‘DAV’URDAY
Redshirt sophomore Duncan Davitt notched his fourth win of the season in his first Saturday start on May 8 against Penn State. The right-hander allowed one run on six hits over five innings in a 5-3 win.
• Davitt is 3-1 with a 4.64 ERA in seven starts this season. He has victories over Nebraska, Maryland and Penn State. He has gone six innings in three of his seven starts and allowed two or fewer runs in four starts. Davitt is tied for fifth in the Big Ten in fewest runs allowed (20).
WHAT A SUNDAY
Redshirt junior Dylan Nedved enjoyed a stellar Sunday on April 11 in the doubleheader sweep of Minnesota. The Kansas native hit for the cycle across the two games and recorded his fifth save (in as many chances) to clinch the series win.
• Nedved went 4-for-4 with a home run — the first of his career — and a triple in game one. The four hits were a career-high. He also got the final six outs, scattering a pair of hits over two shutout frames.
• He completed the cycle with his first inning double in game two, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
• Nedved hit .600 (6-for-10) with three extra base hits and five runs scored in the series.
• On the year, Nedved is hitting .250 (27-of-108) with 17 RBIs and 24 runs scored. He has started games at shortstop, second base and left field, while serving as the team’s closer.
ZEB: B1G POW
Senior Zeb Adreon earned his second career Big Ten Player of the Week honor on April 27 after hitting .714 (10-of-14) with five RBIs and seven runs scored against Maryland and Northwestern. Adreon had four multi-hit games on the weekend.
• Adreon reached base safely in 11 straight plate appearances from April 24-30. He had eight hits, two walks and a hit by pitch.
• Adreon tripled in consecutive games, making him the first Hawkeye to do so since Ben Norman in 2018. He leads the Big Ten with four triples this season.
• He went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored in the 15-4 win over Northwestern. He had career-bests in hits and runs, while tying his career-best RBI total.
• The Pleasantville, Iowa, native is hitting .304 with 21 RBIs and 21 runs scored this season.
THE BIG KAHUNAH
Redshirt freshman Peyton Williams has hit safely in 16 games with six multi-hit and seven multi-RBI games. He is tied for first in the Big Ten in walks (25), while ranking eighth in OBP (.447) and 10th in slugging (.598).
• 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 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.
• Williams hit his first career grand slam in Iowa’s 7-1 victory over Minnesota on April 9. He sent the no-doubt blast down the right field line and per metrics, it was estimated to go 430 feet with a 109 mph exit velocity.
ROTATION NOTES
• Iowa’s starting pitchers have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 21 of 35 starts this season and they have gone at least five innings in 23 starts.
• Iowa has used the same four starting pitchers in each of the first nine 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 14 quality starts this season with redshirt junior Trenton Wallace leading the way with five such starts.
THE HAWKEYES ARE…
• 16-2 when scoring first.
• 14-1 when out-hitting its opposition.
• 10-4 against left-handed starters and 11-10 against righties.
• 19-3 when limiting opponents to five or fewer runs.
• 17-1 when leading after six innings, 13-1 after seven, and 15-1 after eight.
• 13-1 when making zero errors.
• Out-scoring their opposition, 78-49, over the final three innings and in extra innings.
PITCHING NOTES
• Iowa’s pitching staff has 10 games with 10 or more strikeouts and 15 with nine or more Ks. The Hawkeyes had a season-high 15 strikeouts May 7 in the win over Penn State.
• Iowa’s pitching staff has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 19 games.
• The Hawkeyes rank fifth in the Big Ten with a 4.60 staff ERA. Iowa is limiting hitters to a .245 average — fifth-best in the league — and the team has three shutouts.
ACE IN THE ‘PEN
• Redshirt junior Dylan Nedved is Iowa’s closer and primary late-inning stopper. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 4.08 ERA with eight saves over 16 appearances, spanning 28 2/3 innings.
• The eight saves are tied for the sixth most in a single season in school history. Nedved is two saves shy of being in the top three in school history.
• The right-hander has made multiple weekend appearances six times this season, including pitching both games of the doubleheader against Ohio State and Maryland on March 27 — where he notched two saves.
• Nedved earned wins against Michigan (2 IP), Purdue (3 1/3) and Northwestern (2 2/3). He has pitched more than one inning in 10 appearances.
• 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.
• Nedved earned a win and save in Iowa’s Big Ten pod weekend against Maryland and Northwestern. He was 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two appearances (5 2/3 innings).
