Notes: Hawkeyes Host Chippewas for 3-Game Series

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team will host its final nonconference series of the season, welcoming Central Michigan to Duane Banks Field for a three-game set from March 25-27. Friday’s opener is set for 4:05 p.m. (CT) followed by 2:05 p.m. and 1:05 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday.
• Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for youth. University of Iowa students are free with a valid student ID.

WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
• All three games against Central Michigan will be streamed online via BTN+ ($).
• All three games will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Zach Mackey on the call. Fans can access the stream free by downloading The Varsity Network app.
• All games can be heard on the radio on 800 AM KXIC (Iowa City), 1360 AM KMJM (Cedar Rapids), 95.9 FM KKFD (Fairfield) and 101.1 FM & 1220 AM KJAN (Atlantic).
• Live stats will be available on hawkeyesports.com and live updates will be available on Twitter (@UIBaseball).

LEADING OFF
• The Hawkeyes have won four of their last five games to improve to 10-8 overall this season. Iowa defeated No. 12 Texas Tech, 6-3, on March 20 for its first win over a ranked opponent in 2022.
• This week is Iowa’s “bye” during Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes will play eight consecutive weeks against Big Ten foes beginning the first week in April at Michigan.
• Head coach Rick Heller won his 250th game as Iowa’s head coach in the Hawkeyes’ 6-5 victory over St. Thomas on March 21. Heller is third all-time on the program’s career wins list.
• The Hawkeyes are 108-35 (.757 winning percentage) at home since the start of the 2015 season.
• Iowa has come from behind to win two of its last three games. The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits in eight games and are 5-3 in such contests.
• Redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams ranks in the top 10 in six Big Ten categories. He is third in OBP (.500), fourth in OPS (1.197), tied for fourth in doubles (8), fifth in batting average (.394), seventh in slugging (.697) and 10th in hits (26).
• Three Iowa relievers — Dylan Nedved, Casey Day and Luke Llewellyn — all rank in the top-six in the Big Ten with two saves apiece.
• Iowa’s pitching staff leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (13.2) and is third in hits allowed per nine innings (6.16). The Hawkeyes are also 22nd in WHIP (1.20) and 31st in ERA (3.50).
• The Hawkeyes’ staff ranks in the top three in the Big Ten in eight different categories, including leading the league in strikeouts (233), batting average against (.190) and fewest hits allowed (109). The team is third in the league in ERA (3.50) and tied for third in shutouts (2), saves (6), fewest runs (77) and earned runs (62).
• Eleven of Iowa’s 18 games have been decided by two runs or fewer. The Hawkeyes are 5-6 in such contests.
• Iowa has advanced to the postseason in six of Heller’s eight seasons (there was no Big Ten/NCAA Tournament in 2020 and no Big Ten Tournament in 2021 because of COVID). He has led the Hawkeyes to two NCAA Regional appearances (2015, 2017).

OF NOTE
• Nineteen players on the 2022 roster have made their Hawkeye debuts during the first four weeks of the season.
• The Hawkeyes have used six different starting pitchers in their weekend rotation during the first month of the season.
• Iowa has scored 10 or more runs in three games this season. The Hawkeyes have six games with 10 or more hits.
• Iowa’s pitching staff has allowed four runs or fewer in 12 of its 18 games and five or fewer hits in eight games.
• The Hawkeyes have played errorless baseball in six games this season. Iowa is 5-1 in such contests.
• Head coach Rick Heller is 30-32 against ranked opponents during his Hawkeye tenure. Iowa has posted at least one win over a ranked foe in each of the last eight seasons.
• The Hawkeyes are picked as an NCAA Regional team by D1Baseball.com and Baseball America in 2022 and are tabbed to finish in the top four of the Big Ten standings. Mazur is a preseason All-Big Ten selection by Perfect Game, while RHP Marcus Morgan was tabbed as D1Baseball’s Preseason Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
• Senior Dylan Nedved and redshirt sophomores Adam Mazur and Peyton Williams were named Big Ten Players to Watch. The Hawkeyes were picked to finish third in a vote of the league’s head coaches.
• Redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams will play with the Cotuit Kettleers in June in the Cape Cod League.
• Iowa’s 2022 newcomer class (transfers and freshman) is rated as the 23rd-best recruiting class in the country by D1Baseball.com.

