Game Notes -- at Ohio State

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THIS WEEK
• The University of Iowa baseball team heads to Columbus, Ohio, for a three-game series against Ohio State from April 26-28. All three games will be played at Bill Davis Stadium.
• Friday’s series opener is slated for a 5:35 p.m. (CT) first pitch. Game two on Saturday will start at 2:05 p.m. with the series finale at 11:05 a.m. Sunday.

FOLLOW ALONG
• All 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 in Cedar Rapids, KDEC-AM 1240 in Decorah, KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield.
Saturday: AM 800 KXIC in Iowa City, KMJM 1360 AM in Cedar Rapids; KKFD 95.9 FM in Fairfield, WDBQ FM 107.5 in Dubuque.
Sunday: KMJM 1360 AM in Cedar Rapids; 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
• The Hawkeyes are coming off a series win over No. 30 Nebraska — their fourth straight Big Ten series win to move to 9-6 in the conference, good for fourth in the league standings. The Hawkeyes are a season-best nine games over .500 with a 24-15 record. 
• Iowa also has series wins over No. 19 Oklahoma State and Cal-State Northridge. Iowa has suffered series losses at Evansville and at Indiana, while splitting a four-game series at Hawaii. 
• With seven wins over ranked teams this season, Iowa has won 13 games over ranked opponents since the start of the 2018 season. 
• Iowa has 13 come-from-behind victories this season with four walk-off winners, including two walk-offs in the last four games. 
• Redshirt junior Grant Leonard (2-1, 1.29 ERA) is a perfect 9-for-9 in save opportunities, which are the second most in the Big Ten Conference. Leonard hasn’t allowed a run in his last 12 innings pitched, while striking out 13 batters in his last six appearances. Leonard’s nine saves this season are tied for the third most in a single season in school history, while his 11 career saves are tied for the eighth most in the record books. Leonard was recently named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason List. 
• Iowa’s 44 stolen bases are the third-most in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes only swiped 39 bags last season. Ben Norman leads Iowa with nine steals and Tanner Wetrich has eight, while five other Hawkeyes have swiped at least three bags. 
• Junior Austin Martin has the 14th-best batting average (.324) in the Big Ten, which is tops amongst league catchers. The Altoona, Iowa, native leads Iowa in multi-hit games (15), multi-RBI games (8), and hits (45). 
• Junior Grant Judkins owns the third-best ERA (1.88) in the Big Ten, having allowed only three or more earned runs in only two of 10 starts. 
• Iowa is 15-4 at Duane Banks Field this season, running its home record to  89-24 since 2015.  Away from home, Iowa is 7-10 this season. 

QUICK HITTERS
• The Hawkeyes have recorded 10 or more hits in five of their last six games, including 17 against Nebraska, which were the second most in a single game this season. 
• Senior Tanner Wetrich is on a career-long and team-best 11-game hitting streak.  The shortstop is hitting .400 (16-of-40) with five doubles, one triple, three home runs, eight RBIs, and 12 runs during the stretch.  
• Senior Chris Whelan is on a career-long and team-best 19-game on-base streak. Whelan’s 31 walks rank second in the Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes’ 180 base-on-balls are the fourth-most in the conference.  Iowa’s .367 on-base percentage ranks third in the Big Ten. 
• Junior outfielder Ben Norman is the only Hawkeye to start all 39 games.
• Norman leads Iowa with 30 RBIs and is the only Hawkeye with four or more 3+ RBI games. 
• Redshirt freshman Connor McCaffery hit his first career home run in Iowa’s 3-2 loss to Nebraska in the series finale.  Nine Hawkeyes have homered this season.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• Ohio State is 23-18 overall and 6-6 in league play to sit eighth in the Big Ten standings. The Buckeyes are 7-3 in their last 10 games with series wins over No. 24 Michigan and Maryland. 
• Ohio State owns one of the best offenses in the Big Ten with seven players hitting .284 or better. Ohio State’s .280 team batting average is the third-best in the Big Ten. Junior Dominic Canzone leads the Big Ten and ranks 67th nationally with a .375 batting average. 
• The Buckeyes also lead the conference in hits (398), rank second in home runs (44), third in slugging percentage (.437), and fourth in runs per game (5.9).  Senior Brady Cherry and Canzone both have 10+ home runs, which rank top four in the Big Ten.
• On the mound, the Ohio State staff has a 4.86 ERA — the fourth-worst in the Big Ten — and a 1.54 WHIP, which is the third-worst in the Big Ten.
• Garrett Burhenn (5-2, 4.21 ERA) will start on Friday night for the Buckeyes with Seth Lonsway (5-3, 4.86 ERA) and Griffan Smith (4-2, 3.75 ERA) rounding out the Buckeye rotation. Smith was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week last week after throwing a complete game with 10 strikeouts in Ohio State’s 5-1 win over Maryland. 

