Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2016-17 | Hawk Talk Monthly — April
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team travels to Peoria, Illinois, on Wednesday for a midweek match-up against Bradley. Game time is set for 7 p.m. (CT) from Dozer Park. The two teams met in Iowa City on March 22 — a 12-1 Hawkeye victory.
The Hawkeyes have won 11 of their last 14 games to improve to 22-12 overall. Iowa took 2-of-3 games last weekend at Nebraska — its first series win in Lincoln. The Hawkeyes won Friday’s contest, 7-6, in 10 innings and Saturday’s contest, 5-3, before dropping the series finale, 8-6. Iowa sits in a tie for fifth in Big Ten play with a 5-4 record.
Bradley posted a home series win over Wichita State last weekend, winning games one and two, 6-5 and 11-10. The Braves are 15-18 overall.
Bradley has three players hitting over .300 on the season, including sophomore Luke Mangieri and junior Derek Bangert, who lead the team with 27 RBIs. Mangieri has a team-best .331 average, while Bangert leads has a team-high 10 home runs.
Junior Jake Adams, who hit .500 with four doubles and a home run at Nebraska, overtook sophomore Robert Neustrom for the team batting average lead at .358. His 14 home runs and .737 slugging percentage lead the conference, while his 46 RBIs rank second. Neustrom is hitting .356 and is one of five Hawkeyes hitting above .300.
Iowa will send senior RHP Drake Robison to the mound for his sixth start of the season. The Machesney Park, Illinois, native is 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA in 11 appearances. In Robison’s last outing, he scattered four hits in three shutout innings to record a victory in Iowa’s 4-1 win over Western Illinois.
Bradley will counter with sophomore right-hander Mitch Janssen, who will be making his second start of the year. The Princeville, Illinois, native is 1-2 on the season with a 9.92 ERA in eight appearances. In his last time out, Janssen gave up three runs on four hits in six innings versus Northwestern.
The Hawkeyes are 6-0 in midweek games this season, moving its midweek winning streak to 19 consecutive games dating back to the 2015 season. Iowa’s last midweek loss was at the hands of Bradley, falling 5-4, on April 14, 2015, at Dozer Park.
The game will be streamed online via ESPN3. It will also be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network/Hawkeye All-Access with Zach Mackey on the call.
Following the midweek matchup, the Hawkeyes return home for seven straight games, beginning with a three-game Big Ten series against Rutgers from April 21-23 at Duane Banks Field.
