Game Notes -- at No. 19 Oklahoma State

Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — February | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | WEEK 3 NOTES (PDF)

THIS WEEK
• The University of Iowa baseball team travels to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a three-game weekend series against No. 19 Oklahoma Sate. It is Iowa’s first traditional three game series of the season and first series against a top-25 opponent.  
• Due to forecasted inclement weather, Friday will feature a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m. (CT) with game two beginning 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The series finale on Saturday is set for 2:05 p.m. (CT). 
• All three games will be played at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. 

FOLLOW ALONG
• All three games will be streamed live on YouTube via the OSU Athletics YouTube page.  
• 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/TuneIn Radio.
Friday DH: AM 800 KXIC; KMJM 1360 AM
Saturday: KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield; KMJM 1360 AM
• Live stats are available on hawkeyesports.com and fans can follow along on Twitter @UIBaseball.

LEADING OFF
• The Hawkeye offense leads the Big Ten in on-base percentage (.395) and walks (49), ranks fifth in batting average (.261), fourth in runs per game (6.6), and is tied for the conference most in extra-base hits (21). Iowa also leads the Big Ten in doubles (15) and stolen bases (17). 
• Iowa’s pitching staff ranks fifth in the conference, averaging 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. 
• Designated hitter Tanner Padgett is leading the Hawkeyes offensively, hitting .407 (11-for-27) with five RBIs and two doubles in seven games this season. Padgett has hit safely in all but one game this season and went 4-for-5 in the series finale against Hawaii. 
• Iowa’s five home runs are tied for the third-most in the conference. Tanner Wetrich and Ben Norman each blasted their second home runs of the season at Hawaii. Wetrich hit Iowa’s first grand slam of the season to help the Hawkeyes take game three, 6-4. 
• Mitchell Boe ranks third in the nation, drawing 12 walks this season. In the series opener against Hawaii, Boe walked four time in five plate appearances to tie Iowa’s single-game school record. Boe has walked more than once in four games this year.
• Ben Norman — who is tied for second in the Big Ten with eight RBIs — had his second 3+ RBI day of the season in the series finale against Hawaii, going 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and three runs scored.  
• Grant Judkins ranks third in the Big Ten with a 0.82 ERA after allowing his first run of the season against Hawaii. He allowed three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in five innings of work. 
• Four Hawkeyes — Tanner Wetrich, Ben Norman, Mitchell Boe, and Justin Jenkins — have at least three stolen bases. 
• The Hawkeyes were picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten by Perfect Game, sixth by D1 Baseball, and sixth by Baseball America in 2019.
• The Hawkeyes will play 27 games at Duane Banks Field during the 2019 season. Last season, Iowa went 20-6 at home, improving to 72-20 in Iowa City since the start of the 2015 season.  
• Iowa has won 143 games since the start of the 2015 season, the best four-year stretch in school history. The Hawkeyes have won 173 games in the Rick Heller era (2014-present), which is the third-best five-year stretch all-time.  The  Hawkeyes won 178 games from 1981-85 and 175 from 1977-1981 under Duane Banks. 

QUICK HITTERS
• Three Hawkeyes — seniors Cole McDonald and Chris Whelan and sophomore Jack Dreyer — were selected to the Big Ten Preseason Honors list. 
• Sophomore Izaya Fullard has reached base safely in the first seven games of his career, followed by Tanner Wetrich’s six-game on-base streak. 
• Wetrich registered two multi-hit games against Hawaii, raising his season total to three to tie Austin Martin for the most multi-hit games on the team. 
• Five of Ben Norman’s seven hits have gone for extra bases (three 2Bs and two HRs). Norman’s .615 slugging percentage, eight RBIs, and four stolen bases lead the team. 
• Norman leads the Big Ten in runs scored and is second in RBIs.  He also ranks in the top-seven in the league in seven different categories.
• The Hawkeyes return four starters, their designated hitter, 2/3 of their starting rotation, and 19 total letterwinners in 2019.
• Iowa will play 12 games on the road against four 2018 NCAA Tournament teams this season (at Oklahoma State, at Indiana, at Purdue, and at Ohio State). 

A TRIP TO REMEMBER
• Last weekend, Iowa traveled to Honolulu for a four-game series at Hawaii.  The Hawkeyes visited Pearl Harbor, Waikiki Beach, and some had a chance to hike Diamond Head Trail.  
• On the diamond, the Hawkeyes split with the Rainbow Warriors with Iowa’s wins coming during Saturday’s doubleheader, making it Iowa’s first true road doubleheader sweep since March 7, 2015, at Middle Tennessee State.
• Tanner Padgett, who hit .375 with six hits, and Tanner Wetrich, who drove in five runs and scored four times, led Iowa’s offense in Hawaii.
• Junior Zeb Adreon put together a good four-game series, hitting .357 (5-of-14) with three RBIs in three starts. 