SERIES RESULTS
• Iowa leads the all-time series versus Ohio State with an 84-77-1 record. 
• The Hawkeyes have won two of the last three regular-season series versus the Buckeyes, but lost the last meeting to Ohio State, 2-0, in last season’s Big Ten Tournament. 
• Iowa hasn’t played in Columbus since losing two of three games during the 2016 season. The Hawkeyes haven’t won a series at Ohio State since the 2011 season.

BIG TEN RACE
• After getting swept to start the Big Ten season, the Hawkeyes have won four straight conference series to own a 9-6 record, good fourth place in the Big Ten.
• Iowa’s latest series win came against No. 30 Nebraska to knock the Huskers out of the top spot of the Big Ten. 
• Indiana (9-3), Nebraska (11-4), and Michigan (8-3) own the top three spots in the Big Ten standings. 
• Behind Iowa sits Minnesota (7-5), Rutgers (7-5), Illinois (6-6), Ohio State (6-6), and Maryland (6-6). 

JENKS MAGIC
Senior outfielder Justin Jenkins was Iowa’s hero in its 5-4 walk-off in 12 innings over Milwaukee. The Terre Haute, Indiana, native hit Iowa’s first walk-off home run since Tyler Cropley’s in 2018 over No. 7 Michigan to win the game. Jenkins’ heroics started in the top of the 12th by preserving a 4-4 tie after making a catch in shallow center field and firing home to gun down a Milwaukee base runner at the plate to complete the inning-ending double play. 

WETRICH ON A TEAR
• Over the last 11 games, senior Tanner Wetrich has been Iowa’s best hitter with a .400 batting average (16-for-40) and an .800 slugging percentage (five doubles, three home runs, one triple). 
• In Wetrich’s career-high 11-game hitting streak, he has recorded five multi-hit games. 
• Wetrich’s .491 slugging percentage leads the team and his two triples are tied for the second-most in the Big Ten. 
• The Moberly, Missouri, native has also shown off his speed, swiping nine bags in 11 attempts, which is tied for the team lead. 

BACK AT THE TOP
• Senior Chris Whelan had seen his name appear in five different spots in the Hawkeyes’ batting order before returning to the top of the lineup April 2 against Clarke.   Whelan was Iowa’s primary leadoff hitter in 2018.
• In 13 games since returning to the leadoff role, Whelan is hitting .391 (18-for-46) with a .548 on-base percentage, both of which lead the team. Whelan was hitting .210 (13-for-62) with a .430 OBP in 25 games not in the leadoff spot.
• Whelan’s batting average has risen 91 points since March 26 when his average dipped to a season-low .200.
• The Hawkeyes are 8-5 since Whelan’s return to the leadoff role and Iowa has averaged 6.2 runs in those games, compared to 4.9 when he was not batting leadoff. 
• Whelan does not rank among qualified hitters (3.0 AB per game), but leads the team in walks (31), hit-by-pitches (11), and on-base percentage (.484).
• The Naperville, Illinois, native is tied for the second most runs scored (13) in the Big Ten with teammate Ben Norman. 

