Game Notes -- Ohio State (May 12-14)

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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team will host Ohio State in its final home Big Ten Conference series of the season from May 12-14 at Duane Banks Field.  Friday’s series opener is slated for a 6:05 p.m. (CT) start, Saturday will begin at 2:05 p.m., and the series finale is Sunday at 1:05 p.m.  Sunday is Senior Day.
  
 GAME COVERAGE
• All three games will be carried on select stations around the state via the Hawkeye Radio Network and be streamed online via Hawkeye All-Access with Zach Mackey and Steve Duncan on the call.
• Select games will be available on AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City and all three contests will be on WDBQ in Dubuque.  
• The duration of the series will also be video streamed online via BTN Plus on BTN2Go.
• Live statistics will be available at www.hawkeyesports.com and fans can follow the action via Twitter/UIBaseball.

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
• On Friday, Hawkeye beach balls will be handed out prior to the game. Iowa’s 1972 College World Series team will be honored during pregame.
• Saturday, free Hawkeye fanny packs will be handed out prior to the game.  It’s “Have a Catch” Saturday with adults and children being able to play catch in the outfield for 30 minutes at the conclusion of the game.
• Sunday, Iowa will honor its six seniors in a pregame ceremony and it’s “Momma’s Boy Day” at Banks.  The first 200 fans will receive a free Hawkeye mini baseball bat, and it’s “Sunday Runday” with kids being able to run the bases after the game.
• Tuesday is Iowa’s final home game of the 2017 season against Omaha at 6:05 p.m. It’s $2 Tuesday and there will be postgame fireworks.

LEADING OFF
• Iowa has won six of its last eight Big Ten series dating back to the 2016 season.  The Hawkeyes are tied for fourth — 1/2 game back of league-leading Nebraska — in the Big Ten standings with six games remaining in the regular season.
• The Hawkeyes are one win shy of win No. 30.  It would be the program’s fourth straight 30-win campaign — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since winning 30-plus games in seven consecutive seasons from 1979-85.
• Iowa is 16-3 at Duane Banks Field this season and 49-13 at home dating back to the 2015 season. Iowa won eight straight home games from March 24-April 21.
• Junior Nick Gallagher, who was the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on May 1, is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA over his last seven starts.  In Big Ten play, Gallagher is 3-0 with a league-leading 1.73 ERA, posting a quality start in four of his six starts.
• The Hawkeyes rank in the top five in the Big Ten in eight different offensive categories, including ranking second in doubles (86), fourth in home runs (42), batting average (.281), slugging percentage (.425), and runs (271), and fifth in hits (438), on-base percentage (.370), and RBIs (250).  
• In Big Ten play, Iowa is second in team ERA (3.40), third in team batting average (.293), and fourth in team fielding percentage (.979). Mason McCoy (sixth, .370), Jake Adams (seventh, .366), and Tyler Cropley (t15th, .338) all rank among the top-15 in the league in batting average and McCoy is tied for the league-lead with 20 runs scored.
• Iowa is fifth nationally with 53 double plays this season and the team ranks 30th with a .978 team fielding percentage.  
• Junior Jake Adams ranks among the national leaders in four different offensive categories. He is seventh in home runs (16), 20th in total bases (123), 25th in slugging percentage (.672), and 36th in RBIs (51).
• Adams hit his Big Ten-leading 16 home runs — five off the NCAA lead — April 29 against Penn State.  Adams is the third Hawkeye since 2000 to hit 10 or more home runs in a season.  The 16 blasts are the most by an Iowa player since 2002 and tied for the seventh-most in a single season in program history.  Adams is on pace to hit 18 home runs; Iowa’s school record is 22 by John Knapp in 1986.
• Iowa will honor its 1972 College World Series team on Friday, while the Senior Day ceremony will be held prior to Sunday’s series finale.  There will be postgame fireworks following Tuesday’s game against Omaha.

