Notes: Iowa Heads to Evanston to Face Northwestern

MATCHUP	Iowa (23-16) at Northwestern (12-18)
LOCATION	Rocky and Berenice Miller Park | Evanston, Ill.
DATE	May 21-23, 2021
WATCH	BTN (Friday) | BTN+ (Saturday/Sunday)
LISTEN	Hawkeye Radio Network | TuneIn Radio
LIVE STATS	Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
STARTING ROTATION
Game 1 | May 21 | 1 p.m.	UI: LHP Trenton Wallace (5-1, 2.70 ERA) NU: RHP Mike Doherty (1-3, 3.51 ERA)
Game 2 | May 22 | 1 p.m.	UI: LHP Cam Baumann (4-5, 4.20 ERA) NU: RHP Hank Christie (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
Game 3 | May 23 | Noon	UI: TBA NU: TBA

 

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team heads to Evanston for a three-game weekend series at Northwestern from May 21-23 at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park. Friday and Saturday’s games will begin at 1 p.m. (CT), while Sunday’s series finale begins at noon.

WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
• Friday’s series opener will be televised on BTN with Connor Onion and Jeff Liese on the call.
• Saturday and Sunday’s games will be streamed live on BTN+, a paid subscription service.
• All three 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
• After starting the season 4-8, Iowa has won 18 of its last 26 games to improve to 22-16 overall. The Hawkeyes are four games behind Big Ten-leading Nebraska, three back of Indiana and Michigan and two games behind Maryland for fourth.
• The Hawkeyes have won six of their last eight series. Iowa’s lost two of three games at league-leading Indiana from April 30-May 2 and two of three against Illinois from May 14-16.
• Iowa has won 22 Big Ten games, which are tied for the most in a single-season in school history. The Hawkeyes went 22-6 during the 1990 season en route to the Big Ten regular season title.
• Senior Ben Norman, who was the Big Ten Player of the Week on April 20, leads the Big Ten in RBIs (47) and ranks in the top 10 in six categories. He is fourth in home runs (10), walks (25) and steals (12), eighth in slugging (.617) and 10th in runs (32)..
• Iowa’s offense is leading the Big Ten in triples (10) and walks (194) and is second in doubles (77).
• Redshirt junior Trenton Wallace has a team-leading six quality starts this season as Iowa’s Friday night starter. The southpaw is 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA. He is leading the Big Ten in strikeouts (89), while ranking third in ERA (2.70) and tied for third in wins (5).
• Wallace has 37 strikeouts (9, 9, 10, 9) over his last four starts. He has eight or more strikeouts in eight starts. His 89 strikeouts are the fifth-most in a single-season in program history. He’s seven strikeouts from No. 2 all-time.
• Iowa’s starting pitchers have tallied 15 quality starts this season. The starting pitchers are 14-12 with a 4.48 ERA this season and they are limiting hitters to a .245 average. Iowa has used the same four starting pitchers for the duration of the season.
• Norman has started 113 consecutive games dating back to the 2018 season. He has played in 214 games in his Hawkeye career — the third-most all-time.
• Former Hawkeye Nick Allgeyer was called up to the Toronto Blue Jays on May 15, making him the first Hawkeye under head coach Rick Heller to play in MLB.
• Heller moved into third place on Iowa’s all-time wins list with 236 victories in Iowa’s 5-4 win over Illinois on May 14.

HAWKEYE NOTABLES
• The Hawkeyes scored a season-high 18 runs on April 11 in the 18-0 victory over Minnesota. They are the team’s most scored in a Big Ten game since 2011 in a 19-7 win over Michigan State and the most in a shutout since beating Northwestern College, 28-0, in 2016.
• Iowa hasn’t hit a home run in its last five games, its longest home run drought since the first six games of the season.
• Iowa has hit at least one home run in 17 of its last 30 games. The Hawkeyes have 11 games with two or more home runs.
• Redshirt seniors Ben Norman and Matthew Sosa are the only two Hawkeyes to start every game this season.
• Sosa has been plunked a Big Ten-high 17 times. The total is 11th nationally and tied for fourth in a single-season in school history.
• Iowa’s starting pitchers have gone five or more innings in 19 of their last 26 starts. They have allowed two or fewer runs in 17 of the 26 starts.
• Iowa has 15 games with 10 or more hits this season, including a season-high 18 hits against Northwestern on April 25.
• Iowa has had four or more extra base hits in 15 games this season, including eight (6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR) against Northwestern on April 25. Ben Norman tied a school record in the game with three doubles.
• Norman had his career-best 25-game reached base streak snapped in the series finale against Illinois. Izaya Fullard has reached in 21 straight games.
• Fullard and redshirt freshman Peyton Williams tied the Iowa single game walks record in consecutive games. Williams had four walks in the series finale at Purdue, and Fullard drew four walks in the series opener against Minnesota.