LEONARD NAMED TO NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR MIDSEASON LIST
• Redshirt junior Grant Leonard has relished in Iowa’s closer role, going a perfect 9-for-9 in save opportunities, to earn a spot on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason List. 
• The junior right-hander has a team-leading nine saves, which are the second-most in the Big Ten and tied for the 15th-most in the nation. 
• Leonard’s nine saves this season are tied for the third most in a single season in school history and his 11 career saves are tied for eighth in the Iowa record books.
• Leonard has not allowed a run since taking the loss against Indiana on March 22. Leonard’s scoreless innings streak is up to 12 innings and his ERA sits at 1.29 in 18 appearances. 
• The Mokena, Illinois, native has walked only one batter in his last seven appearances, while striking out 13 batters. Leonard’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is 3.1 with 25 strikeouts and eight walks. 
• Leonard has been Iowa’s high leverage guy, allowing only nine of 21 inherited runners to score this sesaon. 

IOWA SINGLE-SEASON SAVES 
1.    Kevin Lee (2010)    13
2.    Tim Gudex (2006)    10
3.    Mike Schurz (2007)    9
    Kurt Belger (1995)    9
    Grant Leonard (2019)    9

IOWA CAREER SAVES
1.    Kurt Belger (1993-97)    22
2.    Tim Gudex (2004-06)    20
3.    Reed Pawelk (2000-03)    18
4.    Nick Hibbing (2012-15)    17
5.    Kevin Lee (2008-11)    14
6.    Josh Martsching (2013-17)    13
7.     Mike Schurz (2007-09)    12
8.     Zach Daniels (2016-18)    11
    Grant Leonard (2017-pres.)    11

NOW THAT’S A 2-OUT RALLY
During Iowa’s 17-9 victory over Nebraska on April 20, the Hawkeyes scored eight runs in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth — all with two outs.  Iowa had 16 two-out RBIs in the game, hit .565 with two outs, and had a .529 average with runners in scoring position in the game. 
• The eight-run inning was Iowa’s largest of the season and the 17 total runs were the most scored in a Big Ten game since beating Purdue, 17-5, on May 17, 2014.

MARTIN MASH
• Junior Austin Martin leads Iowa in batting average (.324), hits (45), on-base percentage (.400) among qualified hitters (3.0 AB per game). 
• Martin is also tied for the team lead in doubles (8), second in total bases (61), and RBIs (25), and third in home runs (3)
• Martin’s .339 batting average is 14th in the conference and tops amongst Big Ten catchers. 
• Martin became the second Hawkeye to record four hits in a game this season in Iowa’s loss to Illinois State on April 3.  The catcher went 4-for-5 with a double and three singles. Redshirt Tanner Padgett racked up four hits in Iowa’s series finale against Hawaii on February 24, and senior Chris Whelan had four hits against Nebraska on April 20.

COLE MCDONALD IN THE BIG TEN
• In five Big Ten starts, Friday night starter Cole McDonald is 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA, striking out 29 in 31 1/3 innings.  The 29 strikeouts are tied for eighth in Big Ten only games.
• McDonald has registered four quality starts in conference action. 
• The senior from New Hampton, Iowa, went 1-3 in five nonconference starts with a 5.47 ERA.
• In nine total starts this season, McDonald’s ERA sits at a season-best 3.86 ERA with a team-leading 50 strikeouts. 

JUNIOR GRANT JUDKINS… 
• ranks third in the Big Ten with a 1.88 ERA.
• has posted six quality starts (vs. Marshall, vs. CSUN, at Indiana, vs. Illinois, at Purdue, vs. No. 30 Nebraska) in nine chances. 
• has allowed three or more runs only twice in 10 starts.
• pitched five or more innings in all 10 starts along with  four starts of seven or more innings. 
• ranks third in the Big Ten, allowing 6.50 hits per nine innings.
• owns a .203 batting average against, which is the best amongst Iowa’s starting pitchers.

