Iowa Opens B1G Play Friday

March 20, 2013

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Iowa Game Notes

THE MATCH-UP
– Iowa opens Big Ten Conference play with a three-game series against Northwestern. The two teams open the series Friday beginning at 12 p.m. (CT). If weather conditions allow and the coaches agree, a second game will be contested on Friday. The series will conclude Saturday beginning at noon.
– All three games will be held at Lee Pfund Stadium at Legion Field in Carol Stream, Ill., the home of Wheaton College. NU’s Rocky Miller Park is not playable due to the harsh winter in the Chicagoland. Lee Pfund Stadium, which features an artificial playing surface, is located at 1N150 Gary Ave. in Carol Stream.

ON THE WEB
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.

THE SERIES
Iowa leads the all-time series over Northwestern, 130-97-2. The Hawkeyes won 2-of-3 last season at Duane Banks Field, claiming the opener, 3-2, and the finale, 3-1. Sophomore Sasha Kuebel won the finale, allowing one unearned run on two hits over seven innings.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats enter the weekend series with a 7-5 overall record after winning all three games at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Northwestern downed LIU Brooklyn (12-3), North Dakota State (3-2, 11 innings) and Bucknell (17-2, 7 innings).

NU is batting .296 as a team, and five players are hitting over .300. Kyle Ruchim is leading the team with a .545 batting average, collecting 12 hits in 22 at-bats. Zach Morton, the reigning Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week, has a team-high 13 RBIs to go along with a .356 average.

The Wildcats have a 3.05 team ERA and have 93 strikeouts in 106.1 innings and is limiting opposing hitters to a .231 batting average. Friday’s starter will be Zach Morton. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 0.63 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. He has allowed four runs (two earned) on 23 hits. Senior right-hander Luke Farrell will take the hill Saturday with a 1-1 record and a 2.57 ERA, while sophomore righty Brandon Magallones will serve as Sunday’s starter, entering the weekend with a 2-1 record and a 3.80 ERA.

Northwestern is led by Paul Stevens, who has amassed over 600 wins in his 26th seasons as the program’s head coach.

DAHM COLLECTS 500TH WIN
Iowa head coach Jack Dahm won his 500th career game as a collegiate coach in the Hawkeyes 7-3 triumph over Western Illinois on March 2.

Dahm, who is in his 20th season as a head coach, currently has 504 career victories, winning 283 games at Creighton from 1994-2003 and 220 games at Iowa, beginning in 2004. His 221 wins at Iowa rank third in program history, trailing Duane Banks (810 wins) and Otto Vogel (440 wins).

EXTRA-INNINGS NO PROBLEM
Iowa is 2-0 in extra-inning games. The Hawkeyes downed New Mexico, 6-2, in 10 innings on Feb. 23 and defeated West Virginia, 6-4, in 12 innings on March 10. The Hawkeyes went 2-2 in extra-inning games in 2012.

B1G WINS LEADER
Senior pitcher Matt Dermody is tied for the Big Ten lead with four wins. Dermody is tied with Michigan State’s David Garner. Dermody in 4-0 in five starts this season, picking up wins against Austin Peay (Feb. 16), Western Illinois (March 2), Georgetown (March 9) and Nebraska-Omaha (March 17). The Norwalk, Iowa, native has thrown 33.1 innings, the third most among Big Ten pitchers, and ranks 10th in the conference with a 2.42 ERA.

Dermody’s four wins match a career-high. He has allowed two runs or less in four of his five starts. Against the Mavericks, he scattered five hits over 7 1/3 innings with a season-high eight strikeouts.

NO STRANGER TO THE BIG TEN
Senior Matt Dermody has made 17 career Big Ten starts, including Big Ten Tournament play, ranking third among active Big Ten pitchers. Dermody trails Illinois’ Kevin Johnson and Penn State’s Steven Hill, who have both started 24 career Big Ten games. The Norwalk, Iowa, native has made eight Big Ten starts in each of the last two seasons.

TURNING 2
The Hawkeyes rank 13th nationally in double plays per game at 1.2. Iowa has turned 18 double plays in 16 games, which ranks 48th in the NCAA.

MAKE IT A DOZEN
Sophomores Taylor Kaufman and Eric Toole have reached base safely in 12 consecutive games, setting new career bests. Both streaks started during the opening weekend of the 2013 season. Sophomore Jake Mangler has reached base in 10 straight contests.

KUEBEL READY FOR B1G
Sophomore Sasha Kuebel will put an unblemished Big Ten record on the line this weekend in Carol Stream, Ill. The southpaw went 4-0 with a 2.83 ERA in conference starts as a freshman en route to second team All-Big Ten honors.

