Game Notes -- No. 19 Indiana (March 27-29)

March 26, 2015

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#19 Indiana (16-5, 1-1) at Iowa (14-6, 0-0)
Dates	March 27-29, 2015
Location	Iowa City, Iowa | Duane Banks Field
Game Notes	Iowa | Indiana
Statistics	Indiana | IOWA

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team welcomes No. 19 Indiana to Banks Field for its Big Ten opening series from March 27-29. Friday’s series opener is set to begin at 3 p.m. (CT) followed by 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. starts Saturday and Sunday.

GAME COVERAGE
? Friday’s game will be streamed online on Hawkeye All-Access, while Saturday and Sunday’s games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go.
? The series will be broadcast on AM-800 KXIC and AM-1360 KMJM with Ryan Schlater and Zach Mackey on the call. The series will also be available via the subscription-based service Hawkeye All-Access on hawkeyesports.com.
? Fans can also follow every game with live stats (GameTracker) on hawkeyesports.com and live updates are also available on Twitter: @UIBaseball.

QUICK HITTERS
? Iowa is off to its best start since 1941. The Hawkeyes opened that season 19-5 before finishing the year 22-6.
? The Hawkeyes have seven extra base hits — three doubles, one triple and three home runs — over their last two games. Iowa had seven extra base hits over its previous six games combined.
? The Hawkeyes haven’t defeated a ranked opponent since the 2012 season when it posted a pair of wins over No. 13 Purdue (6-1, 7-6) on May 18-19, 2012. Iowa went 0-4 against ranked foes last season.
? Iowa hit three home runs (Nick Day, Kris Goodman, Joel Booker) in the series finale at Kansas — its first multi home run game of the season. It is also the first time since a 17-5 win over Otterbein last season for Iowa to hit three long balls in a single game.
? Eight Hawkeye games have been decided two runs or less. Iowa is 5-3 in such contests.
? Iowa is 8-2 when committing zero errors and 13-4 when committing one or fewer errors. Iowa is 1-2 when committing two or more errors.
? The Hawkeyes are 12-0 when out-hitting their opponents and 11-2 when scoring first. Conversely, Iowa is 3-4 when the opponent scores first.

SCOUTING INDIANA
? The Hoosiers are ranked in five polls, including a No. 19 ranking by D1Baseball. Indiana is ranked 24th by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America, 29th by USA Today Coaches’ Poll, and 30th by the NCBWA.
? Indiana has won 13 of its last 14 games heading into Iowa City, including a 3-0 win over No. 7 Louisville on Tuesday in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are 6-1 against ranked foes.
? The Hoosiers are 16-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, splitting a doubleheader at Penn State last weekend. Indiana led 7-0 in game two before committing eight errors in the final four innings to fall 13-7 and snap a 12-game winning streak.
? Indiana ranks third in the Big Ten in pitching (2.48 ERA) and fourth in hitting (.284), but are 11th in fielding (.956), committing 37 errors in 21 games.
? Three Hoosier regulars hit over .300 with Craig Dedelow leading the way with a .341 batting average with two home runs and 15 RBIs. Angelo Cangelosi has a .333 average with 10 extra base hits, and Scott Donley is hitting .309 with 11 RBIs. Casey Rodrigue has a team-best 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
? Indiana will start junior LHP Caleb Baragar (0-0, 0.57 ERA) on Friday and sophomore RHP Jake Kelzer (1-0, 3.27 ERA) on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is TBA. Luke Harrison is the Hoosiers’ closer, posting a 1.06 ERA and tallying three saves.

THE SERIES
? The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series over the Hoosiers, 74-70. Indiana has won the last six series — winning 17-of-the-last-19 games — between the two schools with Iowa’s last series victory coming in 2008 when it won 3-of-4 games in Bloomington.
? Indiana swept the three-game series last season at Banks Field, outscoring Iowa, 25-9. The Hoosiers also won a first round game at the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, 5-2.

LAST SEASON’S SERIES
? Tyler Peyton threw seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball April 7 against a potent Indiana offense before leaving with a 1-0 lead. The Hoosiers rallied to win the finale, 5-3.
? Calvin Mathews was tagged with the loss in the opening game, allowing five runs on 10 hits over six innings.
? Nick Day collected hits in all three games, hitting .571 (4-of-7) for the series. Jake Mangler hit .357 (5-of-14) with two runs scored.