SOPHOMORE CAM BAUMANN…
• has posted all three of his wins in Big Ten play, going 3-1 with a 5.11 ERA in five league starts.  
• has two quality starts in wins over Illinois and Rutgers. 
• has two games with seven or more strikeouts — vs. Cal State Northridge (8) and Nebraska (7).

INNING BY INNING
The Hawkeyes are…
• 14-6 in games decided by two runs or less.
• 12-1 when scoring first.
• 6-0 when scoring 10+ runs.
• 14-2 when leading after six innings and 5-13 when trailing after six innings. 

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
• Iowa’s offensive approach has produced the third-best on-base percentage in the conference (.369). 
• Iowa’s home run count is up to 21, which is the seventh-most in the Big Ten. Ben Norman leads the team with six home runs, followed by Tanner Wetrich’s five bombs.
• The Hawkeye have eclipsed 10 hits in five of the last six games, and 18 times this season. Iowa’s 17 hits and 17 runs versus No. 30 Nebraska were the second-most in a game this season. Iowa’s season highs in runs (18) and hits (19) came against Evansville.
• 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.

ON THE BUMP
• Iowa’s 4.06 ERA ranks sixth in the Big Ten. 
• Iowa ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings, but Iowa’s 4.60  walks per nine innings rank 10th in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes rank eighth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.86). 
•  The Hawkeye staff is allowing 8.45  hits per nine innings, which ranks sixth-best in the Big Ten. 

BACK END OF THE BULLPEN
The Hawkeye bullpen has held opposing hitters to a .247 average over 154 innings with 156 strikeouts. 
• Grant Leonard has converted all nine of his saves, which leads the team and are the second-most in the Big Ten. Jason Foster, Trace Hoffman, and Trenton Wallace each have one save this season.
• Trace Hoffman (5-1, 4.07 ERA) has been one of Iowa’s go-to guys out of the bullpen, leading the team with 21 appearances, which are the third-most in the Big Ten. Hoffman has 23 strikeouts in 24.1 innings to only five walks.
• Senior Shane Ritter has been effective as of late, holding hitters to a .111 batting average in his last five appearances to lower his ERA to 1.29. Ritter picked up the win in Iowa’s 12-inning affair against Milwaukee. 

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 was a reserve guard for the Iowa men’s basketball team that nearly completed a 25-point comeback win over second-seeded Tennessee on March 24, but fell in overtime in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. McCaffery finished the season averaging 4.4 points and 3.0 assists in 34 games. 
• 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).

MASTERS OF THE MIDWEEK
• Iowa is 6-2 in midweek contests this season to move to 31-7 in midweek contests since the start of 2016. 

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT
The Hawkeyes have posted 13 come-from-behind victories this season, including four in walk-off fashion.
• Iowa’s latest walk-off winner came off the bat of senior Justin Jenkins in the bottom of the 12th against Milwaukee. It was Jenkins’ second career home run that lifted Iowa to a 5-4 win. 
• Junior Zeb Adreon added his name to the list of walk-off heroes with a single in the bottom of the ninth to beat No. 30 Nebraska in game one of the series. 
• Iowa battled back to beat Northern Illinois, 8-6, after trailing 3-0 through two innings and 5-3 through four. 
• In two of three games against No. 23 Illinois, Iowa overcame one-run defecits to complete the sweep. 
• Iowa scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth against Bradley after trailing 2-0 for the first seven inning to win 4-2. 
• 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 center field was misplayed, giving the Hawkeyes their 11th win.
• The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits to win 44 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 11 walkoffs.  Twenty-four 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 86-23 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.
• Junior Hunter Lee made just two appearances before going down because of injury.  He had season-ending surgery in March.
• Sophomore Jack Dreyer is out for the remainder of the season 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.

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. 

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.