Kuebel is 1-4 with a 5.08 ERA this season as Iowa’s Friday starter. Kuebel was the Sunday starter as a freshman.

THRIVING AGAINST LEFTIES
Five of Iowa’s regulars thrive against left-handed pitching. Sophomore Kris Goodman leads the team with a .421 (8-of-19) average against southpaws, while Taylor Kaufman (.375, 6-of-16), Keith Brand (.364; 4-of-11), Eric Toole (.357, 5-of-14) and Jake Yacinich (.350, 7-of-20) hit above .350.

ZEUTENHORST STAYS HOT
Junior Taylor Zeutenhorst is leading the team with a .474 batting average (9-of-19) over the last five games. The outfielder has six RBIs, 14 total bases and a pair of triples during the stretch.

Zeutenhorst hit .556 (5-of-9) at the Snowbird Classic on March 8-10. He had a career-best four hits (4-of-4) with two runs. The Sheldon, Iowa, native also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs against Omaha on March 18.

Zeutenhorst is hitting .444 (4-of-9) with runners in scoring position this season.

BRINGING THEM HOME
Sophomore Jake Yacinich paces the Hawkeyes with 13 RBIs and is hitting .462(12-of-26) with runners in scoring position. Seven of his 13 RBIs have come during his current career-long seven game hitting streak. It is the second longest streak for a Hawkeye this season.

Yacinich has 23 hits this season, ranking second on the team and 10th in the Big Ten. He is tied for the team lead with seven multi-hit games, which includes a pair of career-best three-hit contests (W. Illinois, Omaha).

SANDQUIST SHINES
Senior Ricky Sandquist has been one of Iowa’s best stories in 2013. After making an adjustment to his pitching mechanics, going to a 3/4 arm slot, the Fort Dodge, Iowa, native has been spectacular.

Sandquist is 1-0 with a 1.19 ERA — the second best mark in the Big Ten. He has allowed zero earned runs in all five of his relief appearances. He tallied his first win March 24 after tossing three innings against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Sandquist has also made two starts, posting a 3.12 ERA over 8 2/3 innings.

GOOD(MAN) HITTING
Sophomore Kris Goodman has been one of the Hawkeyes top offensive threats this season, leading the team in batting average (.397), hits (25), runs scored (13), and total bases (25). His 25 hits and .397 batting average are fifth in the Big Ten. He has posted seven multi-hit games, including a career-best three hits on five different occasions. The Apple Valley, Minn., native opened the year with a career-best eight-game hitting streak.

MANGO COMING ON
Sophomore Jake Mangler is hitting .321 over the last six games, where he has tallied two hits in four of those contests. The infielder has five multi-hit games this season and has one RBI in 5-of-6 games.

On the year, Mangler is third on the team with 17 hits and is tied for second with eight RBIs. He is hitting .254 (17-of-67).

TOOLE THE THIEF
Sophomore Eric Toole is 7-of-8 in stolen base attempts this season. Toole’s seven swipes are a team-best and are one off the Big Ten lead. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native stole seven bases in 2012, ranking fourth on the team.

DON’T RUN ON SHEPPARD
Senior Dan Sheppard has caught five base runners attempting to steal this season. The mark is tied for third in the conference. Sheppard threw out four base runners in Iowa’s season-opening series at Austin Peay (Feb. 15-17).

HIBBING WITH THE SAVE
Sophomore Nick Hibbing leads the Hawkeyes with two saves. Hibbing earned his first save of against Western Illinois on March 2, throwing two scoreless innings in relief of starter Matt Dermody. Hibbing’s second save came March 10 against West Virginia, as he pitched the 12th inning and induced a game-ending double play.

OUCH!
The Hawkeyes have been hit by 35 pitches this season, the most of any Big Ten team. Senior Keith Brand has been plunked 10 times, leading the team and the Big Ten nationally. Brand has been hit three times in a game three times (UALR, Maine, UNO).

Iowa was hit by a pitch seven times March 1 against Arkansas-Little Rock, the most a Big Ten club has been hit in a game this season.

SACRIFICING YOURSELF
Iowa has laid down a Big Ten-best 16 sacrifice bunts this season. Sophomore Eric Toole has delivered five of the sacrifices, leading the team and the conference. He also ranks 11th nationally with 0.42 per game.

BULLPEN DOING ITS JOB
The Iowa bullpen has been stellar this year, allowing 12 earned runs in 60 innings and collecting three of the team’s eight wins.