IOWA TIDBITS
• The Hawkeyes will honor the 45th anniversary of the 1972 College World Series team prior to Friday’s series opener.  Iowa will hold its Senior Day ceremony prior to Sunday’s series finale.  The six seniors are Ryan Erickson, Josh Martsching, Mason McCoy, Sam Norman, Drake Robison, and Corbin Woods.   
• Iowa had 13 hits in its 9-4 series-clinching victory at Michigan State on May 7.  The 13 hits were the most for the team since April 14 at Nebraska.
• The Hawkeyes have Big Ten series victories over Purdue, Nebraska, Penn State, and Michigan State. The road series win in Lincoln was the first in program history.
• Iowa has won 19 of its last 21 midweek games dating back to the 2015 season.  The Hawkeyes lost for just the second time in 21 contests, falling 7-5 at Western Illinois on May 2.  
• The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits in 15 of their 29 victories this season.  
• Iowa hit two grand slams — one from Tyler Cropley and one from Robert Neustrom — in a 12-1 midweek victory over Bradley on March 22.  It was the team’s third grand slam of the season.  
• The Hawkeyes have had 10 or more hits in 24 games this season and have scored 10 or more runs in six contests.  Iowa has scored seven or more runs in 17 games.  
• Iowa won its first 13 games when finishing with 10 or more hits. The team is 18-6 when reaching the 10-hit mark.

OHIO STATE NOTABLES
• The Buckeyes have lost four consecutive series (three in Big Ten play), dropping their record to 19-30 overall and 6-12 in league play.  Ohio State is tied for 11th in the conference standings — two games out of eighth place.
• Ohio State hits .247 as a team with one player hitting over .300.  The Buckeyes average 4.7 runs per game and have 32 home runs, 76 doubles, and 18 triples.  Freshman Dominic Canzone leads the team with a .356 average; Jalen Washington has team-highs in doubles (13), triples (4), home runs (5), RBIs (31) and steals (12).
• The Buckeyes have a 5.16 team ERA and allow 5.9 runs per contest.  Ohio State’s Seth Kinker is 3-0 with a 2.51 ERA with five saves and 46 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings.
• Ohio State will start RHP Jake Post (1-5, 3.98 ERA) on Friday and LHP Connor Curlis (3-3, 4.53 ERA) on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is TBA.

SERIES RECORD
• Ohio State leads the all-time series over Iowa, 74-52-1.  The Buckeyes went 3-2 against the Hawkeyes last season, taking 2-of-3 games in Columbus before splitting two contests at the Big Ten Tournament.  Ohio State won 8-7 in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
• This is Ohio State’s first trip to Iowa City since the 2010 season when Iowa took the series, winning 2-of-3 games.
• The Buckeyes have won the last two series over Iowa; the Hawkeyes’ last series win over Ohio State came in 2011 in Columbus.

1 WIN = 30 X 4
One victory will give Iowa its fourth straight 30 win season under head coach Rick Heller.  The program hasn’t enjoyed a stretch of 30 or more wins since accomplishing the feat in seven consecutive seasons from 1979-85.
• Iowa won 30 games in Heller’s first season, 41 in 2015 en route to the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance since 1990 before winning 30 games last season in a run to the Big Ten Tournament title game.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Iowa is out-scoring its opponents, 37-21, in the first inning this season.  The Hawkeyes are 17-5 when scoring first.
• Over the first three innings, Iowa is out-scoring its opposition, 103-65.
• The Hawkeyes are 20-1 when scoring six or more runs this season.  Iowa is 9-16 when scoring five runs or less.
• Iowa is 17-8 when hitting a home run this season.  The team is 10-3 when hitting two or more long balls.
• The Hawkeyes are 22-3 when leading after six innings, 23-2 after seven innings, and 23-1 after eight innings this season.
• Twenty-three games have been decided by two runs or less this season; Iowa is 13-10.

BANKS MAGIC
• Iowa is 16-3 at home this season running its record to 49-13 at Banks Field since the start of the 2015 season.  
• The Hawkeyes went 17-3 in 2015 — the most home victories since 1996 — and followed it up with 16 home wins in 2016.  Iowa has eight walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.
• Iowa hasn’t won 20 games at home since the 1996 season when it won a school-record 25 home contests.

SET THEM UP, SIT THEM DOWN
The Hawkeyes are fifth in the Big Ten with 359 strikeouts in 2017, averaging 7.8 per game.  Iowa is on pace to shatter the program’s single-season record for a second straight season.  Iowa had a record 382 strikeouts in 2016; the team is on pace for 413 this season. 

HELLER WINS NO. 800
UI head coach Rick Heller won the 800th game of his collegiate coaching career when the Hawkeyes swept a March 12 doubleheader over Lehigh at the Snowbird Baseball Classic. 

