Notes: Hawkeyes Welcome Gophers to Banks for 3-Game Series

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team returns home to host Minnesota in a three-game series from April 9-11 at Duane Banks Field. Friday’s opener will begin at 6:32 p.m. and be televised live on BTN, Saturday starts at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday’s finale at 1:05 p.m.
• A limited capacity — a little more than 1,200 fans — will be permitted to attend the series each game. Tickets MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE. They are available online through the Iowa Athletics Ticket office or at hawkeyesports.com/mobiletickets. There will be no walk-up tickets available.

WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
• Friday’s series opener will be televised on BTN with Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and former Hawkeye Danan Hughes (color) on the call.
• Saturday and Sunday’s 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 and Steve Duncan on the call. Fans can access the stream via TuneIn Radio.
• Fans can follow along for live updates via Twitter/@UIBaseball.

LEADING OFF
• Iowa has won five of its last six games to improve to the .500 mark for the third time this season. The Hawkeyes (9-9 overall) won their second straight weekend, winning two of three games last weekend at Purdue.
• Redshirt junior Trenton Wallace (2-1, 2.28 ERA) is leading the Big Ten in ERA at 2.28. The southpaw ranks in the top seven in the Big Ten in seven different categories. Wallace has three quality starts this season.
• Redshirt freshman Peyton Williams had his first career multi-home run game in game two at Purdue. He hit the two jacks in consecutive at-bats and he finished the game 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
• Williams tied a school record in the series finale at Purdue with four walks, two of which were intentional. He is currently riding a nine-game reached base streak.
• Senior Ben Norman is hitting .303 with team highs in hits (20), home runs (6), RBIs (19) and runs scored (16). The outfielder’s six home runs have matched a career-high. Norman has scored at least one run in 11 of the last 14 games.
• Norman has started 93 consecutive games dating back to the 2018 season. He has played in 194 games in his Hawkeye career.
• Redshirt junior Dylan Nedved is 4-for-4 in save opportunities this season. The Shawnee, Kan., native opened the season with 14 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He is 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA and ranks second in the league with four saves.
• Iowa’s pitching staff had just six walks over 27 innings at Purdue — its lowest walk total of the season.
• The Hawkeyes are third in the Big Ten in team defense (.975) and fourth in ERA (4.24).
• 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
• Redshirt senior Ben Norman is one of two Hawkeyes (along with third baseman Matthew Sosa) to start every game this season.
• Redshirt freshman Brayden Frazier, who has started six games and has a .344 average, is unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, did not play during the three-game series at Purdue.
• Redshirt junior Dylan Nedved hit a team-best .556 (5-of-9) with two doubles and a triple in the three-game series at Purdue.
• Iowa’s starting pitchers have gone five or more innings in six consecutive starts. They have allowed two or fewer runs in five of the six starts.
• The Hawkeyes have hit 16 of their 17 home runs over the past three weeks. Iowa has seven games with two or more home runs.
• Iowa has six games with 10 or more hits this season, including a season-high 12 hits against Nebraska on March 20.
• Over the last two weekends, the Hawkeyes have scored 44 runs to average 7.3 runs per game.
• Iowa has had four or more extra base hits in eight games this season, including seven (3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR) against Maryland on March 28.
• Iowa went 3-1 at the Columbus Big Ten pod, becoming the second team to escape the pod format with a winning record (Indiana). The Hawkeyes did it while facing Ohio State and Maryland’s No. 1 and No. 2 starters.

WALLEY: THE ACE
Redshirt junior Trenton Wallace has stepped in as the Hawkeyes’ staff ace. The southpaw is 2-1 with a Big Ten-best 2.28 ERA over 27 2/3 innings. He has three quality starts to his ledger.
• The Rock Island, Illinois, native ranks in the top seven in the Big Ten in seven categories. He is first in ERA (2.28) and fewest runs/earned runs (7), second in batting average against (.151), tied for third in fewest hits (14), fourth in strikeouts (40), and tied for seventh in wins (2).
• Wallace had 18 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames spanning two-plus starts against Ohio State, Nebraska, and Ohio State. He allowed five hits during the streak and fanned 24.
• He 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 allowed two or fewer runs in four starts and has eight or more strikeouts in four of five starts, including a career-high 10 punch outs against Ohio State.

