Game Notes -- No. 11 Indiana

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THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team welcomes No. 11 Indiana to Duane Banks Field from March 23-25 for its three-game Big Ten-opening series.  Due to Saturday’s weather forecast, a doubleheader will be played Friday beginning at noon (CT) followed by game three Sunday at 1 p.m.

PARKING ON FRIDAY
With parking around Duane Banks Field being monitored until 4:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday, fans can park in Ramp 3, the Newton Road Ramp, or feed parking meters until 4:30 p.m. to avoid being ticketed.

PROMOTIONS
Following Sunday’s series finale there will be an Easter Egg hunt at Duane Banks Field.  

FOLLOW ALONG
• All three games will be streamed live on BTN Plus on BTN2Go.  It is a paid subscription service.
• 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 KMJM-AM 1360 (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.

LEADING OFF
• Iowa has won four of its last five games heading into its Big Ten opener against No. 11 Indiana.  The Hoosiers are riding a six-game winning streak.
• The Hawkeyes are 5-1 at Duane Banks Field this season and are 54-15 at home since the start of the 2015 season. 
• Iowa is 3-1 in its Big Ten openers under head coach Rick Heller.  The Hawkeyes have won their opening league series in each of the first four seasons under Heller (Nebraska, Indiana, Maryland, Purdue).
• The Hawkeyes will play their second series against a ranked foe with the 11th-ranked Hoosiers coming to Iowa City.  Iowa was swept at UNLV from March 9-11 in Las Vegas.
• Iowa has used the same starting weekend rotation in each of the first five weeks of the season.  The trio of Nick Allgeyer, Brady Schanuel, and Cole McDonald are a combined 6-4 with a 2.81 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 77 innings.
• Redshirt junior Chris Whelan has hit safely in all five games since making his season debut March 17 against Evansville.  He is hitting .450 with six runs and three multi-hit games out of the leadoff spot.
• Iowa is third in the Big Ten with a 3.99 team ERA and is fourth with a .968 team fielding percentage.  Indiana boasts the league’s top pitching staff with a 2.66 team ERA.
• Junior left-hander Nick Allgeyer ranks in the top eight in the Big Ten in four pitching categories. He leads the league in ERA (1.76), is fourth in innings (30.2), is sixth in batting average against (.209), and tied for eighth in strikeouts (28). 
• Junior outfielder Robert Neustrom was named the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by both Perfect Game and Baseball America.  Senior Tyler Cropley was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, an honor presented to the top catcher in Division I baseball.
• The Hawkeyes were picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten by Perfect Game, fifth by D1Baseball.com, and sixth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches poll.
• Iowa has won 140 games over the past four seasons under head coach Rick Heller — the best four-year stretch in school history.  The Hawkeyes have advanced to NCAA Regional play in two of the last three seasons.

QUICK HITTERS
• Iowa had its first two home run game March 21 against Loras College.  Robert Neustrom hit his team-leading fourth blast, while Austin Guzzo hit his first — a two-run walk-off home run. It was Guzzo’s first career walk-off blast.
• Guzzo has started five of Iowa’s last six games at first base, while Matt Hoeg has started 5-of-6 at third base.
• Iowa is hitting .319 at home and averaging 8.2 runs per game.  The pitching staff is 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA with 53 strikeouts.
• The Hawkeyes have six home runs over their last six games with three coming from Neustrom.   Five players have homered for Iowa this season.
• 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.
• Iowa is 14-of-18 in stolen base attempts in 2018.  Sophomore Lorenzo Elion has a team-best three steals in four chances.
• Senior Tyler Cropley and juniors Robert Neustrom and Zach Daniels were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.  
• The Hawkeyes return two All-Big Ten selections — Neustrom and Tyler Cropley — and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-Americans Kyle Shimp and Ben Norman.
• Iowa was ranked 44th in the College Sports Madness preseason rankings.  The Hawkeyes were also receiving votes in the USBWA preseason rankings.

