Game Notes — at UAB

Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Fight For Iowa | Hawk Talk Monthly — February 2018 | Game Notes (PDF)

Date:	March 2-4, 2018
Location:	Birmingham, Ala. | Regions Field
Game Notes:	IOWA | UAB
Statistics	IOWA | UAB
Radio/Streaming:	Hawkeye Radio Network | Hawkeye All-Access ($)
Live Stats:	Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Television/Video Streaming:	CUSA TV  ($)
Game 1 | March 2 | 4 p.m. (CT)
Pitching Matchup:	Iowa: LHP Nick Allgeyer (0-0, 0.75 ERA)
	UAB: RHP Tanner Graham (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
Game 2 | March 3 | 1 p.m. (CT)
Pitching Matchup:	Iowa: RHP Brady Schanuel (1-1, 7.71 ERA)
	UAB: TBA
Game 3 | March 4 | 12 p.m. (CT)
Pitching Matchup:	Iowa: RHP Cole McDonald (1-0, 4.50 ERA)
	UAB: RHP Ryan Wesson (1-1, 1.80 ERA)

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team heads to Birmingham, Alabama, for a three-game weekend series against UAB.  It is Iowa’s first traditional three-game series of the season.
    All three games will be held at Regions Field — the home of the Double-A Birmingham Barons, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.  Friday’s game will begin at 4 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at noon.

FOLLOW ALONG
• All three games will be streamed online at C-USA TV — a paid subscription service. Links are available at hawkeyesports.com.
• All Iowa games will also be available via the Hawkeye Radio Network with Zach Mackey on the call.  The games can be heard on Hawkeye All-Access and on select stations across the state, including WMT-AM 600 (no Sundays) in Cedar Rapids, WDBQ-FM 107.5 (all games) in Dubuque, KXIC-AM 800  in Iowa City, KJAN-AM/FM 1220 and 101.1 in Atlantic, KDEC-FM 100.5 in Decorah, and KKFD-FM 95.9 in Fairfield.
• Live statistics are available on hawkeyesports.com and fans can follow along via social media at www.twitter.com/UIBaseball.

QUICK HITTERS
• The Hawkeyes had a stellar crowd for its 2018 home opener on Feb. 27 at Duane Banks Field.  Iowa had 1,059 in attendance — its second February straight home opener with more than 1,000 in attendance.
• The Hawkeyes were crowned the team champions at the All-State Sugar Bowl Baseball Classic on Feb. 25 in New Orleans.  Iowa and New Orleans both posted 2-1 records, but the Hawkeyes won the head-to-head meeting.
• Junior Tanner Wetrich had Iowa’s first triple of the season in the midweek victory over Cornell College. 
• Sophomore Kyle Crowl hit a pair of home runs — a solo shot against Virginia Tech and a two-run shot against New Orleans — at the All-State Sugar Bowl Baseball Classic.  Crowl leads the Hawkeyes with two blasts this season.
• Two Hawkeyes — Lorenzo Elion and Robert Neustrom — rank in the top-15 in the Big Ten in batting average.  Elion ranks 11th at .364, while Neustrom is 14th at .357.
• Senior Tyler Cropley and juniors Robert Neustrom and Zach Daniels were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.  
• Iowa was ranked 44th in the College Sports Madness preseason rankings.  The Hawkeyes were also receiving votes in the USBWA preseason rankings.

ABOUT UAB
• The Blazers have 21 letterwinners and six starters returning from a team that went 24-31 last season.   UAB was picked to finish 11th in the preseason C-USA coaches poll.
• UAB is 4-3 overall after starting the season with a 3-1 record.  The Blazers’ three-game series at Arkansas State was washed out last weekend and UAB dropped a pair of midweek games against Jacksonville State (4-2) and at Troy (3-2) this week.
• Offensively, the Blazers have struggled, posting a .239 team batting average and the offense averages 3.7 runs per game. Zach Davis (.348) and Carter Pharis (.308) are the only two players hitting above .300.
• On the mound, UAB has a 2.18 team ERA, allowing just 22 runs (15 earned) in seven games.  The staff has 65 strikeouts to 21 walks.  Iowa will face RHP Tanner Graham (0-0, 3.00 ERA) on Friday and RHP Ryan Wesson (1-1, 1.80 ERA) on Sunday. Saturday’s starter is TBA.

SERIES RESULTS
•  This is the first meeting all-time between Iowa and UAB.  
• Iowa faced fellow C-USA member Old Dominion on the opening weekend, posting a 4-1 victory.

NEW YEAR, SAME HAWKEYES
The Hawkeyes rallied from a two-run, eighth-inning deficit to defeat Toledo, 4-3, in the season-opener on Feb. 16 in Kissimmee, Florida.  Ben Norman’s two-run single in the ninth gave Iowa a walk-off victory — its fifth walk-off in two seasons.
• Iowa made a habit of fighting back in 2017 as 21 of their 39 victories resulted in come-from-behind wins.  The Hawkeyes have two come-from-behind victories this season.

