Game Notes -- vs. Ohio State (B1G Tournament)

May 18, 2015

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Big Ten Tournament: No. 2 Iowa (38-14) vs. No. 7 Ohio State (35-18)
Date	May 20, 2015
Location	Minneapolis | Target Field
Game Notes	Iowa | Ohio State
Statistics	IOWA | Ohio State

THIS WEEK
The 15th-ranked University of Iowa baseball team opens Big Ten Tournament play Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CT), facing seventh-seeded Ohio State at Target Field in Minneapolis.

GAME COVERAGE
? Wednesday’s game will be streamed live on BTN Plus on BTN2Go.
? The game will also be broadcast on AM-800 KXIC and AM-1360 KMJM with Brent Balbinot and Steve Duncan on the call. The game 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.

IOWA B1G TOURNEY HISTORY
The Hawkeyes are making their second straight Big Ten Tournament appearance, and it is the 10th in program history. Iowa is 8-17 overall in the tournament, advancing to the championship game in 1983 and 2010. The Hawkeyes won their first tournament game since 2010 last season, edging Minnesota in an elimination game, 2-1. Iowa dropped its opening game, 5-2, to top-seeded Indiana before being eliminated by Michigan, 7-1.

IOWA VS. B1G FIELD
The Hawkeyes went 10-2 against the Big Ten Tournament field in 2015. Iowa swept series against Indiana and Nebraska, and took two out of three game against Michigan and Maryland. The Hawkeyes did not face Ohio State, Illinois, or Michigan State.

LEADING OFF
? The Hawkeyes are ranked for the eighth straight week, coming in No. 15 by Collegiate Baseball, 19th by Baseball America, 21st in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, and 22nd by D1Baseball.com. The Perfect Game and NCBWA polls have yet to be released.
? Iowa won 19 games in Big Ten play to earn its highest regular season finish in 25 years. The Hawkeyes’ 38 overall wins are the most victories since 1990. Iowa has four top-four Big Ten finishes since 1990.
? The Hawkeyes are making their second straight and 10th Big Ten Tournament appearance. Iowa is 8-18 all-time in the event, finishing as the runner-up in 1983 and 2010. Iowa will face the winner/loser of the game between No. 6 Indiana and No. 3 Michigan on Thursday.
? Iowa went 10-2 against the 2015 Big Ten Tournament field, sweeping series against Indiana and Nebraska and winning 2-of-3 games against Maryland and Michigan.
? The Hawkeyes have gone 7-1 in neutral site games this season, winning seven straight since dropping their season opener to Kansas State in Port Charlotte, Florida.
? Iowa went 17-3 at Duane Banks Field during the regular season — the most home victories since 1996 (25-22).
? Iowa registered its 30th victory of the season in game two of an April 26 doubleheader against Nebraska, giving Iowa back-to-back 30 win seasons for the first time since 1989 and 1990. The team’s 38 wins are the most since 1990; Iowa hasn’t won 40 games in a season since 1985 (40-20).
? UI head coach Rick Heller is the winningest coach in Iowa history in his first two seasons, winning 68 games.
? Junior Blake Hickman went 7-0 with a 2.45 ERA in Big Ten play, and is 9-1 overall with a 2.75 ERA. The nine victories are the most by a Hawkeye since 2005 and tied for the fourth most in school history and are 18th-best nationally.
? The Hawkeyes rank seventh nationally in team fielding percentage (.979), ninth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.57), and 10th in team ERA (2.90).