BULLPEN NUMBERS
Iowa’s bullpen has been up and down, posting a 5.14 ERA over 131 1/3 innings. Sixteen players have pitched in relief, limiting opposing hitters to a .254 average.
• Senior Trace Hoffman is second on the team with 15 appearances, allowing nine runs on 18 hits over 19 innings. Hoffman pitched three shutout innings, scattering two hits against Penn State on May 7.
• Redshirt sophomore Ben Probst has a 2.45 ERA, allowing three hits over eight appearances, spanning 7 1/3 innings. Opponents are batting .100 against the right-hander. Probst didn’t allow a run and allowed a single hit over his first six outings.
• Freshman Will Semb had the best outing of his career, not allowing a hit and fanning two over 2 2/3 innings at Indiana. He is 0-0 with a 3.12 ERA in five appearances this season.
• Redshirt senior Grant Leonard is 0-1 with one save and a 7.27 ERA in nine appearances this season. Leonard struck out the side, needing only 10 pitches, for his first save on May 8 against Penn State.
• For his career, Leonard has 21 career saves, which are the second most in Hawkeye history. Kurt Belger (1993-97) holds the program record with 22 career saves.
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.
• Redshirt freshman Peyton Williams hit his first career grand slam in Iowa’s 7-1 victory over Minnesota on April 9. He sent the no-doubt blast down the right field line and per metrics, it was estimated to go 430 feet with a 109 mph exit velocity.
• Iowa rallied from four runs down in the ninth inning to defeat Rutgers, 14-12, on April 16 in the series opener. Down to his final strike, Brendan Sher had a two-run single to close the gap to 10-9 and Izaya Fullard followed with a two-run single to give the Hawkeyes the lead.
• Redshirt junior Brett McCleary had a pinch-hit, walk-off three-run home run, sending the blast to right field to down Northwestern, 12-9, on April 26 at Banks. It completed a rally where Iowa was down four runs through seven and down one heading to the ninth.
DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT
The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits to win 61 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 15 walk-offs. Twenty-nine of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. Twenty have come in the final at-bat.
• The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits in 14 games in 2021. The team is 10-4 in such contests.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
• The Illini dropped two of three games against Maryland last weekend in Champaign. Illinois is 16-18 overall, sitting eighth in the Big Ten standings.
• Illinois is 4-8 against ranked opponents this season, which includes splitting a four-game series against Michigan on May 1-2 in Evanston, Ill.
• The Illini are second in the Big Ten with a .275 team batting average with three regulars hitting over .300. Justin Janas has a team-best .361 average, while Jackson Raper is hitting .317 with team-bests in doubles (10), home runs (10) and RBIs (36).
• Illinois is second-to-last in the league with a 7.15 team ERA. The Illini have given up 356 hits over 295 2/3 innings. Friday starter Andrew Hoffmann is 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in eight starts.
SERIES RECORD
• Illinois leads the all-time series over Iowa, 128-91-2. The two teams haven’t met since the 2018 season.
• Iowa has won the last three series over the Fighting Illini, winning two of three game in Iowa City in 2016 and two of three in Champaign in 2017 and 2018.
TEAM CAPTAINS
Iowa’s team captains for the 2021 season are seniors Trace Hoffman, Grant Leonard, Austin Martin, and Ben Norman and junior Trenton Wallace.
30 WINS X 6
Since head coach Rick Heller’s first season in 2014, the Hawkeyes have reached the 30-win plateau six straight seasons. It is the program’s longest stretch since posting seven straight 30-win seasons from 1979-85.
2014: 30-23
2015: 41-18 (2nd-most wins all-time)
2016: 30-26
2017: 39-22 (5th-most wins all-time)
2018: 33-20
2019: 31-24
2020: 10-5 (*pandemic shortened)
BANKS MAGIC
• The Hawkeyes are 104-31 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 17 walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.
#HELLERBALL
• Head coach Rick Heller recorded his 900th career win against Grand View in a 15-2 victory on March 3, 2020, at Duane Banks Field
• Heller is one of nine coaches all-time to lead three different NCAA Division I teams to regional play.
• The Hawkeyes have won 30 or more games in each of Heller’s six full 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; the program had three regional appearances in its history prior to his arrival.
• Heller is fourth in school history in career wins with 235 at Iowa, including the second (41) and fifth-most (39) in school history. He is one win shy of moving into third place.
• 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 six straight years for the first time in program history.
• Heller has coached at least one first-team All-Big Ten selection in five of his first seven seasons, and has 21 Major League Baseball Draft picks in seven seasons — the most in a six-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 23 All-Big Ten honorees in six 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.