ABOUT INDIANA
• The Hoosiers, the Big Ten preseason favorite, bring a 15-4 record into Iowa City after their midweek game against Wright State was cancelled Tuesday.  Indiana is 4-1 away from Bloomington this season.
• Indiana is ranked 11th by D1Baseball.com, 15th by the NCBWA, 19th by Baseball America, and tied for 16th in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
• The Hoosiers are 4-2 against ranked opponents, winning 3-of-4 games at No. 13 San Diego and downing No. 17 South Alabama.
• Indiana is fourth in the Big Ten with a .286 batting average and is averaging 6.2 runs per game.  The Hoosiers have four players hitting .300 or better, including Matt Gorski, who is tied for fifth in the conference with a .375 average.  Luke Miller has a team-high seven home runs (second in B1G) and 17 RBIs — four Hoosiers have 10 or more RBIs.
• The Hoosiers have the best team ERA in the Big Ten, boasting a 2.66 ERA.  Indiana has 151 strikeouts over 169 innings and holds opposing hitters to a .254 average. 
• Indiana will start RHP Jonathan Stiever (2-1, 3.86 ERA) in game one, RHP Pauly Milto (3-1, 1.95 ERA) in game two, and LHP Cameron Beauchamp (2-0, 0.63) in game three.

SERIES RESULTS
• Iowa leads the all-time series, 80-72.  The two teams did not meet in the 2017 season.
• The teams have split the past two series with Indiana winning 2-of-3 games in Bloomington in 2016 and Iowa sweeping the series in Iowa City in 2015.  The Hoosiers were ranked 19th in 2015 when they were swept in the first Big Ten series of the season.
• Indiana knocked the Hawkeyes out of the 2015 Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.

PLUG AND PLAY
Redshirt junior Chris Whelan has been instant offense for the Hawkeyes since making his season debut on March 17 against Evansville.  The Illinois native missed the first month (14 games) recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• Whelan has hit safely in all five games and has three multi-hit contests.   He is hitting .450 (9-of-20) with six runs, three walks, and a .522 on-base percentage as Iowa’s leadoff hitter.
• Whelan tied a career-high with three hits against Saint Louis, finishing 3-for-5 with a run scored.

HOEG COMING ALIVE
Senior Matt Hoeg has been a beneficiary of Whelan’s return by being put in more RBI situations.  Hoeg brings a seven-game hitting streak into Big Ten play, where he’s hitting .357 with a team-best eight RBIs.  
• Hoeg had just one RBI in Iowa’s first 12 games.

CROWL’S BIG WEEKEND
Sophomore Kyle Crowl was right in the middle of Iowa’s three-game sweep of Evansville.  The shortstop batted .500 (5-of-10) and drove in six runs in the three games. 
• He went 2-for-4 with a two-run double and two-run triple en route to a career-high four RBIs in the game two victory before going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs to complete the weekend sweep.
• Crowl has seven RBIs in his last four games, moving him into the team lead with Tyler Cropley with 15 RBIs.

WEEKEND TURNAROUND
Iowa followed up its worst weekend of the season (at UNLV) with its best against Evansville.  The Hawkeyes hit a weekend-best .340, scored 33 runs, and had 11 extra base hits in the three-game sweep.  The pitching staff posted a 2.33 ERA, allowing nine runs in the three games.

COMEBACK KIDS
The Hawkeyes have posted four come-from-behind victories in 2018 with the latest heroics coming Wednesday night against Loras College.
• The Hawkeyes trailed 4-1 through 7 1/2 innings before Matt Hoeg tied the game with a two-out, three-run double in the eighth.  Iowa then posted its third walk-off victory of the season when Austin Guzzo connected on a two-run home run to right field, giving the team a 6-4 win.
• Ben Norman had the game-winning RBI single in the ninth, sending the Hawkeyes to a 4-3 win over Toledo in the season opener.  Norman also reached via error in the win over Virginia Tech, allowing the go-ahead run to score in the 2-1 walk-off victory.
• Iowa has overcome deficits to win 25 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted seven walk-off victories.
• Fifteen of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings and 12 have come in the final at-bat.

BANKS MAGIC
• Iowa finished 19-4 at home during the 2017 season, running its record to 54-15 at Banks Field since the start of the 2015 season.  The 19 wins were the most by the team since winning 1989 (19-2).
• Iowa has 11 walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.