TOOLE STREAKS INTO B1G OPENER
Senior Eric Toole brings a 12-game hitting streak — one shy of tying a career-long — into the Indiana series. The outfielder has posted five-straight multi-hit games, where he is hitting .591 (13-of-22) during the stretch. During the 12-game hitting streak, Toole has a .434 average (23-of-53) with eight runs scored. Tooled has reached safely in 19-straight games.

IOWA PITCHING SHINES
? The Hawkeyes allowed two earned run or fewer in 12-of-20 games this season.
? Iowa’s pitching staff struck out 12 batters in its midweek loss to Bradley (3/25). It was the fifth time this season the team has struck out at least 12 batters in a game.
? Iowa is second in the Big Ten in ERA (2.34), third in opposing batting average (.225), and second in saves (8). The Hawkeyes have allowed the fewest hits (149), runs (60) and earned runs (47) in the conference.
? The Hawkeyes’ starting pitchers are 6-3 with a 2.33 ERA over 88 2/3 innings, giving up 27 runs (23 earned) and striking out 68.
? The UI bullpen is 8-3 with a 2.35 ERA with eight saves — the second-most in the Big Ten. Iowa’s relievers are holding batters to a .208 average and have 69 strikeouts. The relievers have also issued 47 walks.
? Junior Luke Vandermaten has yet to allow a run in a team-high nine appearances. The right-hander has allowed 10 hits over 13 1/3 innings, fanning three batters. He tallied his first career victory in Iowa’s 6-4 victory over Kansas on March 21, throwing 2 1/3 shutout innings.
? Junior reliever Connor Grant is 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA with two saves. He is holding opposing hitters to a .148 batting average, giving up eight hits in 17 innings.
? Junior southpaw Ryan Erickson is 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA with one save and has 18 strikeouts — the most by a Hawkeye reliever — to eight walks. He threw a season-high 4 2/3 innings at Houston Baptist on March 14.
? Five pitchers combined to shutout Cincinnati, 5-0, in 13 innings on March 1. The five-some scattered seven hits and stuck out 12. It was Iowa’s first shutout since Feb. 21, 2014 — a 2-0 victory over St. Bonaventure.

OFFENSIVE TIDBITS
? Junior Joel Booker has hits in 16-of-20 games this season, which includes a eight multi-hit games. The right fielder drove in a career-high four runs in the series finale at Middle Tennessee State, and is tied for the team-high with 10 RBIs.
? Senior Jake Mangler and junior Joel Booker have eight RBIs over Iowa’s last 10 games. Booker is hitting .375 (15-of-40) and Mangler has a .364 (16-of-44) during the stretch.
? Mangler is hitting .406 (13-of-32) with runners in scoring position and has 10 two-out RBIs. Booker has a .333 (9-of-27) average in the same situation.
? Junior Tyler Peyton has hits in 14-of-17 games to post a .311 batting average. He has at least one hit in six of his last seven games.

IN THE BIG TEN…
? Junior Joel Booker ranks 14th in the Big Ten with a .342 batting average.
? Senior Eric Toole is leading the Big Ten with 13 steals in 15 attempts. The Hawkeyes are second in the conference with 33 steals.
? Toole is also 11th in the conference in hits (29) and 14th with a .418 on-base percentage.
? Iowa is second in the Big Ten with eight saves with them coming from six different individuals.

100 X 4
Iowa has more than 500 career starts among four regulars. Seniors Eric Toole (152), Jake Manglers (142), Kris Goodman (136), and Nick Day (109) have combined to start 539 games in their Hawkeye careers. Mangler has started 57-straight games at second base.

JUNIOR Tyler Peyton…
? shines as a two-way player for the Hawkeyes, going 2-2 with a 3.41 ERA with 30 strikeouts on the mound, while hitting .311 with nine RBIs. Peyton starts at first base when he is not pitching.
? has pitched at least five innings in five of his six starts, allowing one or fewer runs in his first four starts.
? notched a quality start, throwing a season-high 6 1/3 innings at Kansas, giving up three runs on nine hits in a 4-3 loss. He finished with a season high nine strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter.
? posted wins over UALR (2/20) and at Middle Tennessee State (3/7). He struck out six batters in a no-decision in opener against Kansas State (2/13) and threw five shutout innings against Cincinnati (2/27).
? is 7-3 in his Iowa career with a 4.39 ERA in 20 starts. Peyton has six quality starts and has pitched into the seventh inning six times in his career.