Two Hawkeye relievers — senior Ricky Sandquist and sophomore Ryan Rumpf — have not allowed an earned run out of the bullpen, while senior Andrew Hanse and sophomore Taylor Kaufman have been Mr. Reliable.

Hanse has allowed two earned runs in eight appearances. The right-hander has 10 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings, and has a 1.35 ERA.

Kaufman has allowed zero runs in 5-of-6 appearances. He threw four innings of four-hit relief in picking up a victory in Iowa’s win over New Mexico. The lefty has a 3.00 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 18 innings.

SHUTTING OPPONENTS DOWN
The Iowa pitching staff has 3.00 ERA this season, ranking fourth in the Big Ten behind Indiana (2.53), Ohio State (2.59) and Minnesota (2.92).

IOWA IS…
– 4-0 when leading after six, 5-0 after seven, and 7-0 after eight innings.
– 6-2 when out-hitting its opponent.
– 4-2 against left-handed starters and 4-6 against righties.

HAWKEYES SWEEP SNOWBIRD CLASSIC
The Hawkeyes posted a 3-0 record, defeating Maine, 9-2, on March 8, Georgetown, 7-2, on March 9, and West Virginia, 6-4, in 12 innings on Sunday. It is the first time Iowa has won three games at a three day tournament since sweeping three games at the Austin Peay Tournament in 2006.

Senior Matt Dermody and sophomores Sasha Kuebel and Nick Hibbing collected wins on the mound, while junior Taylor Zeutenhorst led the offense by hitting .556 (4-of-9) with a double, a triple, four runs, and three RBIs.

1-RUN GAMES UNDER DAHM
During Jack Dahm’s 10-year tenure at Iowa, the Hawkeyes have played 124 one-run games. Iowa is 57-67 in such contests. The Hawkeyes went 10-7 in one-run games in 2012, winning their final five.

KLEBERG CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Three Hawkeyes — sophomores Taylor Kaufman, Kris Goodman and Sasha Kuebel — were named to the Kleberg Bank College Classic All-Tournament team. Kaufman hit .545 with six hits and two RBIs, Goodman had six hits and an RBI, and Kuebel limited Oklahoma to two runs on eight hits over eight innings in the opener.

BRAND STEPS UP IN 1ST START
Junior Keith Brand earned his first start of the season Feb. 24 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, serving as the Hawkeyes’ designated hitter. Brand responded by delivering a double in the top of the eighth that plated the game-winning run.

A LINEUP FULL OF YOUTH
Nine of the 10 positional players, including the designated hitter, in Iowa’s opening day on Feb. 15 against Austin Peay were underclassmen.

Sophomore Sasha Kuebel opened the contest on the mound for the Hawkeyes.

Freshman Blake Hickman started at first base, while sophomores Jake Mangler, Nick Day, and Jake Yacinich started at second base, third base, and shortstop.

In the outfield, sophomores Kris Goodman, Eric Toole, and Taylor Kaufman started from left to right, while sophomore Ryan Rumpf was Iowa’s designated hitter.

Senior Dan Sheppard, who started at catcher, was the lone upperclassman in the lineup.

PRESEASON AWARDS
Two Hawkeyes earned preseason All-Big Ten honors. Sophomore Sasha Kuebel was a Preseason All-Big Ten pick by College Sports Madness and Perfect Game. Fellow sophomore Jake Yacinich joined Kuebel on College Sports Madness’ Preseason All-Big Ten list.

Kuebel, Yacinich and senior Dan Sheppard were named to the Big Ten Watch List.

SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
Hawkeye fans can purchase 2013 Iowa baseball season tickets now. Fans can reserve their own chair backs for the 2013 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.

THE HAWKEYES ON BTN
The University of Iowa baseball team will make 18 appearances on the Big Ten Network or BTN.com during the 2013 season.

The Hawkeyes will make their debut March 27 on BTN.com when they host Creighton at 6:05 p.m. (CT) at Duane Banks Field. Iowa’s three-game series against Indiana (March 29-31) will also be streamed on BTN.com.

Nonconference games against Western Illinois (April 2), Kansas (April 9-10), Kansas State (April 12-13) and Northern Illinois (April 24) will also be available online at BTN.com. Iowa will make its lone scheduled appearance on the BTN on April 26 beginning at 6:05 p.m.

In the month of May, seven games will be available on BTN.com, including games against Nebraska-Omaha (May 7), Michigan State (May 10-12), and at Purdue (May 16-18) to close out the regular season.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Iowa baseball fans can follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook by going to facebook.com/iowabaseball. Fans can also follow on Twitter @UIBaseball.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will host Creighton in their 2013 Duane Banks Field opener on March 27 beginning at 6:05 p.m. (CT).