#SWINGFASTER
The Hawkeyes are tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 42 home runs this season. Ten different players have hit at least one home run.
• The 42 home runs are the most for the team in the Rick Heller era and the most for the Hawkeyes since 2002.  Iowa hit 46 home runs in 2002.
• Iowa had 26 home runs in 56 games during the 2016 season.

GOING, GOING…
Junior Jake Adams is leading the Big Ten with 16 home runs this season. The South Dakota native hit his 16th blast — a solo shot — in Iowa’s 9-1 victory over Penn State on April 29. Adams’ 15th home run came April 25 — a shot that went 400 feet and had a 118 mph exit velocity.
• The South Dakota native is seventh nationally with 16 home runs. Morehead State’s Niko Hulsizer and Eastern Kentucky’s Ben Fisher are the national leaders with 21 blasts.
• Adams’ 16 home runs are the most by a Hawkeye since Brad Carlson hit 16 in 2002 and are tied for the seventh-most in a single-season in program history.  Just three Iowa players have reached 10 home runs since 2002.
• Iowa is 12-2 when Adams hits a home run this season.  
• Adams hit three home runs (and had seven RBIs) in Iowa’s 12-11, 10-inning victory at Kansas State on March 19.  Adams is the first Hawkeye since Jason White in 2007 to hit three home runs in the same game.
• Adams is one of five Big Ten players to hit three home runs in a game this season.
• Iowa’s single-season home run record is 22, set by John Knapp in 1986.  Adams is currently on pace to hit 18 home runs in 2017.
• Adams hit a school-record 25 home runs last year during his All-America season at DMACC.  In two junior-college seasons, Adams hit 42 career home runs — a school record.

MORE THAN A HOME RUN HITTER
Sure, Jake Adams has a Big Ten-best 16 home runs, but he’s more than a home run hitter.  Adams has hit safely in 35 games, reached safely in 40 contests, and posted 21 multi-hit games.  He is tied for 11th in the Big Ten with a .333 batting average.
Adams leads the Big Ten in slugging percentage (.672) and total bases (123), and is tied for first in RBIs (52).  He is tied for third in doubles (14), sixth in hits (61), and tied for ninth in runs (37).

RBI KINGS
Junior Jake Adams and sophomore Robert Neustrom are tied for first and fifth in the Big Ten in RBIs.  Adams is leading the league with 52 RBIs — the most by a Hawkeye since 2008. Adams has driven in at least one run in 27 games.  Neustrom is fifth with 43 RBIs; he had the game-winning RBI double in Iowa’s 4-3 win over South Dakota State on April 4.
• Adams drove in seven runs (on three home runs) in Iowa’s 12-11 victory over Kansas State on March 19.  It was Adams’ second game with six or more RBIs this season. He is tied for 36th nationally in RBIs.
• Iowa is 23-5 when Adams has at least one RBI.  
• Adams is on pace for 60 RBIs this season, which would be the 11th-most in a single-season in program history.
• Neustrom had a career-best four hits and five RBIs to complete Iowa’s doubleheader sweep of Lehigh on March 12.  Neustrom has six games with three or more RBIs.

CONSISTENT SOPHOMORE
Sophomore Robert Neustrom has hit safely in all but eight games this season (38-of-46 games).  The outfielder had a career-best 14-game hitting streak from April 4-28.  He has two 10-plus game hitting streaks, as he opened the year with an 11-game hitting streak.
• Neustrom’s 64 hits are third in the Big Ten, he leads the conference with 15 doubles, and has a team-best 21 multi-hit games.  His .335 average is 10th in the conference and he has 30 runs and 43 RBIs. He has nine games this season with two or more RBIs and has driven in at least one run in 25 games.  Iowa is 18-7 when Neustrom has at least one RBI.
• He tallied his first career four-hit game against Lehigh, finishing 4-for-5 with a career-best five RBIs.  
• The Sioux City, Iowa native, has a career-best four home runs, including a three-run shot in Iowa’s road loss at Minnesota and a grand slam against Bradley.