QUICK HITTERS
? The Hawkeyes won their first 11 series of the season, including four three-game sweeps, before dropping 2-of-3 games at Rutgers in the final series of the regular season.
? The Hawkeyes are in the top five in the Big Ten in defense (second, .979) and pitching (second, 2.90), and fifth in team batting average (.278). In league play, Iowa leads the conference in fielding (.978), is second in ERA (3.00), and is fourth in hitting (.298).
? Seniors Eric Toole (184), Jake Mangler (174), Kris Goodman (166), and Nick Day (126) have combined to start 660 games the last four years as Hawkeyes. Mangler has started 89 consecutive games at second base.
? Toole is 27-of-33 in stolen base attempts this season, the second-most in the Big Ten and the 11th-most in a single school in school history.
? Twenty games have been decided by two runs or less. Iowa is 15-7 in such contests.
? Iowa is 18-5 when playing error-free baseball and 31-9 when committing one or fewer errors. Iowa is 7-5 when committing two or more errors.
? The Hawkeyes are 29-2 when out-hitting their opponents and 28-5 when scoring first. Conversely, Iowa is 10-9 when the opponent scores first.
? Iowa has out scored opponents 35-12 in the first inning, and 93-47 over the first three innings.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
? The Buckeyes went 35-18 during the regular season and 13-11 in Big Ten play. Ohio State was ranked in the top-25 on April 27, but went 4-8 down the stretch, including 1-8 in the league against Illinois, Maryland, and Indiana.
? Ohio State hits .281 as a team with two regulars hitting above .300, and the Buckeyes average 5.6 runs per game. Pat Porter leads the team with a .332 batting average, 67 hits, 10 home runs, and 48 RBIs. Outfielder Troy Montgomery is hitting .320 with 54 runs, 12 doubles, six triples, and a league-best 35 steals. Montgomery has also drawn 38 walks.
? The Buckeyes will send sophomore RHP Travis Lakins to the mound Wednesday. Lakins is 4-4 with a 3.99 ERA in 14 starts, allowing 50 runs (39 earned) on 91 hits over 88 innings. He has 78 strikeouts against 31 walks. He is 4-2 with a 3.81 ERA with one complete game in Big Ten play.

THE SERIES
? The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series over Ohio State, 77-71-1. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
? Iowa is 1-2 against Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament play with the most recent meeting coming in 1990. The Hawkeyes won a first round game, 6-4, but the Buckeyes won an elimination game, 4-2.
? Ohio State won the most recent series, taking 2-of-3 games from the Hawkeyes last season in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the opener, 9-4, and the finale, 3-2. Iowa won the middle game of the series, 17-2.

BEST OF THE RUNNERS-UP
The Hawkeyes finished 19-5 in the Big Ten to finish second in the league standings. Iowa has a .792 conference winning percentage. Since the Big Ten Conference returned to single division play in 1988, no second-place team has finished with a winning-percentage better than .750. Since 1988, the only other Big Ten team to finish the season with six or fewer conference losses and not win the regular season was Nebraska in 2014 (18-6). The 2014 Cornhuskers (18-6, .750), 1994 Golden Gophers (21-7, .750), and 1999 Golden Gophers (21-7, .750) have the best winning percentage among second place teams since 1988.

TOOLE MAKES HISTORY
Senior Eric Toole broke the school record for career singles in the series opener against Minnesota on May 8. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native had a single in the third to tie Mike McQuillan’s school record and a two-run single in the sixth to make history. Toole is fourth all-time in career hits with 234.

WIN TOTAL CLIMBING
? Iowa has won 38 games in 2015, reaching the 30-win plateau in two straight seasons for the first time since 1989 and 1990.
? The 38 victories are the most for the program since 1990.
? Iowa hasn’t won 40 games since 1985 (40-20), and the program has only three 40-win seasons in its history.

PEYTON IS A SEMIFINALIST FOR OLERUD AWARD
Junior Tyler Peyton is a semifinalist for the 2015 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award. The award is presented to the nation’s top player both on the mound and at the plate. He is the only player from the Big Ten Conference to make the cut.

The Grimes, Iowa, native is 6-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts as Iowa’s Friday starter and is leading the team with a .360 batting average — fourth-best in the Big Ten — while also ranking in the top three on the team in runs (29) and RBIs (28).

EARNING HIS KEEP ON FRIDAYS
Since Big Ten play commenced, junior Tyler Peyton has been hitting and pitching for himself on Friday nights… and quite well. Peyton is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA in seven conference starts playing both ways, allowing 22 runs (19 earned) on 39 hits over 44 1/3 innings. He opened Big Ten play with 14 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Offensively, Peyton is hitting .261 with four runs and two RBIs when playing both ways. He drove in the go-head run against No. 17 Indiana and went 3-for-5 in the opener at Purdue.

GOOD PITCHING… GOOD DEFENSE
The Hawkeyes have relied on their pitching and defense all season. Iowa ranks in the top-10 nationally in both team fielding percentage (.979) and ERA (2.90). The team has committed 43 errors in 52 games — the fewest in the Big Ten — and Iowa has 42 double plays.

