Iowa Travels to Michigan State for Final B1G Road Series

May 9, 2012

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Complete Release

THE SETTING:
Iowa continues Big Ten action this weekend at Michigan State. The Hawkeyes (19-24, 7-11) and Spartans (30-16, 10-8) will open the series at 2:05 p.m. on Friday at McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field in East Lansing, Mich. The two teams will also meet at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. All times are central.

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 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.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Michigan State is coached by Jake Boss Jr. Boss, the 16th coach in program history, is in his fourth year. The Spartans are 30-16 overall and 10-8 in Big Ten action. They took 2-of-3 at Illinois last weekend and are tied for third in conference play. Michigan State is 11-4 at home this season. The Spartans own an RPI rating of 44, the second best rating in the Big Ten. Michigan State plays Toledo Wednesday.

SERIES HISTORY:
The Hawkeyes are 58-73-1 all-time against the Spartans. Michigan State won 2-of-3 last year in Iowa City. After the Spartans won the first two games, Iowa captured the series finale, 19-7. The Hawkeyes recorded season highs in runs and hits (17). The 19 runs marked the most Iowa scored against a conference opponent since defeating Wisconsin in 1989, 22-3.

TOPPING THE CHARTS:
A pair of Hawkeye seniors, Mike McQuillan and Jarred Hippen, are moving up the Iowa baseball career ranking lists. McQuillan ranks first all-time in singles (189) in program history. The infielder also ranks third all-time in hits with 231. McQuillan is six hits away from tying Craig Conti who ranks second with 237. Hippen owns the Iowa record for innings pitched (337.2) and ranks second in strikeouts behind Allen Rath with 234. Rath recorded 246 from 1987-90. Hippen is seventh all-time in appearances (56).

IOWA QUICK HITS:
– Iowa is 12-3 when scoring six or more runs.
– The Hawkeyes are 15-3 when leading after eight innings.
– Iowa’s pitching staff has yielded two or fewer runs 11 times this year (9-2).
– The Hawkeyes are 13-4 when out-hitting their opponent.
– Senior Nick Brown has six career saves, all coming this season. The former starter ranks sixth 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 209 career wins.

THE FINAL STRETCH:
Iowa has played 43 games this season. The Hawkeyes, 19-24 overall, have seven regular season games remaining. Iowa has three home games left and four road games remaining. The schedule features two Big Ten series and one nonconference game at Creighton (May 15). The Big Ten Tournament begins May 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

IOWA SPLITS DH WITH MICHIGAN:
Iowa split a doubleheader with Michigan last Saturday in its last outing. The Hawkeyes dropped the opener, 8-2, before downing the Wolverines in game two, 7-2. Phil Keppler led the Iowa offense, tallying multiple hits in each contest. The senior finished 2-for-4 in each game. Classmate Chett Zeise (2-for-4) and freshman Jake Mangler (3-for-5) also registered multiple-hit games in the second game. Freshman starter Sasha Kuebel remained perfect, earning his fifth victory of his rookie campaign and his first career complete game. The St. Louis native allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits. He struck out two. Kuebel is 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference action.

HAWKEYES WALK-OFF VS. MILWAUKEE:
Iowa defeated Milwaukee on May 1 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.

BIG HITS:
The Hawkeyes are 13-4 when out-hitting their opponent. Additionally, Iowa is 7-3 when scoring 6-9 runs and undefeated (5-0) when tallying 10 or more runs.

THE SECOND FRAME:
The best inning this season for the Black and Gold in terms of run differential has been the second. The Hawkeyes have scored 30 runs in the second inning, while limiting opponents to 17 runs. Iowa scored four runs in the second inning in the win over Milwaukee on May 1.

PLUNK:
Iowa has been hit-by-pitch 64 times, marking the most of any Big Ten team, and 46th-most nationally. Indiana is second with 55. Senior Sean Flanagan ranks fifth 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.

ROAD WARRIORS:
The Hawkeyes have played 43 games this season, 27 away from Duane Banks Field. Iowa’s first 16 games to start the season were away from Iowa City. The Hawkeyes’ next four games are on the road (at Michigan State and at Creighton on May 15). Iowa is 7-8 this season in neutral site games, 3-9 in true road games, and 9-7 at Duane Banks Field.

CLOSE CALLS:
Iowa is 7-7 in one-run decisions, 4-3 in two-run games and 2-2 in extra innings after falling to Michigan in 10 innings last Saturday. The Hawkeyes are 15-3 when leading after eight innings.

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 22 times this season (11-11). In addition, the Hawkeyes are 6-6 when scoring in the first inning. Iowa opponents have scored in their first at-bat 13 times (4-9).

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 492-548-2 all-time (286-278-2 at Creighton, 209-272 at Iowa).

A LITTLE SMALL BALL:
The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten, and rank 31st nationally, with 54 sacrifice bunts. Minnesota is second with 43. Jake Yacinich ranks first in the league with 13 sacrifices and Chett Zeise is tied for eight with seven.

IN THE RANKINGS:
Freshman Jake Yacinich leads the Big Ten with 13 sacrifice bunts. He ranks 14th nationally in sacrifices per game. Senior Mike McQuillan owns an on base percentage of .472, which ranks first in the league and 49th nationally. McQuillan ranks first in the Big Ten in walks (35) and ninth in stolen bases (12). He ranks 30th nationally in walks per game.

STREAKERS:
Mike McQuillan enjoyed a 14-game hitting streak and 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 ended a streak last Saturday in the second game of the doubleheader in which he had reached base in 18-straight games.

NEWCOMER ON THE MOUND:
Freshman LHP Sasha Kuebel is the second 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 11 appearances, all starts. He is undefeated and leads the team with five victories (5-0). Kuebel, who holds an ERA of 3.03, ranks fifth in the Big Ten in walks allowed (13) and seventh in opposing batting average (.243). He recorded his first career complete game in the win over Michigan last Saturday.

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 seventh in the Big Ten this season with 78.1 innings pitched and holds a record of 3-6 in 11 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.

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.

`Q’:
Mike McQuillan, known as `Q’ by his teammates and coaches, is leading the Iowa offense again 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 176 career games, has tallied 231 career hits and 111 RBI. His career average stands at .343. He is batting .335 this season and leads the team with 52 hits. McQuillan, who has started all 43 games, registered a team-leading 14-game hit streak earlier this season. He is hitting .348 in conference play.

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.

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 Hawkeyes conclude the regular season with a mid-week contest at Creighton on May 15 (12:05 p.m.) before hosting nationally-ranked Purdue in a three-game set at Duane Banks Field, May 17-19.