MCCOY: THE SHORTSTOP
After being Iowa’s primary third baseman as a junior, Mason McCoy is back at his natural position at shortstop in 2017. The Illinois native is tied for sixth in the Big Ten in doubles (13) and is second in runs (43).
• McCoy tied a career-high with a 15-game hitting streak from April 4-28.  He has reached base safely in a career-best 20 straight games. 
• McCoy has 18 multi-hit games this season and has hit safely in 38 contests.  He has scored at least one run in 27 games.  He tied a career-high, scoring four runs in Iowa’s 9-4 series-clinching victory at Michigan State and he had a solo home run — his third of the year — in game two.
• He is tied for 14th in the conference with a .330 batting average and his 61 hits are tied for sixth in the Big Ten.
• McCoy was an Northwest League All-Star selection in both 2015 and 2016, playing for the La Crosse Loggers.
• McCoy is one of the top all-around shortstops in the Big Ten.  Iowa has had an all-conference selection at shortstop in each of Rick Heller’s first three seasons.  (Jake Yacinich, first-team, 2014; Nick Roscetti, third-team, 2015, first-team, 2016).

WAY TO GO WHELAN
Sophomore Chris Whelan is hitting .309 with 27 runs and 17 RBIs.  He also has four home runs and seven doubles.
•  The Illinois native  hit two home runs in Iowa’s 5-3 loss to Rutgers on April 22.  He posted three-straight multi-hit games against the Scarlet Knights.
• Whelan has 16 multi-hit games this season and he reached base safely in a career-best 14 straight games from April 1-23.
• As Iowa’s leadoff hitter, Whelan is hitting .333 with 41 hits and 20 runs scored.

IMPRESSIVE FRESHMAN
As Iowa’s every day center fielder, freshman Ben Norman is hitting  .295 with 14 multi-hit games.  He has scored 24 runs and has 13 RBIs and eight doubles.
• Norman is Iowa’s top base-stealing threat, swiping 14 bags in 18 chances this season.  He is tied for ninth in the Big Ten.
• Norman went 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs at Kansas State, which included a game-winning RBI double in the 10th inning of Iowa’s 12-11 extra inning win at Kansas State.  

CROP HEATS UP
Junior Tyler Cropley was hitting as low as .105 midway through March before clawing himself out of his early-season hole.  Cropley started April with a .203 average and through the first game in May, he has improved 67 points to a .270 clip.  
• Cropley hit .308 with four home runs and four doubles in April, while driving in 12 runs and scoring 15 times. Since the UNLV series (March 31-April-1), Cropley is leading the team with a .341 average with seven doubles and four home runs. He has nine multi-hit games during the stretch and has 20 RBIs.
• Cropley had the game-winning RBI single in the top of the ninth in the series opener at Michigan State before tying a career-high with four RBIs in the series-clinching victory in East Lansing.
• Over his last 10 games, Cropley has a team-best .455 (15-of-33) average with nine RBIs and six multi-hit games.  He is tied for 15th in Big Ten play, hitting .338 with a .569 slugging and .419 on-base percentage.

AROUND, AROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH
Iowa has batted around the lineup eight times during the 2017 season.  The Hawkeyes batted around twice in an April 7, 14-2 victory at Northwestern.  Iowa is 6-1 in such games.
• Feb. 24 – vs. Alabama St. – 9 batters – 3rd – 3 runs
• Feb. 26 – vs. Morehead St. – 10 batters – 2nd – 6 runs
• March 7 – N. Illinois – 10 batters – 1st – 5 runs 
• April 7 – at N’western – 9 batters – 2nd – 5 runs
• April 7 – at N’western – 13 batters – 8th – 7 runs
• April 9 – at N’western – 9 batters – 4th – 3 runs
• April 29 – Penn State – 10 batters – 8th – 5 runs
• May 7 – at Michigan St. – 9 batters – 9th – 4 runs

OFFENSIVE TIDBITS
• Sophomore Mitchell Boe has hit safely in five of Iowa’s last seven games.  He had two hits April 28 against Penn State — when he finished 2-for-4 with a double, triple, and three RBIs. Boe had the game-winning RBI single in the 10th inning in Iowa’s 7-6 victory at Nebraska on April 14.  It was his third late-inning game-tying or go-ahead hit since April 1.
• Freshman Grant Judkins hit two home runs in a three-game stretch, becoming the 10th Hawkeye to hit a home run this season. The Pella, Iowa, native hit a solo shot April 29 against Penn State for his first career home run before connecting on a solo shot May 2 at Western Illinois. 

