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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa baseball team split a Saturday doubleheader against Ohio State at Duane Banks Field. The Hawkeyes dropped game one, 2-1, before evening the series with a 9-5 victory in game two.
Iowa is now 18-10 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten play heading into Sunday’s rubber match. The game will begin at noon (CT).
GAME 1 | Ohio State 2, Iowa 1
The Buckeyes handed Iowa just its third home loss of the season to claim the opener, 2-1.
Iowa grabbed the early lead when redshirt junior Chris Whelan doubled to right center field to start the third before scoring on a Tyler Cropley RBI single to give the Hawkeyes a 1-0 lead.
The Buckeyes took the lead in the fourth, scoring two runs that would hold up in the victory. After Noah McGowan lead off the inning with a double, Ohio State tied the game on an RBI single from Tyler Cowles.
Jacob Barnwell then put the Buckeyes on top, ripping an RBI single up the middle to give Ohio State the 2-1 lead.
The Hawkeyes had opportunities, putting two runners on in the fifth, two in the seventh, and two in the ninth, but couldn’t come up with the clutch hit. Iowa finished the contest 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Ohio State starter Connor Curlis (5-1) earned the victory, allowing one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts against two walks in the game. Reliever Seth Kinkler allowed two hits and fanned four over the final 2 1/3 to notch his seventh save.
Iowa starter Nick Allgeyer (3-3) suffered the tough-luck loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over six innings. He tied a career-high with eight strikeouts, while issuing three walks.
Sophomore Grant Judkins was strong in relief, scattering three hits and fanning three over three shutout frames.
GAME 2 | Iowa 9, Ohio State 5
Iowa rode a seven-run first inning en route to a 9-5 victory over Ohio State in game two. The seven-run frame tied a season-high for runs in an inning this season.
Trailing 1-0 after the top of the first, Iowa sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom half. The Hawkeyes had five hits in the inning and took advantage of two Ohio State errors.
Junior Chris Whelan reached via error to start the game before Robert Neustrom and Tyler Cropley singled to load the bases. Senior Austin Guzzo’s RBI single tied the game at one before sophomore Lorenzo Elion had an RBI single through the left side to make the score 2-1.
After Justin Jenkins drew a bases loaded walk to force in Iowa’s third run, sophomore Ben Norman lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 4-1. Junior Mitchell Boe’s RBI double to right field plated the fifth run and Iowa’s final two runs crossed the plate on a throwing error from third baseman Conner Pohl.
The Hawkeyes pushed across two insurance runs in the seventh on a two-run single from Elion, making the score 9-3. Ohio State scored two in the ninth against reliever Cam Baumann.
Junior Brady Schanuel notched his fifth victory, allowing three runs on six hits over six innings. He had seven strikeouts in the game.
The Hawkeyes roughed up Buckeye starter Ryan Feltner (3-2), scoring seven runs (two earned) on six hits over four innings.
QUOTING HEAD COACH RICK HELLER
“We have shown a lot of toughness as of late. It wasn’t a great day to play today and the wind was brutal and cold, but I thought we played well today. After the first game, we felt like we left one out there because we did not execute well offensively. I was happy with our attitude and how we were able to bounce back in game two.”
OF NOTE…
- Elion tied a career-high in game two, driving in three runs. He finished the game 2-for-4.
- Cropley had two hits in both games — his 10th and 11th multi-hit games of the season. The McCook Lake, South Dakota, native has hit safely in a career-high 12 games and reached safely in a career-best 16 straight contests.
- Allgeyer has struck out 16 batters in his last two starts, pushing his season total to 49 strikeouts.
- In the loss, Allgeyer notched his seventh-straight quality start.
- Schanuel notched his second quality start and his third game with at least seven strikeouts.
- The Hawkeyes move to 9-3 at Duane Banks Field this season.
- Iowa goes for its sixth straight Big Ten series win in Sunday’s rubber match.
UP NEXT
Sunday’s rubber match in the three-game series will begin at noon (CT).
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