HELLO EVANSTON
After hitting just .194 as a team in the three-game series against Illinois, the Hawkeyes are looking to get back on track in Evanston. In two games this season, Iowa’s offense has shined against Wildcat pitching. The Hawkeyes scored 27 runs in two wins in April, finishing with a .437 average (31-of-71) with 10 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 27 RBIs. Iowa struck out just eight times in two games and had a .731 slugging percentage and a 1.266 OPS.

STRONG APRIL
The Hawkeyes posted a 12-3 record during the month of April. Iowa hit .297 as a team during the month, averaging 8.5 runs per game with 34 doubles, seven triples and 15 home runs. Senior Zeb Adreon hit a team-best .379 with 14 RBIs, while senior Ben Norman drove in 26 runs.

I-O-W-A
Eight of Iowa’s starters (including DH) are native Iowans, while all four starting pitchers (who have started a game in 2021) are Iowans.
• Third baseman Matthew Sosa and utility/closer Dylan Nedved are the only two non-Iowa starters on the roster.

SIT ‘EM DOWN WALLEY
Redshirt junior Trenton Wallace is leading the Big Ten with 89 strikeouts this season. The southpaw had 37 strikeouts over his last four starts.
• Wallace’s total ranks fifth in the single-season record books and he is seven strikeouts away from No. 2 all-time.

WALLEY: THE ACE
Redshirt junior Trenton Wallace is Iowa’s ace and is one of the top pitchers in the Big Ten Conference. The southpaw is 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA over 60 innings. He has six quality starts to his ledger and he has allowed zero earned runs in four starts.
• Iowa has won seven straight series openers dating back to April 2. The Hawkeyes have won the opening game in all but two weekends this season.
• The Rock Island, Illinois, native ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in seven categories this season. He is leading the league in strikeouts (89) and tied for first for first in fewest runs allowed (18). Wallace is also third in the league in ERA (2.70) and strikeouts looking (28), tied for third in wins (5) and fewest earned runs allowed (18) and fifth in batting average against (.208).
• 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 eight starts and has eight or more strikeouts in eight starts. He matched a season-high in the win over Penn State on May 7, fanning 10 over five innings. (He also punched out 10 against Ohio State on March 12.)

SUPER SENIOR NORM
University of Iowa redshirt senior Ben Norman is enjoying a breakout “super senior” season. The outfielder is leading the team in runs (32), home runs (10), RBIs (47), and steals (12), while ranking second in slugging percentage (.617) and hits (43). He is leading the Big Ten in RBIs and is fourth in home runs, walks, and steals.
• Norman was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on April 20 after hitting .400 with two home runs, eight RBIs, and six runs scored in the road series at Rutgers.
• Norman tied a school record with three doubles on April 25 in the 15-4 victory over Northwestern. He finished 3-for-6 with a career-high five RBIs.
• Norman has scored at least one run in 22 of the last 34 games with nine games scoring two or more runs.
• Norman has a career-high 10 home runs and has surpassed his home run total from his first four seasons where he had seven blasts in his first 176 career games. He is the first Hawkeye since Robert Neustrom in 2018 (11 home runs) to reach double figures in the category.
• 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 has played in 214 games in his Hawkeye career to rank third all-time. Craig Conti (1983-86) holds the school record, playing in 220 career games. He also is ninth all-time in career doubles (44), 11th in career steals (46) and 14th in career singles (128).

P-A-T-T-Y
• Redshirt junior Izaya Fullard is hitting a team-best .403 (31-of-77) over his last 18 games. He has had multi-hit contest in 12 of the 18 games with 15 RBIs and 13 runs scored. He is slashing .403/.610/.465 during the stretch with four doubles and four home runs.
• The North Liberty, Iowa, native had the go-ahead two-run single in the ninth inning as Iowa rallied from four runs down to win 14-12 in the series opener at Rutgers and he hit his first home run of the season in game two. Fullard homered to straight-away center field for his second blast on April 26 against Northwestern and he finished 3-for-6 with two RBIs in the come-from-behind win. He homered and had another three-hit game in the series finale at Indiana.
• Fullard had an RBI single (and potential game-tying two-run single) in the bottom of the ninth inning against Penn State on May 8, but the tying run was thrown out at the plate in a 5-4 loss.