B-NORM EMERGES
If you take away the season-opening four-game series, when Ben Norman was working his way back following a COVID pause, the outfielder has been by far Iowa’s best hitter. The Des Moines, Iowa, native has posted a .385 average (20-of-52) with six home runs, 19 RBIs, and 16 runs scored. He has hit safely in 12 of 14 games since the opening weekend with six multi-hit games.
• Norman has scored at least one run in 11 of the last 14 games with five games scoring two runs.
• Norman has tied a career-high in home runs and has nearly matched his home run total from his first four seasons where he had seven blasts in his first 176 career games.
• He 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.
• Norman tied a career-high with four RBIs — with three coming on a three-run home run — at Purdue on April 3 and he was 2-for-3 with two doubles in the series finale.

THE BIG KAHUNAH
Redshirt freshman Peyton Williams is hitting a team-best .417 (10-of-24) over the past two weekends with four home runs, three doubles, nine RBIs, and nine runs scored. Williams has a 1.042 slugging percentage in the seven games.
• Williams has hit safely in nine games with three multi-hit and five multi-RBI games.
• Williams finished with a .500 (4-for-8) average in the three-game series at Purdue. In game two, he had a career game, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. He doubled and then homered in consecutive at-bats, for his first career multi-home run game. He is the first Hawkeye since Tanner Wetrich in 2019 to have a multi-home run contest.
• In the series finale in West Lafayette, Williams reached base in all five plate appearances. He drew Barry Bonds treatment, being intentionally walked twice in the game, and he walked a total of four times to tie the Iowa single-game school record. He also reached via a hit by pitch.
• Williams has four home runs of Iowa’s last five contests. He homered in consecutive games, hitting a two-run blast and finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs in a 6-4 win over Maryland on March 27 and 2-for-4 with four RBIs — and a three-run shot — in the 11-2 win over the Terps on March 28.

BAUMANN SETTLES IN
Redshirt junior Cam Baumann has strung together four strong outings, three in the starting rotation. Over his last four appearances (three starts), Baumann has been one of the team’s top pitchers.
• If you take away Baumann’s first start, where he gave up six runs over three innings in a loss to Michigan, the Fairfield, Iowa, native is 1-1 with a 1.40 ERA over 19 1/3 innings. He has allowed five runs (three earned) and has 14 strikeouts to five walks, while limiting hitters to a .181 average.
• Baumann has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last four outings. He had a career-best start in a road win at Ohio State, scattering three hits and allowing one run over seven innings to notch his third career quality start.
• He followed it up with five innings of one run ball in a no-decision at Purdue, where he allowed five hits.
• Baumann is 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA over 22 1/3 innings this season with 20 strikeouts to seven walks.

ROTATION NOTES
• Iowa’s starting pitchers have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of 18 starts this season and they have gone at least five innings in 11 starts.
• Iowa has used the same four starting pitchers in each of the first five weeks. Redshirt junior Cam Baumann and redshirt sophomore Duncan Davitt have shared the No. 3 spot on three-game weekends.
• Iowa’s starters have notched seven quality starts this season with redshirt junior Trenton Wallace leading the way with three such starts.

THE HAWKEYES ARE…
• 8-0 when scoring first.
• 7-0 when out-hitting its opposition.
• 5-3 against left-handed starters.
• 9-2 when limiting opponents to five or fewer runs.
• 6-0 when leading after six innings.
• 6-1 when making zero errors.
• Outscoring their opposition, 28-16, over the final three innings and in extra innings.

SNEP-TACULAR START
Redshirt freshman Tyler Snep has hit safely in 10 games this season, where he is hitting .324 (12-of-37) with three home runs and eight RBIs. The Illinois native also has 12 walks, contributing to his team-best .490 on-base percentage.
• He hit a cool .750 (3-for-4) in a pair of games against Nebraska on March 20-21 at Banks Field. He 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.