ROSCETTI BLOSSOMS IN APRIL
After hitting .210 and driving in six runs over the first 1 1/2 months (21 games) of the season, junior Nick Roscetti’s game blossomed in April.
? The shortstop hit .378 with 11 runs, and 11 RBIs in April. He had 10 multi-hit games during the month, including a 3-for-4, three-run, three-RBI performance at Purdue on April 3.
? Roscetti, who has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games, is fourth in the Big Ten with a .391 average, 36 hits, 18 runs, and 17 RBIs. The 36 hits were tied for the second-most in the Big Ten this season. He drove in a career-high four runs in a 13-7 win at Michigan on May 1.
? Roscetti is second on the team with 19 multi-hit games and is tied for the team lead with seven multi-RBI games. He had a career-long nine game hitting streak from April 25 to May 8.

A “GOOD” STREAK
Since seeing his average dip to a season-low .213 on April 11, senior Kris Goodman has been on a tear. The Minnesota native is leading the team with a .363 average in the 19 games since.
? Hitting .348 with nine runs and eight RBIs since moving to the cleanup spot in the order May 1.
? He is hitting .315 in Big Ten play with nine extra base hits,15 runs, and 13 RBIs.
? Goodman has a team-high five triples to rank third in the Big Ten. They are the most triples by a Hawkeye since 2011.

IOWA PITCHING SHINES
? The Hawkeyes have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 30 games this season, including 15 in Big Ten play.
? Iowa has used the same weekend rotation for the duration of the season. Tyler Peyton, Blake Hickman, and Calvin Mathews are a combined 20-7 with a 2.76 ERA with 147 strikeouts to 83 walks.
? Iowa’s pitching staff has three shutouts this season (vs. Cincinnati (13 innings), vs. Indiana, at Michigan) — the most for the program since 2007 (four shutouts).
? Peyton and Hickman combined to hold Indiana scoreless through the first 16 innings of its three-game series from March 27-29. The Hoosiers scored three earned runs in three games.
? Iowa’s pitching staff held No. 16 Maryland to two runs on 10 hits over the final 18 innings of the three-game series on April 10-11 in College Park. The Hawkeyes held the Terrapins to 18 hits and had 22 strikeouts in three games.
? The Hawkeyes limited Nebraska to six runs (five earned) on 21 hits over 28 innings, fanning 21 to 12 walks.
? Iowa posted a 1.00 ERA in the three-game sweep of against Minnesota, allowing three earned runs over 27 innings.
? Iowa is second in the Big Ten in ERA (2.90), first in opposing batting average (.230), and tied for second in saves (18). The Hawkeyes have allowed the fewest hits (399) and second-fewest runs (177) in the conference.
? The Hawkeyes’ starting pitchers are 20-7 with a 2.90 ERA in 52 starts.

IN RELIEF
? The UI bullpen is 18-7 with a 2.91 ERA with a school record 18 saves, which are tied for the second-most in the Big Ten. Iowa’s relievers are holding batters to a .226 average and have 160 strikeouts.
? Senior Nick Hibbing is 2-0 with a 0.74 ERA and six saves in 10 Big Ten appearances with 22 strikeouts against zero walks. Hibbing hasn’t walked a batter in his last 36 2/3 innings — since his first outing of the season against Kansas State on Feb. 13. He has 32 strikeouts to two walks this season. Hibbing hasn’t allowed a run over his last 18 1/3 innings, scattering nine hits during the stretch.
? Junior Luke Vandermaten didn’t allow a run in his first 10 appearances and has only allowed three runs in 19 appearances. The right-hander has allowed 24 hits over 35 innings, fanning 19. Vandermaten is 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA and has four saves. Where it stands, Vandermaten’s ERA would be an all-time Iowa record (Mike Boddicker, 0.79).
? Junior southpaw Ryan Erickson is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA with one save and has 26 strikeouts to 17 walks. Erickson threw a career-high 5 2/3 innings at Michigan to tally his fourth win.
? Iowa’s relief corps have converted 18-of-19 save opportunities this season. The Hawkeyes are 30-2 when leading after six, 31-1 leading after seven, and 32-1 leading after eight.
? The Hawkeyes currently have a 2.90 team ERA over 52 games. Iowa’s school record is 3.63, set in 1971.

