Notes: Iowa Heads to Columbus to Face Ohio State, Maryland

MATCHUP	Iowa (4-7) vs. Ohio State (6-5)/Maryland (5-6)
LOCATION	Bill Davis Stadium | Columbus, Ohio
DATE	March 26-28, 2021
WATCH	BTN+ (All Games)
LISTEN	Hawkeye Radio Network | TuneIn Radio
LIVE STATS	Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
STARTING ROTATION
Game 1 | March 26 | 4 p.m.	UI: LHP Trenton Wallace (1-0, 1.00 ERA) OSU: RHP Garrett Burhenn (0-1, 5.62 ERA)
Game 2 | March 27 | 12 p.m.	UI: LHP Trenton Wallace (0-2, 6.10 ERA) OSU: LHP Seth Lonsway (0-2, 5.17 ERA)
Game 3 | March 27 | 4 p.m.	UI: RHP Drew Irvine (0-2, 6.55 ERA) MD: RHP Sean Burke (1-1, 6.46 ERA)
Game 4 | March 28 | 11 a.m.	UI: RHP Duncan Davitt (1-1, 8.18 ERA) MD: RHP Connor Staine (0-1, 6.19 ERA)

 

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team heads to Columbus, Ohio, for four games — two against Ohio State and two against Maryland at Bill Davis Stadium. The Hawkeyes play Ohio State at 4 p.m. (CT) Friday and noon Saturday before facing Maryland at 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.

WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
• All four games will be streamed live via BTN+, a paid subscription service.
• The duration of the weekend’s games will be available on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Zach Mackey on the call. Fans can access the stream via TuneIn Radio.
• Fans can follow along for live updates via Twitter/@UIBaseball.

LEADING OFF
• The Hawkeyes are 4-7 overall after dropping two of three games against Nebraska last weekend at Duane Banks Field.
• Iowa has split two games against Ohio State this season, winning 4-0 on March 12 and falling 7-4 on March 13.
• Redshirt junior Trenton Wallace was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on March 24 after tossing seven shutout innings, scattering two hits and fanning eight in a 3-0 win over Nebraska on March 19.
• Wallace is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA with 26 strikeouts over 18 innings. He has allowed four hits over 13 innings and fanned 18 in his last two starts. He is leading the Big Ten in ERA.
• Redshirt freshman Tyler Snep is leading the Big Ten in hitting (.533), slugging percentage (1.067) and on-base percentage (.708). Snep has homered in two straight games.
• During his seven-game hitting streak, senior Ben Norman his hitting .480 (12-of-25) with three home runs, 10 RBIs, and seven runs scored. He has three multi-hit games, including two three-hit contests and is 5-for-5 on base paths.
• The Hawkeyes are fourth in the Big Ten with a 4.26 team ERA and the staff is sixth with 105 strikeouts.
• Senior Grant Leonard has 20 career saves — three saves away from breaking Kurt Belger’s (22 saves, 1993-97) career saves record.
• Iowa is projected to finish fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll and fifth in the Big Ten Conference standings by D1Baseball.com in 2021.

HAWKEYE NOTABLES
• Iowa had 10 or more hits in back-to-back games against Nebraska. The Hawkeyes scored eight runs on a season-high 12 hits on March 20 and the team had 10 hits (and scored eight times) March 21.
• All three of Iowa’s season-best hit totals have come in the last four games.
• Peyton Williams played the final two games against Nebraska after being limited during the Minneapolis weekend.
• Senior Zeb Adreon hit .455 with a home run and double in the three-game series against Nebraska. Adreon has two multi-hit games in the series.
• The Hawkeyes hit six home runs during their three-game series against Nebraska after hitting one over the first eight games. Senior Ben Norman has a team-best three home runs and 10 RBIs.
• Norman is riding a seven-game hitting streak and a nine-game reached base streak. Redshirt freshman Tyler Snep has reached safely in seven straight contests.

WALLEY: THE ACE
Redshirt junior Trenton Wallace was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on March 24 after scattering two hits over seven shutout innings in a 3-0 victory over Nebraska on March 19. The southpaw struck out eight Huskers in his career long outing.
• Wallace has logged 13 innings without surrendering a run in starts against Ohio State and Nebraska. He has scattered four hits and struck out 18 during the two quality starts.
• He has allowed two or fewer runs in all three starts and has eight or more strikeouts in each start, including a career-high 10 punch outs against Ohio State.
• Wallace is leading the Big Ten in ERA (1.00), fewest runs (2) and earned runs (2) allowed, second in batting average against (.119), tied for second in fewest hits allowed (7) and is third in wins (2) and strikeouts (26).
• Wallace is in his first season as a member of Iowa’s weekend rotation.

ROTATION NOTES
The Hawkeyes will return to the same four-man rotation as Weeks 1 and 2 this weekend in Columbus.
• LHP Trenton Wallace will Friday against Ohio State. He pitched six innings of two-hit ball with 10 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Ohio State on March 12.
• LHP Cam Baumann will get the ball Saturday against Ohio State. He allowed two runs (one earned) over four innings with five strikeouts against the Buckeyes on March 13.
• RHP Drew Irvine will face Maryland in game two Saturday. Irvine had his shortest outing of the season, lasting just 2 1/3 innings in a 10-8 loss to Nebraska on March 20.
• RHP Duncan Davitt will start the finale Sunday against Maryland. After having a career-best start in a 3-1 win over Nebraska on March 14 (6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 6 K), Davitt struggled in a rematch against the Huskers. He allowed five runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings in a 13-8 loss.