STEADY SOSA
Redshirt senior Matthew Sosa has hit safely in 12 games this season, which included a career-best eight-game hitting streak to start the season. The third baseman is hitting .254 (17-of-67) with five doubles and 11 RBIs. He has four multi-hit games.
• Sosa has also been plunked a Big Ten-leading 11 times.
• The California native had a career game, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored in Iowa’s 11-2 win over Maryland on March 28. He had a first-inning home run and a double among his three hits. It was his second career blast.

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

BULLPEN STRENGTH
Iowa’s bullpen has been a strength, posting a 4.16 ERA over 71 1/3 innings. Fifteen players have pitched in relief, limiting opposing hitters to a .251 average.
• Redshirt junior Dylan Nedved has taken over as Iowa’s closer and primary late-inning option. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA over eight appearances and 15 1/3 innings. He recorded his first two saves against Ohio State (3/12) and Nebraska (3/14) and had his third and fourth saves in a split doubleheader against Ohio State and Maryland on March 27.
• Nedved allowed a single hit over a career-high 3 1/3 shutout innings en route to his second win of the season in the series opener at Purdue. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 14 1/3 innings before surrendering three runs in the series finale against the Boilermakers.
• Senior Trace Hoffman has eight appearances, allowing two runs on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings. Hoffman (1-0, 2.35 ERA) picked up his first save of the season, pitching two innings in the 3-0 three-hit shutout of Nebraska on March 19. His first win came against Maryland, when he allowed one run on one hit, on March 27. He did not pitch against Purdue due to contract tracing.
• Redshirt sophomore Ben Probst has a spotless ERA, allowing one hit over four appearances, spanning 3 1/3 innings.

THE GRANT LEONARD FILE
• Redshirt senior Grant Leonard is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA in four appearances this season.
• For his career, Leonard has 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.

HAWKEYE HIGHLIGHTS
• Redshirt senior Zeb Adreon hit a two-run, opposite field home run to break a four-all tie in the ninth inning to send the Hawkeyes to a 6-4 victory over Maryland on March 27. Adreon, who was 2-for-4 in the game, also had a triple in the contest.
• Redshirt junior Brett McCleary hit a two-run, 10th-inning single to send the Hawkeyes to a 6-4 victory over Purdue on April 2 in West Lafayette.

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT
The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits to win 55 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 14 walk-offs. Twenty-seven of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. Eighteen have come in the final at-bat.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA
• The Gophers have lost eight of their last 10 games to fall to 4-14 overall this season. Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak with a 10-9 win at Michigan State on April 3.
• Minnesota’s wins have come over Rutgers, Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan State.
• The Gophers are hitting .245 as a team with two players hitting over .300. Minnesota second baseman Zack Raabe is leading the Big Ten with a .431 average with 25 hits in 58 at-bats. Raabe has nine extra base hits, including four home runs.
• Minnesota’s pitching staff has struggled, posting a league-worst 7.57 team ERA. The Gophers have 142 strikeouts to 100 walks over 151 innings.

SERIES RECORD
• The Gophers lead the all-time series over Iowa, 185-119.
• Minnesota eliminated the Hawkeyes from the Big Ten Tournament in the most recent meeting in 2019 with a 3-0 shutout victory.
• Iowa and Minnesota have played just two series against one another since 2016. The Gophers won two of three games in 2016 and 2018 in Minneapolis.
• This is Minnesota’s first trip to Iowa City since the 2015 season when the Hawkeyes swept the three-game series, out-scoring the Gophers, 24-6.

BANKS MAGIC
• The Hawkeyes are 96-29 at home since the start of the 2015 season.
• Iowa won 19 games in 2019, the third-most in a single-season in school history, trailing only the 22 wins in 1977 and 20 wins in 2018.
• Iowa has 16 walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.

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.