Game Notes -- at Indiana

Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — March | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | WEEK 6 NOTES (PDF)

THIS WEEK
• The University of Iowa baseball team begins Big Ten Conference play in Bloomington, Indiana, with a three-game series against Indiana from March 22-24.  All three games will be played at Bart Kaufman Field.
• Friday’s series opener begins at 5:05 p.m. (CT), followed by a 1:05 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, and the series finale on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.  

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/TuneIn Radio.
Friday: KMJM 1360 AM, KDEC-AM 1240 in Decorah.
Saturday: KMJM 1360 AM; KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield, WDBQ FM 107.5 in Dubuque.
Sunday: AM 800 KXIC in Iowa City, KMJM 1360 AM; KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield, WDBQ FM 107.5 in Dubuque.
• Live stats are available on hawkeyesports.com and fans can follow along on Twitter @UIBaseball.

LEADING OFF
• Iowa has won a season-high four straight games, which includes two walk-off wins. 
• The Hawkeyes are 7-3 in games decided by two runs or less. 
• Iowa has two series wins — at No. 19 Oklahoma State and vs. Cal-State Northridge.  The Hawkeyes split a four-game series at Hawaii and suffered a series loss at Evansville.
• The Hawkeyes took their home-opening series from Cal-State Northridge after sweeping Sunday’s doubleheader in large part due to Grant Judkins’ performance. Judkins delivered a walk-off double — his first hit of the season — in game one, followed up by a dominant, eight-plus inning pitching performance in game two. 
• 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 among the top five in the Big Ten in seven offensive categories, leading the league in on-base percentage (.377), third in hits (170), tied for third in steals (28), tied for fourth in triples (4), and fifth in batting average (.269), RBIs (93) and doubles (34).
• Grant Judkins owns the seventh-best ERA (1.52) in the Big Ten, having allowed one or fewer runs in all but one of his five starts this season. 
• Redshirt junior Grant Leonard (1-0) picked up a win and a save in Iowa’s doubleheader sweep over CSUN on Sunday. As Iowa’s ninth-inning man, Leonard is a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities. 
• Led by Judkins in the starting rotation and Leonard and Trace Hoffman in the bullpen, the Hawkeyes own a 3.92 ERA, which ranks sixth in the conference. The Hawkeye staff also ranks fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (8.9) and third in hits allowed per nine innings (6.99). 
• Iowa’s 25 stolen bases are the third-most in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes only swiped 39 bags last season. Ben Norman leads Iowa with six steals, while four other Hawkeyes have least three stolen bases. 
• The Hawkeyes will play 26 games at Duane Banks Field during the 2019 season. Iowa is 2-1 at Banks this season, after going 20-6 at home last season. The Hawkeyes are 76-21 in Iowa City since 2015.  
• Iowa has won 152 games since the start of the 2015 season, the best four-year stretch in school history. The Hawkeyes have won 182 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
• Iowa is out-scoring its opposition, 44-29, in the first three innings, but the Hawkeyes are being out-scored 13-5 in the ninth inning and beyond.
• Junior catcher Austin Martin has been the toughest batter to strikeout in the Big Ten. He has only punched out six times in 63 at-bats. Martin also leads the Hawkeyes in multi-hit games with eight. 
• Ben Norman leads the team with a six-game hitting streak, followed by Boe’s five-game streak. 
• Against Cal-State Northridge in his first career start, redshirt freshman Connor McCaffery went 3-for-4 with two doubles.  McCaffery is currently in Columbus, Ohio, competing in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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). 

B1G OPENING SERIES
Iowa is looking for its fifth Big Ten-opening series win under head coach Rick Heller.  The Hawkeyes have won four straight league-opening series dating back to 2014. 
• Iowa won two of three games from Nebraska in 2014, swept No. 11 Indiana in 2015, won two of three from Maryland in 2016, and two of three from Purdue in 2017.  Last season, Iowa split a two-game, weather-shortened series against Indiana.
• It is Iowa’s first Big Ten opening series away from Iowa City since 2013 when it played Northwestern in Carol Stream, Illinois.