ROTATION NOTES 
The Hawkeyes starting rotation this weekend will include RHP Cole McDonald (0-2, 10.57 ERA), LHP Cam Baumann (0-0, 3.60 ERA), and RHP Grant Judkins (1-0, 0.82 ERA). 
• Sophomore Jack Dreyer will miss Saturday’s game because of injury. Baumann will be making his second career start after throwing four innings against Hawaii, striking out three. 
• Iowa starting pitchers have allowed 24 hits and 22 walks in 30 innings, while recording 36 strikeouts. 

SCOUTING #19 OKLAHOMA STATE
• The 19th-ranked Cowboys are 5-2 this season and are one of five Big 12 teams ranked in the top-25. Oklahoma State’s two losses came against UT-Rio Grande Valley and Wright State.
• With five hitters hitting over .400, Oklahoma State’s .312 batting average ranks third in the Big 12. A Cowboy offense that averages 6.9 runs per game hit four home runs in their 17-5 victory over Wright State. First baseman Christian Funk has anchored the Cowboys’ lineup, hitting .308 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.
• Oklahoma State’s pitching staff sports a 3.05 ERA, the fifth best in the Big 12, while averaging 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings, the second-most in their conference. Oklahoma State’s No. 1 starter Jensen Elliott (1-0, 1.80 ERA) missed most of last season, recovering from Tommy John surgery. No. 2 starter Logan Gragg (0-1, 16.62) hasn’t logged more than 2.1 innings in his two starts. LHP Mitchell Stone (1-0, 1.93 ERA), who medically redshirted due to a foot injury last season, will pitch in the series finale.  

SERIES RESULTS
• Iowa played its first three games against Oklahoma State in program history last season at home, taking the series 2-1. 
• Last season, the Hawkeyes dropped the series opener, 7-6, but took the next two from the 12th-ranked Cowboys, scoring 33 runs on 32 hits in the three-game series. 

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
• The Hawkeyes are slashing .261/.395/.390 in seven games this season.  
• Iowa’s offensive approach has produced the most walks (49) in the Big Ten for the best on-base percentage in the conference (.395). 
• The Hawkeye have eclipsed 10 hits four times this season, registering a season-high 14 hits in game two against Hawaii. Iowa has scored 10 runs three games this season. 
• Four Hawkeye batters — Tanner Padgett (.407), Austin Martin (.333), Chris Whelan (.357), and Zeb Adreon (.353) — are hitting over .300 this season. 

SARG SALUTE
Sophomore Tanner Padgett is leading the team with a .407 average and he ranks in the top 14 in the Big Ten in six categories.  The Kansas native went 4-for-5 in the series finale at Hawaii, giving him a team-high 11 hits this season to tie for third in the conference.  Padgett’s three doubles are tied for fourth in the league.

GRAND WETRICH
Senior Tanner Wetrich hit his second home run — a third-inning grand slam — in Iowa’s 6-4 win at Hawaii on Feb. 23.  It was Wetrich’s third career home run and it propelled him to a team-leading seven RBIs this season.
• Wetrich ranks among the top-five in the Big Ten in runs (t1st-7), home runs (t3rd-2), RBIs (t4th-8), total bases (t5th-15), and walks (t7-6).

NORM’S REBOUND
Junior Ben Norman has moved all over the outfield in Iowa’s first seven games, starting three games in left field, two in center, and two in right.  
    After hitting .189 as a sophomore, Norman is off to a quick start in 2019.  He is hitting .269 with three doubles and two home runs. Norman also has  eight RBIs, seven runs, and four steals.  He ranks in the top seven in the Big Ten in seven categories.

BASE-ON-BOE
Leadoff hitter Mitchell Boe has walked 12 times to lead the Big Ten and rank third nationally this season.  Boe tied a school record for the second time in his career when he drew four walks in the series opener at Hawaii.  His .486 on-base percentage is second on the team behind Chris Whelan (.550). 

ON THE BUMP
• Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten with 65 strikeouts and fifth with 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings, but Iowa’s 7.01 walks per nine innings are last in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes 1.35 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the second-worst in the conference.
•  The Hawkeye staff is allowing 6.86 hits allowed per nine innings, which ranks third best in the Big Ten. 
• In two starts spanning 11 innings, Grant Judkins (1-0) has held opposing hitters to a .086 average with a 0.82 ERA and 14 strikeouts.  

A LOOK A THE BULLPEN
The Hawkeye bullpen has held opposing hitters to a .204 average over 31.2 innings with 29 strikeouts. 
• Freshman RHP Drew Irvine hasn’t allowed a run or hit in three innings of work.  He earned his first career win at Hawaii, tossing two hitless innings.
• RHP Jason Foster registered Iowa’s first save of the season, pitching the final two innings in game two against Hawaii. 
• The following game, RHP Grant Leonard notched his first save of the season and third of his career after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and getting the final three outs in the ninth. 
• Trace Hoffman (5), Foster (4), and Kyle Shimp (4) lead Iowa in appearances.