JUNIOR Blake Hickman…
? is 2-1 with a 3.19 ERA in six starts. He has 22 strikeouts against 17 walks.
? has thrown at least six innings in three of his last four starts. Hickman went seven innings — the longest outing of his career — allowing four runs on seven hits in a loss at Houston Baptist.
? pitched six innings in victories over Cincinnati (2/28) and Middle Tennessee (3/7).
? notched his first win of season in 5-1 victory over Cincinnati. He was perfect through three innings, striking out 7-of-10 batters to start the game, and had a no-hitter through six innings. He tied a career-high with nine strikeouts in the contest.
? has a 4-3 career record with a 3.58 ERA over 65 1/3 innings in 23 appearances, including 11 starts. He has 56 strikeouts against 40 walks.
? is focusing solely on pitching for the first time in his baseball career. He transitioned to the mound midway through 2014 season.
? pitched in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2014, posting a 3-4 record with a 4.91 ERA in nine starts.

JUNIOR Calvin Mathews…
? is Iowa’s Sunday starter. He is 2-0 with a 0.35 ERA in six appearances (five starts). Mathews has yet to allow an earned run in five starts.
? ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten with a 0.38 ERA and his .211 batting average against is eighth-best in the league.
? picked up his first win against George Mason (2/15), allowing one run on three hits over five innings.
? pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings, scattering four hits, in his second victory of the season at Houston Baptist (3/16).
? was 1-of-5 pitchers to combined for a 13-inning shutout in Iowa’s 5-0 victory over Cincinnati on March 1. He scattered three hits over five innings and had five strikeouts.
? was the Hawkeyes’ Friday starter in 2014 before going down with a shoulder injury. He went 3-3 with a 2.72 ERA with 60 strikeouts to 20 walks. Six of his 11 starts were “quality” starts, and he allowed three or fewer runs in 10-of-11 starts.
? is 7-8 with a 2.91 ERA in 29 appearances (25 starts). He has logged 139 innings, allowing 117 hits and finishing with 103 strikeouts to 41 walks.

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
? Junior Eric Toole has 56 career steals, which are tied for the sixth-most in program history. Larry Platz is fifth with 66 steals.
? Toole is tied for third in UI history with 166 career singles (Keith Noreen is second with 183), and he is four hits from joining the top-10 in Iowa history and nine hits from joining the 200-hit club.
? Junior Nick Hibbing has made 65 career appearances as a Hawkeye — the third-most in school history. Tim Gudex (81, 2004-07) and Kurt Belger (76, 1993-97) are 1-2 in program history.
? Hibbing is also sixth all-time with 10 career saves.

IN-SEASON HONORS
? Freshman Austin Guzzo was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Feb. 16 after having a strong collegiate debut in Iowa’s 4-1 win over George Mason. The Canadian went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI and caught a pitching staff that limited the Patriots to four hits. He is the first Hawkeye to earn the honor since Sasha Kuebel in 2012.

#HELLERBALL
? Iowa won 30 games in UI head coach Rick Heller‘s first season in 2014 — the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history and the third 30-win campaign since 1993.
? The Hawkeyes advanced to and won a game in the Big Ten Tournament in 2014 — the program’s first tournament victory since 2010.
? Iowa has posted winning streaks of nine games (in 2015) and seven games (in 2014) — the longest streaks for the program since 2012.
? Under Heller, Duane Banks Field has been undergoing a transformation with AstroTurf installed in the infield and outfield, new outfield fences and the addition of a new video scoreboard.
? Iowa had five All-Big Ten selections, including the first first-team honoree since 2009. The Hawkeyes also had two first-team all-region selections.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will play two midweek games next week, hosting Grand View on March 31 before facing Western Illinois on April 1. Iowa will spend Easter weekend on the road for a three-game series at Purdue.