MIDWEEK MADNESS
The Hawkeyes played their first two midweek games against Simpson and Chicago State, both resulting in wins to improve the team’s record to 27-5 in midweek games since 2016. 
• Austin Martin led Iowa during the week with three RBIs, including the game-tying RBI in the ninth inning against Chicago State.
• Izaya Fullard registered four hits in five at-bats during the week. Fullard tied a career-high three runs scored agaainst Chicago State
• Duncan Davitt shined on the mound against Chicago State, pitching three innings of relief without allowing a run. 

SCOUTING INDIANA
• Riding a five-game winning streak, the Hoosiers are 12-8 this season and 6-0 at home. 
• Indiana is coming off a 15-14 win against in-state foe Indiana State. Five of Indiana’s 11 hits were home runs.
• The Hoosiers are 1-2 against top-25 opponents: W vs. No. 21 Connecticut (9-6), L vs. No. 11 Coastal Carolina (5-6), L vs. No. 1 Oregon State (3-8). 
• Indiana was picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Indiana has hit a conference-best 31 home runs, which are the fourth-most in the country. Five Hoosiers have three or more homers. Ohio State has the next most home runs in the Big Ten with 19. 
• Indiana also leads the Big Ten in slugging percentage (.456), ranks second in scoring (6.7 runs per game), fourth in ERA (3.58), and seventh in batting average (.254). 
• Junior outfielder Matt Gorski (second-team) and senior utility man Matt Lloyd (third-team) were tabbed as Preseason All-Americans by Perfect Game. Gorski bats leadoff and leads the team with a .329 batting average along with five home runs, 15 RBIs, and nine stolen bases. Lloyd is hitting .300 in 19 starts with four home runs and 14 RBIs. 
• Indiana’s Friday starter, Pauly Milto, owns a 4-1 record with a 2.57 ERA and a .192 BAA. Milto’s 32 strikeouts are tied for the fourth most in the Big Ten. Tanner Gordon (1-3, 4.74 ERA), and Andrew Saalfrank (1-1, 2.93 ERA) will round out the Hoosier rotation. 

SERIES RESULTS
• Iowa is 81-73 all-time versus Indiana. 
• In a series shortened by weather, the Hawkeyes split with the 11th-ranked Hoosiers last season. 
• Iowa is 5-5 in the last 10 meetings against Indiana, dating back to 2014. 
• Last season, Iowa roughed up Pauly Milto in game two of the series, scoring three runs on five hits.  Milto lasted just 1 2/3 innings.

HAPPY FEELINGS AT THE BART
The last time Iowa played a game at Bart Kaufman Stadium, the Hawkeyes were hoisting the Big Ten Tournament championship trophy.  Iowa went 4-1 at the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, beating Northwestern, 13-4, to claim its first ever tournament title.

FULLARD HEATS UP
Sophomore Izaya Fullard is hitting .351 with nine runs scored over his last 10 games.  Fullard went 3-for-4 with a career-best three runs scored in Wednesday’s 5-4 walk-off victory over Chicago State.  He walked to lead off the ninth before stealing second and third and scored the game-tying run on Austin Martin’s one-out double.
• Fullard has hit safely in 14 of 18 games and reached safely in 17 of 18 contests.  The North Liberty, Iowa, native has six multi-hit games, including four in the last eight contests.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
• The Hawkeyes are slashing .269/.378/.383 in 18 games this season.  
• Iowa’s offensive approach has produced the most walks (97) in the Big Ten for the best on-base percentage in the conference (.377). 
• Mitchell Boe (.420 OBP) and Chris Whelan (.443 OBP) have combined for 28 walks and both rank among the top 10 in the league in both categories.
• 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 nine times this season, registering a season-high 19 hits in game one against Evansville. Iowa has scored 10 runs in four games this season. 

ON THE BUMP
• Iowa ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings, but Iowa’s 5.67 walks per nine innings rank 12th  in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes 1.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the fourth-worst in the conference.
•  The Hawkeye staff is allowing 6.99  hits per nine innings, which ranks third-best in the Big Ten. 

