Game Notes -- vs. Cal-State Northridge

Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | Hawk Talk Monthly — March | WEEK 5 NOTES (PDF)

THIS WEEK
• The University of Iowa baseball team will make its Duane Banks Field debut this weekend, hosting Cal-State Northridge for a three-game series.   
• Due to the projected cold temperatures, the series has been shortened to three games.  There will be a single game Saturday beginning at 1:05 p.m. (CT) followed by a Sunday doubleheader at 1:05 p.m. 

SERIES PROMOTIONS
Saturday: Have a Catch (kids and parents can play catch on the field at Banks postgame).
Sunday: Kids Run the Bases

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 and Steve Duncan on the call. The games can be heard on Hawkeye All-Access/TuneIn Radio.
Saturday: KMJM 1360 AM; KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield
Sunday: AM 800 KXIC, KMJM 1360 AM; KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield; WDBQ-FM107.5 in Dubuque.
• Live stats are available on hawkeyesports.com and fans can follow along on Twitter @UIBaseball.

LEADING OFF
• The Hawkeyes, who are coming off their first series loss of the season to Evansville, will play their first home series of the season against Cal-State Northridge. Iowa will play its fourth doubleheader in as many weekends after having twin bills against Hawaii, Oklahoma State, and Evansville. 
• Iowa won two of three games at No. 19 Oklahoma State on March 1-2 in Stillwater.  It is the second straight year Iowa has taken a series from the Cowboys.  Iowa has won 10 games over ranked foes since the start of the 2018 season.
• The Hawkeyes rank in the top-five in the Big Ten in seven key offensive categories, ranking second in doubles (26) and on-base percentage (.373), third in batting average (.260), and fourth in slugging (.383), runs (77), RBIs (70), and total bases (177).
• Sophomore Tanner Padgett’s .395 batting average (15-for-38) is second in the Big Ten. Catcher Austin Martin went 4-for-10 in the Evansville series to bump his batting average to .341, which is eighth-best in the conference. Martin has also been the third toughest batter to strike out in the Big Ten, only punching out four times in 44 at-bats. 
• Iowa is third in the Big Ten in strikeouts per nine innings (9.1) and fourth in hits allowed per nine innings (6.42). Defensively, the Hawkeyes rank fifth in the Big Ten with a .964 fielding percentage.
• Junior Grant Judkins (1-1) is sixth in the Big Ten with a 1.66 ERA. Judkins has gone at least five innings in all four of his starts, allowing three or fewer runs in all four of his starts. 
• Redshirt junior Grant Leonard recorded his second and third saves of the season in Iowa’s two wins at No. 19 Oklahoma State last weekend. Leonard is a perfect 3-for-3 in save opportunities this season. 
• Four Hawkeyes — Tanner Wetrich, Ben Norman, Mitchell Boe, and Justin Jenkins — have at least three stolen bases for a team total of 20, which ranks fourth-best in the Big Ten. Wetrich leads Iowa with five steals in six attempts. 
• 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 26 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
• In Iowa’s seven wins, the Hawkeyes are hitting .323 with runners in scoring position compared to a .136 clip in Iowa’s six losses. 
• Senior Mitchell Boe has started 46 straight games — all but one at second base.  
• Sophomore Izaya Fullard has reached base safely in the first 13 games of his Hawkeye career. 
• Austin Martin leads the team with six multi-hit games. Tanner Wetrich has recorded five. 
• Friday starter Cole McDonald has registered back-to-back quality starts.  McDonald is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last two starts, striking out nine over 12 innings.
• Junior Matthew Sosa hit his first career home run — an inside-the-park variety — in game one at Evansville.  He is one of five Hawkeyes with home runs this season.
• Three Hawkeyes — seniors Cole McDonald and Chris Whelan and sophomore Jack Dreyer — were selected to the Big Ten Preseason Honors list. 
• 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). 

LAST TIME OUT
• Iowa dropped its first series of the season to Evansville after scoring a season-high 18 runs on a season-high 19 hits — 10 of which went for extra bases. Seven Hawkeyes registered multi-hit games in game one, while Izaya Fullard, Zeb Adreon, and Matthew Sosa had three or more RBIs. Fullard finished with a season-high five RBIs, while Adreon recorded four RBIs on three doubles, which tied a school record.
• In Iowa’s two losses, the Hawkeyes committed four errors and left 22 runners on base. 

ROTATION NOTES 
The Hawkeyes starting rotation this weekend will feature RHP Cole McDonald (1-2, 5.03 ERA), LHP Cam Baumann (0-1, 4.80 ERA), and RHP Grant Judkins (1-1, 1.66 ERA). 
• All three starting pitchers went at least five innings last weekend against Evansville. 
• McDonald has logged back-to-back quality starts, holding hitters to a .205 average in 12 innings in those starts with a 1.50 ERA. 