OFFENSIVE TIDBITS
? Five Hawkeyes are hitting over .300 over the last 10 games.
? Junior Dan Potempa is hitting .387 (12-of-31) with 11 RBIs and three doubles in his last eight contests. He has four multi-hit games in his last 10 contests, including a 4-for-6, three RBI performance at Michigan, a 3-for-4, four RBI game against Minnesota, and a 3-for-5, two RBI game at Rutgers.
? Senior Eric Toole has a career-high 72 hits this season, the sixth-most in the Big Ten. The outfielder has reached base safely in 50-of-52 games and leads the team with 39 runs scored.

WALK-OFF WINNERS
The Hawkeyes have posted five walk-off wins this season with contributions from its entire roster. Iowa has overcome deficits in 13 games, going 10-3 in such contests.
? Tyler Peyton delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to send Iowa to a 6-5 victory over Missouri State.
? Senior Jake Mangler delivered a bases loaded RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to send Iowa to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Northwestern.
? Junior Eric Schenck-Joblinske drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Hawkeyes a 4-3 win.
? Junior Jimmy Frankos hit a full count, two-out, bases loaded RBI single to left field, sending Iowa to a 3-2 come-from-behind win over No. 25 Nebraska.
? Junior John Barrett hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to center field, plating Eric Toole to down Sacramento State, 4-3, in 18 innings.

IN-SEASON HONORS
? Senior Nick Hibbing was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on May 12 after throwing four shutout innings to pick up the save in Iowa’s 7-1 win over Minnesota.
? Junior Jimmy Frankos was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on April 27 after hitting .545 (6-for-11) with three RBIs and two runs in leading Iowa to a 4-0 week. Frankos had a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning in the Hawkeyes’ win over Nebraska.
? Senior Eric Toole was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Week — his first career honor — on March 31 after hitting .500 and posting a .529 on-base and .563 slugging percentage in a 3-1 week. Toole scored four runs and had two RBIs.
? Junior Tyler Peyton was tabbed as the Big Ten Player of the Week by College Sports Madness on March 31 after tossing a complete game shutout in Iowa’s 2-0 victory over No. 19 Indiana. Peyton also hit .353 with three RBIs and scored twice in four games. Peyton was also named a CB360 Week 7 Primetime Performer.
? 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.

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
? Junior Eric Toole has 70 career steals, which are the fourth-most in program history.
? Toole is the school record holder in career singles (203) and ranks fourth in career hits (234). Senior Jake Mangler is fourth with 177 career singles and 10th with 209 career hits.
? Junior Nick Hibbing has made 77 career appearances as a Hawkeye — the second most in school history. He is also fourth all-time with 16 career saves.
? Toole and Kris Goodman both rank among the top 10 in games played. Toole is tied for eighth with 193 games, while Goodman is10th with 187.

#HELLERBALL
? The Hawkeyes debuted in the national rankings on March 30, coming in at No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball. It was Iowa’s first ranking since 1990. Iowa has been ranked eight-straight weeks.
? Iowa finished as the runner-up in Big Ten play, winning 19 games during the regular season — the most for the program since 1990.
? UI head coach Rick Heller is the winningest coach in his first two seasons in program history, winning 68 games. Iowa has posted back-to-back 30 win seasons for the first time since 1989 and 1990.
? Iowa climbed to as high as No. 13 — its highest ranking since 1990 — on May 12 by Collegiate Baseball and was ranked in six polls.
? Iowa posted its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2012 and swept a ranked opponent (No. 19 Indiana) for the first time since 1990. The Hawkeyes also swept No. 25 Nebraska, winning its second straight series over the Huskers.
? Iowa won 2-of-3 games at Michigan — its first series win over the Wolverines since 2010. The Hawkeyes have won a school record eight straight Big Ten series.
? The Hawkeyes opened Big Ten play with consecutive sweeps, starting 6-0 for the first time in school history. Iowa is 8-1 in Big Ten play for first time since 1990.
? 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.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
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UP NEXT
The 2015 NCAA Tournament field will be announced on May 25 at 11 a.m. (CT) on ESPNU. NCAA Regionals will be held from May 29-31 at 16 host sites across the nation.