BACK END OF THE BULLPEN
The Hawkeye bullpen has held opposing hitters to a .202 average over 71 1/3 innings with 69 strikeouts. 
• Grant Leonard has converted all four of his saves, which leads the team and are tied for third in the Big Ten. Jason Foster also has one save this season.
• Trace Hoffman (3-1) has been Iowa’s go-to guy out of the bullpen, leading the team with 10 appearances. In four innings of work since getting the loss at Oklahoma State, Hoffman hasn’t allowed any runs on just one hit allowed and no walks. For the season, Hoffman owns a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 innings of work along with a 10-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 
• LHP Kyle Shimp has allowed one hit and fanned seven batters over his last five appearances, spanning five innings.

JUDKINS TAKES OVER
After losing three straight games, including the series opener to Cal-State Northridge last weekend, junior Grant Judkins left his mark on Iowa’s doubleheader sweep to clinch the series.
• In game one, Judkins completed Iowa’s 5-4 comeback win with a pinch-hit, walk-off double. It was Judkins’ first hit of the season.
• In game two, he toed the rubber and pitched eight dominant innings to earn his second win of the season, leading the Hawkeyes to the series win over CSUN. The right-handed pitcher allowed one run on three hits and one walk, while striking out five. 
• Judkins owns a 1.52 ERA — the seventh lowest in the Big Ten — while holding opposing hitters to a .170 batting average. 

LEONARD LOCKS DOWN THE NINTH
Closer questions lingered to start the 2019 season, but redshirt junior Grant Leonard has secured the closer role. The junior right-hander has a team-leading four saves, which are tied for the third-most in the Big Ten. Leonard has been Iowa’s high leverage guy, making two appearances in one day during Iowa’s doubleheader sweep of Cal-State Northridge to earn a win and a save. Leonard owns a 2.16 ERA in seven appearances this season. 

MCCAFFERY’S DOUBLE DUTY
Redshirt freshman multi-sport athlete Connor McCaffery made his Iowa debut against Cal-State Northridge on March 16 as a pinch hitter.  McCaffery made his first career start in game three of the series, finishing 3-for-4 with two doubles.
• McCaffery is a reserve guard for the Iowa men’s basketball team that opens NCAA Tournament play Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
• McCaffery is believed to be the first Hawkeye since the late 1980s to play both basketball and baseball at Iowa since Randy Norton (79-82), Todd Berkenpas (82-85) Tom Norman (1979), and Kurt Stange (1983-86)
• Basketball-baseball combinations are rare.  A select few who have done it recently are Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton and Washington State’s Mark Hendrickson as pitchers.  Other notables are Chris Young (Princeton), Kenny Lofton (Arizona), and Tony Gwynn (San Diego State).

UP THE MIDDLE
All but one game has featured the same middle-infield combo — Mitchell Boe at second base and Tanner Wetrich at shortstop — for the Hawkeyes. 
• Boe, who is hitting .277 with a .420 on-base percentage, had started 46 straight games at second base before sitting during Iowa’s midweek game against Simpson. Boe leads Iowa’s infield in assists (50) and fielding percentage (.987). 
• Wetrich has been a staple in the middle of Iowa’s batting lineup and has started at shortstop in 17 games.  He is second on the team in stolen bases (5) and has hit two home runs. 

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT
The Hawkeyes have posted six come-from-behind victories this season, including two in walk-off fashion.
• Junior Grant Judkins had a pinch-hit, RBI double, giving the Hawkeyes a 5-4 walk-off win over Cal-State Northridge on March 17.  Iowa trailed 4-3 heading into the ninth.
• Iowa posted its second walk-off win of the season against Chicago State.  Trailing 4-3 entering the ninth, Austin Martin’s RBI double tied the score at four and Ben Norman’s fly ball to centerfield was misplayed, giving the Hawkeyes their 11th win.
• The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits to win 39 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 11 walkoffs.  Twenty-three of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings.  Sixteen have come in the final at-bat.

BANKS MAGIC
• The Hawkeyes are 76-21 at home since the start of the 2015 season.  
• Iowa won 20 games last season, the second-most in a single-season in school history, trailing only the 22 wins in 1977.
• Iowa has 15 walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.

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 re-injured his hamstring on March 20.  He initially suffered the injury in the series finale 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, replaces Migliaccio as the team’s hitting coach. Gorzelanny, who pitched for six MLB teams over a 12-year span, replaces 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.