THE HOME STRETCH:
Iowa has played 40 games this season. The Hawkeyes, 18-22 overall, have 10 regular season games remaining. Iowa has six home games left and four road games remaining. The schedule features three Big Ten series and one nonconference game at Creighton (May 15). The Big Ten Tournament begins May 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

HAWKEYES WALK-OFF VS. MILWAUKEE:
Iowa defeated Milwaukee on Tuesday night in a back-and-forth game at Duane Banks Field, 10-9. The Hawkeyes won in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI with the bases loaded by freshman Jake Yacinich. The game saw three ties and five lead changes. Nick Hibbing earned his first career victory. The freshman pitched two innings, allowing one run on one hit. The win marked Iowa’s second-straight victory in its last at-bat.

IOWA EDGES MINNESOTA IN 12:
After losing the first two games of the weekend series by one run, the Iowa baseball team posted a thrilling 5-4 one-run win in 12 innings over Minnesota last Sunday in the Metrodome. Phil Keppler delivered the game-winner with a one-out RBI single to right center scoring Mike McQuillan from second base in the top of the 12th. McQuillan finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. His first base hit was the 227th of his career, which moved him past Brad Carlson (1999-02) for third on Iowa’s career hits list. Freshman Taylor Kaufman earned his second victory of the year, pitching a season-long four and two-thirds. His previous long was three and two-thirds against Army on March 16. Classmate Nick Hibbing entered in the 12th and secured his second save of the campaign retiring the final two Gophers. Kaufman, Hibbing and freshman starter Sasha Kuebel combined to throw 11.2 of the 12 innings pitched by the Iowa staff.

THE SECOND FRAME:
Iowa has outscored its opponents this season, 205-199. The best inning for the Black and Gold in terms of run differential has been the second. The Hawkeyes have scored 29 runs in the second inning, while limiting opponents to 17 runs. Iowa scored four runs in the second inning in the win over Milwaukee Tuesday.

PLUNK:
Iowa has been hit-by-pitch 61 times, marking the most of any Big Ten team, and 53rd-most nationally. Indiana is second with 52. Senior Sean Flanagan ranks fourth 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.

HOME SWEET HOME:
The Hawkeyes have played 40 games this season, 13 at Duane Banks Field. Iowa’s first 16 games to start the season were away from Iowa City. The Hawkeyes host Michigan this weekend and Purdue May 17-19. The Black and Gold travel to Michigan State next weekend and to Creighton on May 15. Iowa is 7-8 this season in neutral site games, 3-9 in true road games, and 8-5 at Duane Banks Field.

BIG HITS:
The Hawkeyes are 12-4 when out-hitting their opponent. Additionally, Iowa is 6-3 when scoring 6-9 runs and undefeated (5-0) 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 with nine stolen bases this season. He has 12 attempts. Freshman Jake Yacinich ranks second with eight steals.

STRIKING FIRST:
Iowa has scored first 20 times this season (10-10). In addition, the Hawkeyes are 6-6 when scoring in the first inning. Iowa opponents have scored in their first at-bat 12 times (4-8).

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 491-546-2 all-time (286-278-2 at Creighton, 208-270 at Iowa).

IN THE RANKINGS:
Freshman Jake Yacinich leads the Big Ten with 13 sacrifice bunts. He ranks seventh nationally in sacrifices per game. Senior Mike McQuillan owns an on base percentage of .484, which ranks first in the league and 27th nationally. McQuillan ranks second in the Big Ten in walks (34), seventh in runs scored (37) and 10th in stolen bases (11). He ranks 28th nationally in walks per game.

A LITTLE SMALL BALL:
The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten, and rank 31st nationally, with 51 sacrifice bunts. Minnesota is second with 40. Jake Yacinich ranks first in the league with 13 sacrifices and Chett Zeise is tied for seventh 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-game streak earlier this season as well. McQuillan and Jake Yacinich lead the Black and Gold with 15 multi-hit games. Yacinich leads the team with six multiple-RBI contests. McQuillan has reached base in 16-straight games and holds a five-game hit streak.

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 10 appearances, all starts. He is undefeated and leads the team with four victories (4-0). Kuebel, who holds an ERA of 3.32, ranks second in the Big Ten in walks allowed (eight).

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. Zeise added his third last Saturday at Minnesota. Sophomore Taylor Zeutenhorst registered his first career home run in the win over Grand View as well.

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.

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.

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 sixth in the Big Ten this season with 73.1 innings pitched and holds a record of 3-5 in 10 starts. 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.

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.

`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 .329 in each of his first three seasons in the Black and Gold. McQuillan, who has started 173 career games, has tallied 229 career hits and 111 RBI. His career average stands at .343. He is batting .345 this season and leads the team with 50 hits. McQuillan, who has started all 40 games, registered a team-leading 14-game hit streak earlier this season. He is hitting .375 in conference play.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 Black and Gold resume conference play next weekend, traveling to Michigan State for a three-game set. Game one first pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. on Friday in East Lansing, Mich. The Spartans and Hawkeyes will also meet at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. All times listed are central.