SCOUTING CSUN
• The Matadors are 8-9 this season and are coming off an 11-5 midweek loss to San Diego State. CSUN is 1-3 against top-25 opponents, dropping a series, 2-1, to No. 17 Michigan and falling 4-3 to No. 3 UCLA. All four games against ranked opponents were decided by two runs or less.
• Coming off the program’s best conference finish in 16 seasons with a 13-11 league record, the Matadors were picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• CSUN returns 12 letterwinners from last season, including weekend starting pitchers Walker Armstrong and Isaiah Nunez. 
• The Matadors rotation this weekend is RHP Armstrong (0-2, 3.97 ERA), LHP Wesley Moore (2-1, 2.42 ERA), and LHP Nunez (3-1, 4.56 ERA). Moore, who is seventh in the nation in hits allowed per nine inning (2.77), threw a complete game shutout against Gonzaga on February 23, striking out six and giving up only two hits. 
• The CSUN offense leads the Big West in hits (147) and home runs (18), while ranking top five in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Six Matadors have hit at least two home runs. Designated hitter Jayson Newman has anchored the Matador offense with a .404 batting average, two home runs, and 15 RBIs. 

SERIES RESULTS
• This weekend’s three-game series will be the first ever matchup between the Hawkeyes and the Matadors. 

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
• The Hawkeyes are slashing .260/.373/.383 in 13 games this season.  
• Iowa’s offensive approach has produced the most walks (74) in the Big Ten for the best on-base percentage in the conference (.373). 
• Mitchell Boe (.419 OBP) and Chris Whelan (.458 OBP) have combined for 23 walks at the top of the order.  
• Ben Norman leads the Hawkeyes with three home runs, followed by Austin Martin and Tanner Wetrich with two. 
• Junior Zeb Adreon tied a school record, roping three doubles in the game one victory at Evansville.  Chris Whelan and Adreon both have three-double games this season, which are tied for the most by a Big Ten player this season.
• The Hawkeye have eclipsed 10 hits five times this season, registering a season-high 19 hits in game one against Evansville. Iowa has scored 10 runs in four games this season. 

POWER SURGE
Iowa’s 26 doubles — the second most in the conference — two triples, and nine home runs total to 27 extra-base hits, which is tied for the third most in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes recorded 10 extra-base hits with three home runs and seven doubles in Iowa’s 18-7 series-opening win against Evansville.   
• Iowa’s seven doubles and 35 total bases against the Purple Aces are the most by a Big Ten team this season.

ON THE BUMP
• Iowa ranks third in the Big Ten with 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, but Iowa’s 5.96 walks per nine innings rank last in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes 1.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the second-worst in the conference.
•  The Hawkeye staff is allowing 7.31 hits per nine innings, which ranks fourth-best in the Big Ten. 

BACK END OF THE BULLPEN
The Hawkeye bullpen has held opposing hitters to a .215 average over 50 2/3 innings with 52 strikeouts. 
• Grant Leonard has converted all three of his saves, which leads the team. Jason Foster also has one save this season.
• Foster and Trace Hoffman have been the go-to guys from the bullpen. Hoffman (2-1) has appeared in a team-high eight games and has struck out eight batters to only one walk in nine innings. Foster has appeared in six games and owns a 1.42 ERA with nine strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .095 over 6 1/3 innings.
• Kyle Shimp has appeared in six games, holding hitters to an .125 clip, while striking out eight. 
• Freshman Clayton Nettleton threw two scoreless innings in the series opener against Evansville. Nettleton and fellow freshman Drew Irvine each have not allowed a run in three innings this season. 

ON-BASE MACHINE
Izaya Fullard has reached base safely in the first 13 games of his career. The sophomore from North Liberty, Iowa, has recorded a hit and scored a run in all but three games. Fullard, who has started eight games at first base, three at third base, and two at designated hitter, blasted his first career home run against Evansville and has a slash line of .275/.362/.373. 

BASE-ON-BOE
Leadoff hitter Mitchell Boe has walked 14 times to lead the Big Ten. Boe tied a school record for the second time in his career when he drew four walks in the series opener at Hawaii. He owns a .419 on-base percentage. 

SARG SALUTE
After missing the Evansville series with a hamstring injruy, sophomore Tanner Padgett still holds the second-best batting average in the conference at .395 with 15 hits in 38 at-bats. Padgett has hit safely in eight of 10 games, while recording four multi-hit games this season. Padgett is the only Hawkeye to record four or more hits in a game this season. 

ON THE MEND
• Sophomore Ben Probst will miss the remainder of the season with a partial tear to his UCL.  He suffered the injury at Hawaii on Feb. 23.
• Sophomore Jack Dreyer is out with a shoulder injury.  He left his start at Hawaii after three innings.
• Sophomore Tanner Padgett is still day-to-day after suffering a hamstring injury in game three at Oklahoma State. 

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. 

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.