May 15, 2015
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa junior first baseman/right-handed pitcher Tyler Peyton is a semifinalist for the 2015 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, it was released late Friday by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. The award is presented to the nation’s top player both on the mound and at the plate.
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Peyton is one of 21 semifinalists and the only player from the Big Ten Conference to make the cut. The award will be presented as part of the Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions celebration in Lubbock, Texas, on June 28-29.
As a pitcher, the Grimes, Iowa, native is 6-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts as the Hawkeyes’ Friday starter. He is tied for eighth in the Big Ten in wins (six), 12th in innings (81 1/3), tied for 13th in strikeouts (62) and strikeouts looking (19), 14th in ERA (3.32), and 15th in opposing batting average (.260).
Peyton has played both ways in 7-of-8 Big Ten starts. He tossed a complete game shutout and drove in the game-winning run in Iowa’s 2-0 series opening victory over No. 17 Indiana on March 29, which led to him earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors by College Sports Madness.
Offensively, Peyton is Iowa’s top hitter, posting a .354 batting average to rank fourth in the league, and he is sixth in on-base percentage (.440). Peyton ranks second on the team with 28 RBIs and third in runs (29) and doubles (nine). Peyton, who has 17 multi-hit and six multi-RBI games, has hit safely in 34-of-43 games and reached safely in 40-of-43 contests.
The Olerud Award is named for the former Washington State University standout who achieved success both as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s, and who was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
The 13th-ranked Hawkeyes (38-13, 19-4) close out the regular season today at Rutgers. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. (CT), and the game will be streamed live on BTN Plus on BTN2Go.