HOFFMAN EMERGES
• Junior Trace Hoffman has been Iowa’s go-to guy, appearing in a conference-best five games. In Iowa’s 10-8 win over Hawaii, Hoffman retired the first 10 batters he faced and pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit to earn his first career victory.
• In six innings of work, Hoffman has allowed three hits and two runs, while striking out five. 

HAWKEYE DEBUTS
• Infielder Brendan Sher made his first career start at third base in game two of the doubleheader at Hawaii, going 0-for-2.
• Pitchers Adam Ketelsen, Hunter Lee, and Clayton Nettleton made their Hawkeye debuts in Iowa’s series against Hawaii. Ketelsen and Lee made two appearances each, while Nettleton threw one scoreless frame in the series opener. 

COACHING STAFF CHANGES
Iowa welcomed Robin Lund and Tom Gorzelanny to the Hawkeye coaching staff after Desi Druschel and Joe Migliaccio accepted positions within the New York Yankees organization. Lund, who served as the volunteer hitting coach for the Northern Iowa softball program in 2018 and UNI’s volunteer strength and conditioning coach under Heller in 2005-06, will replace Migliaccio as the team’s hitting coach. Gorzelanny, who pitched for six MLB teams over a 12-year span, will replace Druschel as the team’s volunteer pitching coach. 

HOME OPENER CANCELLED 
Due to the cold temperatures and snow cover at Banks Field, Iowa’s home opener on Wednesday, March 6 against Simpson College has been cancelled.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Three seniors — Mitchell Boe, Cole McDonald, and Chris Whelan — and redshirt junior Kyle Shimp were voted team captains in January. Shimp is a team captain for a second straight season. 

IOWA BY THE NUMBERS
• Offensively, Iowa returns 41.9 percent (133-317) of its runs, 46.1 percent (218-472) of its hits, 38.9 percent (37-95) of its doubles, 21.9 percent (9-41) of its home runs, 40.3 percent (113-280) of its RBIs, and 58.9 percent (23-39) of its stolen bases.
• On the mound, Iowa has three starters — RHP Cole McDonald, LHP Jack Dreyer, and RHP Grant Judkins — and 10 pitchers returning. The Hawkeyes have 45.4 percent (15-33) of their wins, 45.4 percent (214 of 471 1/3) of their innings, 46.2 percent (231-499) of their strikeouts, and 18.1 percent (2-11) of their saves back in 2019.

CHAMPIONSHIP HAWKEYES
• Chris Whelan and Lorenzo Elion won a Prospect League championship with the Terre Haute Rex in 2018.  The Rex defeated Kokomo, 11-3, to claim their second title in four seasons.
• Mitchell Boe led the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders to their first Northwoods League title with a 4-3 victory over Duluth. 

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
• Iowa’s 35-man roster features six freshmen, eight sophomores, 14 juniors, and seven seniors. Fifteen newcomers (five freshman and 10 transfers) joined Iowa’s roster this season. 
• The Hawkeyes come from seven different states: 22 from Iowa, eight from Illinois, and one from Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, and California. 
• Iowa has two sets of junior college teammates. Zeb Adreon, Austin Martin, and Trace Hoffman were teammates at Southeastern CC, while Izaya Fullard, Hunter Lee, Adam Ketelsen, and Jake McLaughlin were teammates at Kirkwood CC.  Junior Lorenzo Elion also played with Lee, Ketelsen, and McLaughlin at Kirkwood in 2017.
• The Hawkeyes also have two sets of teammates who played together in high school. Freshmen Brendan Sher and Duncan Davitt were teammates at Indianola, while Izaya Fullard and Connor McCaffery were teammates at Iowa City West. 

#HELLERBALL
• UI head coach Rick Heller is one of nine coaches all-time to lead three different NCAA Division I teams to regional play.
• Heller recorded his 800th career win against Lehigh on
March 12 at the Snowbird Classic in Florida.
• The Hawkeyes have won 30 or more games in each of
Heller’s five seasons as the helm of the program. It’s a first for the team since winning 30 or more in seven straight seasons from 1979-85.
• Heller has led the Hawkeyes to two NCAA Regional appearances in three seasons; the program had three regional appearances in its history prior to his arrival.
• Heller is fourth in school history in career wins with 173
in his four seasons at Iowa, including the second (41) and
fifth-most (39) in school history.
• Heller led Iowa to its first Big Ten Tournament title in 2017 — the first conference title since 1990 — and he guided the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten Tournament title game in consecutive seasons. Iowa has advanced to the league tournament in five straight years for the first time in program history.
• Heller has coached at least one first-team All-Big Ten
selection each season, and has 20 Major League Baseball
Draft picks in four seasons — the most in a five-year stretch in school history.
• Iowa had a school-record six All-Big Ten selections in 2015 and five in 2017. The Hawkeyes have had 22 All-Big Ten honorees in five seasons under Heller.
• Iowa has posted winning streaks of nine games (in 2015)
and eight games (in 2017) — the longest streaks for the
program since 2012.

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 2019 season 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 28 home games in 2019.