CROPLEY NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
Senior Tyler Cropley has been named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. The honor is given to the top catcher in Division I baseball.  The South Dakota native is hitting .309 with 15 RBIs.  He has six multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games.
• Cropley his hitting a team-best .524 (11-of-21) with runners in scoring position this season.
• He is one of six catchers from the Big Ten Conference to be included on the watch list.

ON THE OFFENSE
• The Hawkeyes have had 10 or more hits in 10 games this season.  Iowa has its top two season hit totals in the last five games, finishing with 14 hits in the game one win against Evansville and 13 against Saint Louis.
• Iowa scored a season-high 15 runs in the midweek victory over Cornell College on Feb. 27. The Hawkeyes have three games with 10 or more runs.  

STARTING & FINISHING
The Hawkeyes are out-scoring opponents, 22-9, in the first inning and 46-26 over the first three innings.  Iowa is also outscoring the opposition, 22-13, in the eighth and ninth innings. 

JUNIOR ROBERT NEUSTROM…
• has hit safely in 17-of-19 games this season and he has reached safely in 18 contests.  Neustrom had a nine-game hitting streak to start the year; he’s currently riding a nine-game reached base streak.
• is hitting a team-best .347 with seven multi-hit games.  Neustrom has a team-best four home runs with three coming in the last five games.
• ranks in the top 13 in the Big Ten in six categories… is tied for sixth in home runs (4), ninth in slugging percentage (.556), 12th in total bases (40), tied for 12th in runs (18) and hits (25), and 13th in batting average (.347).
• was the Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by Baseball America and Perfect Game.

ON THE BUMP
• The Hawkeyes’ starting pitchers are 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 19 games. Iowa starters have 83 strikeouts to 36 walks and opponents are hitting .224.
• Iowa’s pitching staff is averaging 8.9 strikeouts per game.  The Hawkeyes tied a season-high with 13 punch outs on March 14 against Missouri State.
• The Hawkeyes have 170 strikeouts on the season, which are second-most in the Big Ten.
• Iowa has eight games with 10 or more strikeouts this season..

TOSSING BULLETS
• Junior Zach Daniels is 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA and two saves in six appearances, spanning 13 1/3 innings. He has 16 strikeouts and is limiting opposing hitters to a .200 average. 
• Redshirt sophomore Grant Leonard is second in the Big Ten with 11 appearances.  He is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA with one save in eight innings.

REDSHIRT JUNIOR NICK ALLGEYER…
• is 2-1 with a Big Ten-leading 1.79 ERA. Allgeyer has 28 strikeouts in five starts, which are tied for eighth in the conference.
• ranks among the top-eight in the Big Ten in four different pitching categories.
• has allowed six hits or fewer in all five of his starts… has allowed one or fewer earned runs in 4-of-5 starts.
• has four straight quality starts against Virginia Tech, at UAB, at UNLV, and versus Evansville.
• recorded his first career win as a starter (third of his career), allowing one run on four hits at UAB (3/2)… had four strikeouts against one walk over 6 2/3 innings… went six innings, allowing one run on four hits in the win over Evansville (3/17).
• had a career-high eight strikeouts (to zero walks) in the no-decision against Virginia Tech, where he went a career-long seven innings. 
• made his first career Friday start — his second career start — against Toledo (2/16) — allowing three unearned runs over five innings and fanning seven.
• is 4-1 with a 2.78 ERA in 37 career appearances, including six starts… has 66 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings.
• missed the 2017 season recovering from Tommy John surgery suffered during the fall of 2016.

JUNIOR BRADY SCHANUEL…
• Iowa’s Saturday starter… is 3-2 with a 3.27 ERA in five starts with 25 strikeouts over 22 innings.
• is second in the Big Ten with a .177 opposing batting average and is tied for third with three wins.
• has gone five innings in three straight starts… allowed a single hit over five shutout innings in a win against Evansville, where he fanned six… went a five innings in the road win at UAB — his second win of the season…allowed one hit and fanned a career-high seven.   
• 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 1-1 with a 3.70 ERA in five starts  — four coming as the Sunday starter.   
• recorded his first career quality start and first win of the season, 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 7-6 with a 5.12 ERA in 28 appearances, including 24 starts.

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.