BALLS & STRIKES
• The Hawkeyes are sixth in the Big Ten with a 4.04 team ERA. Iowa’s staff ranks fifth in the league with 359 strikeouts, averaging 7.8 per game.  
• Junior Elijah Wood will make his third weekend start against Ohio State on Sunday.  He has gone a career-long in back-to-back starts, going 3 1/3 innings against Penn State and 3 2/3 at Michigan State.   Wood is 0-0 with a 2.93 ERA over 24 innings. 
• Senior Josh Martsching factored into both victories at Michigan State, earning the win in the series opener and the save in the series finale.  He is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA this season with 34 strikeouts (to seven walks) over 29 2/3 innings and leads the team with five saves.  Martsching has made two weekend appearances five times during the 2017 season.
• Martsching has allowed four earned runs over his last 13 appearances, spanning 20 2/3 innings, and has 25 strikeouts during the stretch. The right-hander tied a career-high with five strikeouts April 25 against Milwaukee.  Martsching’s 65 career appearances are the fourth-most in school history and his 10 career saves are seventh all-time.
• Sophomore Zach Daniels is second in the Big Ten and tied for 35th nationally with seven victories.  He is 7-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 19 relief appearances. 
• Redshirt freshman Kyle Shimp made his return May 2 at Western Illinois after missing three weeks with mono.   Shimp earned his fourth victory at Michigan State, allowing one run on one hit in two innings.  Shimp hasn’t allowed a run in eight of his 11 appearances, where he is 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA.  Opponents are hitting .155 against the southpaw this season and he has surrendered more than one hit just once in 11 appearances.
• Sophomore Shane Ritter has allowed two runs over his last 13 appearances, spanning 16 1/3 innings. He has allowed 14 hits during the stretch and fanned 16. Ritter notched his fourth save at Nebraska on April 15 via his first career three-inning save.  

JUNIOR NICK GALLAGHER…
• is 14-4 with a 2.40 ERA in 34 career appearances, including 20 starts.  He has 139 strikeouts against 47 walks in 154 innings.
• is 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 2017 — his ERA is tied for third in the Big Ten and wins are tied for fifth.  He has 63 strikeouts to rank seventh and his 70 1/3 innings are third despite missing his March 17 start at Kansas State.
• In Big Ten play, Gallagher is 3-0 with a league-best 1.73 ERA. He has 31 strikeouts over 36 1/3 innings and is limiting batters to a .221 average. He has had a quality start in four of his six Big Ten starts.
• in seven starts since, Gallagher is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA. He has allowed 32 hits and fanned 37 over 43 1/3 innings against Purdue, UNLV, Northwestern, Nebraska, Rutgers, Penn State, and Michigan State.
• has eight quality starts in 2017 and has logged at least seven innings in seven of his 11 starts.
• was the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on May 1 after scattering three hits over eight innings and fanning a career-high 10 batters (without issuing a walk) against Penn State on April 28 to earn his sixth win. He struck out eight of the first 10 batters he faced.  He is the first Hawkeye since 2014 to strike out 10 in a game.
• went eight innings in Iowa’s 7-6 victory over Hawai’i at the DQ Classic where he had eight strikeouts (without walking a batter) in the game.
• tied for second in the Big Ten with eight victories as a sophomore, which were the sixth-most in a single-season in program history.
• was named to the 2016 Big Ten All-Tournament team after allowing one hit over six innings and fanning a career-high nine in a victory over Maryland.

SENIOR RYAN ERICKSON…
• will make his ninth consecutive start this weekend against Ohio State. The southpaw is 2-2 with a 2.33 ERA since joining the starting rotation March 17 at Kansas State.  He is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA this season; ERA is sixth in the Big Ten.  In league games, Erickson is 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA — the sixth-best ERA in the conference.
• has allowed 51 hits over 53 1/3 innings and fanned 35.  He is 8-4 in his career with a 3.21 ERA, fanning 87 batters over 143 innings.
• Has three quality starts on the season, including two in back-to-back games against Penn State and Michigan State.
• earned his first career victory as a starter at Nebraska on April 15, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits over six innings.  It was his first career quality start.
• went a career-long 7 1/3 innings in a victory over Penn State on April 28.  He tied a career-high with five strikeouts.