ON THE OFFENSE
• The Hawkeyes have had 10 or more hits in six of seven games this season.  Iowa had a season-high 12 hits in the 8-2 victory over New Orleans on Feb. 25.
• Iowa scored a season-high 15 runs in the midweek victory over Cornell College.  
• The Hawkeyes are out-scoring opponents, 15-2, in the first inning and 23-11 over the first three innings.
• Sophomore Justin Jenkins has started the last five games in center field, where he is hitting .278 with five RBIs an two runs scored.  Jenkins had three RBIs his entire freshman season.

CROP PROVIDES PROTECTION
Senior Tyler Cropley has been providing protection in the batting order for Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Robert Neustrom.  The South Dakota native is hitting .308 with two doubles, one home run, and a team-leading nine RBIs.  

MR. UTILITY
Senior Matt Hoeg has started games at at three positions early in the 2018 season.  The Waukee native has started five games at first base, one at third base, and one in left field.

ON THE BUMP
• Iowa’s bullpen has been stout, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.32 ERA early this season.  The unit has 38 strikeouts over 31 innings.
• The Hawkeyes’ starting pitchers are 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in seven games.  Iowa starters have 32 strikeouts to 11 walks and opponents are hitting .244.
• After issuing 21 walks in the season’s first three games, Iowa’s pitching staff has walked 10 batters in the last four contests.
• Iowa has four games with 10 or more strikeouts, including three 12-strikeout contests.
• Sophomore Grant Leonard emerged in three appearances, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. The right-hander got out of a bases loaded, one-out, eighth-inning jam in Iowa’s come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Toledo (2/16).  The victory was the first of his career.
• Freshman Trenton Wallace earned his first career win against Cornell College, tossing three shutout innings and fanning four.  

TOSSING BULLETS
• Junior Zach Daniels is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and one save in three appearances, spanning seven innings. He has surrendered just two hits and has eight strikeouts.  Daniels earned his first win of the season, tossing three shutout innings against Virginia Tech.  Opponents are hitting .105 against Daniels.
• Redshirt sophomore Kyle Shimp has allowed one hit in two appearances, spanning four innings. He has four strikeouts and is limiting hitters to a paltry .077 batting average.

REDSHIRT JUNIOR NICK ALLGEYER…
• is 0-0 with a 0.75 ERA — an ERA that is third-best in the Big Ten.  Allgeyer has 15 strikeouts in two starts, which are tied for third in the Big Ten.
• is getting three runs of run support in his first two starts.
• notched his first quality start against Virginia Tech (2/23), allowing one run on five hits over seven innings.  He had a career-high eight strikeouts in the start without issuing a walk.
• made his first career Friday start — his second career start — against Toledo (2/16) — allowing three unearned runs over five innings and fanning seven.
• Missed the 2017 season recovering from Tommy John surgery suffered during the fall of 2016.

JUNIOR BRADY SCHANUEL…
• will make his second Saturday start this week against UAB.  Schanuel is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA in two starts. 
• Earned his first career victory against Old Dominion (2/18), allowing two hits and fanning four in 3 2/3 innings… was on a predetermined 60-pitch pitch count.
• Two-time MLB Draft pick — selected in 20th round by Philadelphia in 2017 and 36th round by Oakland in 2015.
• Two-time All-American at Parkland College in Illinois… went 20-4 with 161 strikeouts in 164 innings.

JUNIOR COLE MCDONALD… 
• is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts — one Saturday and one Sunday.  
• recorded his first career quality start, scattering three hits and allowing two unearned runs in seven innings in a victory over New Orleans.  McDonald had four strikeouts to one walk.
• is 7-5 with a 5.49 ERA in 25 appearances, including 21 starts.

30 X 4
Iowa posted its fourth straight 30-win season in 2017.  The program hasn’t enjoyed a better stretch since posting seven consecutive 30 win campaigns from 1979-85.
• Iowa won 39 games last season — the fifth-most in a single season in program history.  The Hawkeyes won 41 games in 2015, the second-most wins in program history. 
   
TEAM CAPTAINS
Iowa’s team captains for the 2018 season are senior Tyler Cropley, redshirt junior Nick Allgeyer, junior Robert Neustrom, and redshirt sophomore Kyle Shimp. 

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Iowa baseball fans can follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook/iowabaseball, Twitter: @UIBaseball, and Instagram/UIBaseball in addition to coverage on hawkeyesports.com.
 
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE
Season tickets for the 2018 Iowa home schedule are on sale now through the UI Athletics Ticket Office online at hawkeyesports.com or at 800-IA-HAWKS. Reserved and general admission adult tickets are $75, while general admission youth tickets are $40. Fans can also purchase a “30-block” season ticket, priced at $99, where tickets can be used at any game or combination of games throughout the season. Iowa will play 27 home games in 2018.