NORM’S UP
After going hitless the first weekend of the season, redshirt Ben Norman has been hot. The outfielder has hit safely in all seven contests with three multi-hit games. senior • Norman his hitting .480 (12-of-25) with three home runs, 10 RBIs, and seven runs scored during his hitting streak. He has three multi-hit games, including two three-hit contests and is 5-for-5 on base paths.
• The Des Moines, Iowa, native went 2-for-5 with a home run and a career-best four RBIs in series finale against Nebraska. Norman hit a second home run in the game, but was called out after mistakenly passing a teammate on the base paths.

SNEP-TACULAR START
Redshirt freshman Tyler Snep hit a cool .750 (3-for-4) in a pair of games against Nebraska last weekend at Banks Field. The Illinois native hit a solo home run — the first of his career — on March 20 before going 2-for-2 with a two-run homer, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Snep reached base safely in all five plate appearances as he had a career-best three walks.
• Snep is leading the Big Ten in hitting (.533), slugging percentage (1.067) and on-base percentage (.708). He also has nine walks and five RBIs.

STEADY SOSA
Redshirt senior Matthew Sosa has hit safely in nine of 11 games this season, which included a career-best eight-game hitting streak to start the season. The third baseman is hitting .324 (12-of-37) with four doubles and 12 RBIs (7)
• Sosa is also leading the Big Ten with eight hit by pitches.

PITCHING NOTES
• Iowa’s pitching staff has four games with 12 or more strikeouts and six with nine or more strikeouts.
• Iowa’s pitching staff has allowed three earned runs or fewer in six games.

BULLPEN BECOMING A STRENGTH
Iowa’s bullpen has been a strength, posting a 3.38 ERA over 48 innings. Fourteen players have pitched in relief, limiting opposing hitters to a .227 average.
• Redshirt junior Dylan Nedved is developing into a strong late-inning option. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 7 1/3 innings and he recorded his first two saves against Ohio State (3/12) and Nebraska (3/14). Nedved has allowed four hits in four appearances and he is tied for fourth in the Big Ten in saves.
• Senior Trace Hoffman has a team-high sixi appearances, allowing one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. Hoffman picked up his first save of the season, pitching two innings in the 3-0 three-hit shutout of Nebraska on March 19.

THE GRANT LEONARD FILE
• Redshirt senior Grant Leonard followed up his record-breaking junior year with a solid 2020 campaign. In seven appearances, he recorded four saves in five chances — the second most in the Big Ten and 17th most nationally.
• Leonard enters his sixth and final season as a Hawkeye with 20 career saves, which are tied for the second most in Hawkeye history with Tim Gudex (2004-06). Kurt Belger (1993-97) holds the program record with 22 career saves.
• Leonard also earned a “save” off the field as he and Iowa softball pitcher Allison Doocy became engaged in January.

MARTIN TO POSEY
Senior Austin Martin was named to the Buster Posey Award Watch List on March 9. He is one of four players in the Big Ten and 69 players nationally named to the watch list for an award presented to the top catcher in collegiate baseball.

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT
The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits to win 52 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 14 walk-offs. Twenty-six of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. Seventeen have come in the final at-bat.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• The Buckeyes sit at 6-5 overall after dropping two of three games last weekend at Rutgers. Ohio State lost games one and two, 6-5 and 2-0, before winning the finale, 4-1.
• Ohio State is hitting .228 as a team with 10 home runs, 17 doubles and two triples. Kade Kern is the only Buckeye above .300, hitting a team-best .390 with nine RBIs. Mitchell Okuley and Conner Pohl each have three home runs.
• RHP Garrett Burhenn (0-1, 5.62 ERA) and LHP Seth Lonsway (0-2, 5.17 ERA) will take the hill for Ohio State. Iowa scored two runs on four hits (but punched out nine times) over six innings against Lonsway on March 12.
• OSU closer TJ Brock has three saves and a 1.35 ERA in five appearances.

SCOUTING MARYLAND
• The Terrapins have won three of their last four games to improve to 5-6 overall. Maryland won two of three games at Penn State last weekend.
• Maryland scored 19 runs in a 19-10 win at Penn State on March 20, including 10 runs in the final two innings.
• Maryland is hitting .265 as a team with 33 extra base hits, including 15 home runs and 14 doubles. Benjamin Cowles leads the team with a .371 average with seven home runs and 16 RBIs.
• The Terps struggle defensively, as they have committed 18 errors in 11 games for a .955 fielding percentage, which is last in the Big Ten.
• Iowa will face RHP Sean Burke (1-1, 6.46 ERA) on Saturday and RHP Connor Staine (0-1, 6.19 ERA) on Sunday.

SERIES RECORD
• Iowa is 87-79-1 all-time against Ohio State. The Hawkeyes took two of three games from the Buckeyes during their last trip to Columbus in 2019.
• The Hawkeyes are 6-5 against Maryland. Iowa was swept in a three-game series in College Park during the final weekend of the regular season during the 2019 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.