SUNDAY BAUMANN
Southpaw Cam Baumann has enjoyed a strong redshirt junior season as Iowa’s Sunday starter. The Fairfield, Iowa, native is 4-5 with a 4.20 ERA over 11 appearances (10 starts).
• During a seven-week stretch from Week 2 to Week 8, Baumann went 4-1 with a 1.45 ERA over 37 1/3 innings. He allowed eight runs (six earned) and had 27 strikeouts to 10 walks, while limiting hitters to a .176 average. He wont three straight starts in wins over Minnesota, Rutgers and Northwestern.
• Baumann has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his last 10 outings. He went seven innings twice during the span, scattering three hits and allowing a single run in a road win at Ohio State on March 27 and scattering three hits and allowing one run in a win at Rutgers on April 17.
• Baumann tallied his third quality start of the season against Northwestern on April 25, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings. It was his fifth career quality start.
• Baumann combined on a shutout in the 18-0 victory over Minnesota on April 11, scattering two hits over five shutout innings.

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 (29-of-116) with 18 RBIs and 25 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 .299 with 22 RBIs and 23 runs scored this season.

THE BIG KAHUNAH
Redshirt freshman Peyton Williams has hit safely in 17 games with six multi-hit and seven multi-RBI games. He is leading the Big Ten in walks (28), while ranking ninth in slugging (.444).
• 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 22 of 38 starts this season and they have gone at least five innings in 24 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 15 quality starts this season with redshirt junior Trenton Wallace leading the way with six such starts.

THE HAWKEYES ARE…
• 17-2 when scoring first.
• 15-1 when out-hitting its opposition.
• 10-5 against left-handed starters and 12-1 against righties.
• 20-3 when limiting opponents to five or fewer runs.
• 18-1 when leading after six innings, 14-1 after seven, and 16-1 after eight.
• 13-2 when making zero errors.
• Out-scoring their opposition, 81-59, over the final three innings and in extra innings.

PITCHING NOTES
• Iowa’s pitching staff has 12 games with 10 or more strikeouts and 18 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.

ACE IN THE ‘PEN
• Redshirt junior Dylan Nedved is Iowa’s closer and primary late-inning stopper. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 3.94 ERA with eight saves over 18 appearances, spanning 32 innings.
• The eight saves are leading the Big Ten Conference and rank 22nd nationally and they 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 seven 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), Northwestern (2 2/3) and Illinois (1 1/3). He has pitched more than one inning in 12 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 5.26 ERA over 145 1/3 innings. Seventeen players have pitched in relief, limiting opposing hitters to a .256 average.
• Senior Trace Hoffman is second on the team with 16 appearances, allowing 11 runs on 19 hits over 20 2/3 innings. Hoffman pitched three shutout innings, scattering two hits against Penn State on May 7.
• Freshman Will Semb has put together three strong outings, allowing one hit and struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings in appearances against Northwestern, Penn State and Illinois. The Wisconsin native allowed one hit over a career-most three innings against Illinois on May 15. He is 0-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six appearances this season.
• Redshirt senior Grant Leonard is 0-1 with one save and a 5.91 ERA in 10 appearances this season. Leonard struck out the side, needing only 10 pitches, for his first save on May 8 against Penn State and he fanned four over two innings against Illinois on May 16.
• 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 62 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 15 walk-offs. Thirty 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 16 games in 2021. The team is 11-5 in such contests.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
• The Wildcats have played just two games since dropping a pair of contests in Iowa City on April 25-26. Northwestern missed consecutive weekends due to Covid before dropping two games last weekend at Nebraska. The third game was cancelled due to a lack of available pitching because of Covid.
• Northwestern is 12-18 overall and have lost 11 of their last 12 games.
• The Wildcats are hitting .267 as a team with two players — Shawn Goosenberg and Anthony Claraco — hitting over .300. Goosenberg has a .352 average with 11 home runs, 10 doubles and 26 RBIs, while Claraco has a .325 average with eight homers, 12 doubles and 31 runs scored.
• NU’s pitching staff has a 5.90 team ERA. The Wildcat defense is last in the legaue with a .955 fielding percentage. Northwestern has committed 51 errors in 30 games.

SERIES RECORD
• The Hawkeyes are 140-105-2 all-time against Northwestern. Iowa swept the Wildcats, 15-4 and 12-9, in Iowa City on April 25-26. Iowa won game two on a walk-off three-run home run from redshirt junior Brett McCleary.
• The Wildcats took two of three games from Iowa in Evanston during both the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

#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 third in school history in career wins with 236 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 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.