RANKED WIN
The Hawkeyes posted a 6-3 victory over No. 12 Texas Tech on March 20 in Iowa City.
• It was the team’s first win over a ranked opponent this season and the highest ranked foe Iowa has defeated since winning two of three games over No. 12 Oklahoma State in 2018.
• Head coach Rick Heller has defeated at least one ranked foe in each season as Iowa’s head coach.

ON THE MEND
The Hawkeyes have been affected by the injury bug this season as a number of players have missed time because of injury.
• Izaya Fullard – missed all but one game (hamate bone)
• Connor Schultz – missed two starts
• Brendan Sher – knee injury
• Andy Nelson – ankle injury (missed five games)
• Will Christophersen – ankle injury (out since 3/11)
• Peyton Williams – day-to-day (back)
• Ty Snep – back injury
• Coy Sarsfield, Sam Link, Gehrig Christensen, Jackson Payne – out for season

IOWA’S BIG BASHER
Redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams is hitting .400 (14-of-35) with four doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs and 11 runs scored over his last 10 games. The Johnston, Iowa, native has a .771 slugging and .500 on-base percentage during the stretch.
• Williams has hit safely in all but four games this season and he has six multi-hit games, including three four-hit contests. He went 4-for-4 with a three-run homer at San Diego State on March 15.
• On the year, Williams is hitting .394 (26-of-66) with 19 runs and 15 RBIs. He has eight doubles and four home runs.
• Williams ranks in the top 10 in the Big Ten in six categories, ranking third in OBP (.500), fourth in OPS (1.197), tied for fourth in doubles (8), fifth in batting average (.394), seventh in slugging (.697) and 10th in hits (26).
• Williams has a team-high four home runs, including a 422-foot blast with a 110 mph exit velocity against Washington State at the Frisco Classic.

ANTHONY IN THE MIDDLE
Redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony is putting up some impressive numbers in 2022. The outfielder is hitting .354 (23-of-65) with 10 doubles, three home runs, 16 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
• The Georgia native has hit safely in 14 games this season with a team-high seven multi-hit games. Anthony is still hitting .354 despite having just two hits in his last 17 at-bats.
• Anthony is leading the Big Ten in doubles (10), while ranking ninth in slugging (.646) and 10th in OPS (1.096). He is 15th nationally in doubles and 11th in doubles per game.
• Anthony had a career day in his third career game in Iowa’s 11-1 victory over Ball State on Feb. 19, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, two home runs, four runs and five RBIs.
• Anthony hit .444 (4-of-9) with five runs and five RBIs in the three games at the Swig & Swine Classic and finished with a .583 on-base and 1.333 slugging percentage en route to being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Feb. 23.
• He earned his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on March 16 after hitting .500 (5-of-10) with five runs and four RBIs at UC Irvine.

TY & DYL
Sophomore Ty Langenberg and senior Dylan Nedved teamed up to lead the Hawkeyes to a 6-3 victory over No. 12 Texas Tech on March 20. Langenberg allowed one run on three hits over five innings, fanning a career-high 10 before turning it over to the bullpen. Nedved allowed two runs on one hit over four innings to earn the win, fanning seven without issuing a walk.
• Langenberg is 3-0 with a team-best 2.33 ERA in four appearances (two starts). He has 24 strikeouts to five walks over 19 1/3 innings. The Urbandale, Iowa, native has wins over Bucknell, Washington State and UC Irvine.
• Langenberg ranks in the top 10 in the Big Ten in five categories. He leads the league in fewest runs allowed (5), while ranking third in fewest hits (15) and fewest earned runs (5), eighth in ERA (2.33) and 10th in batting average against (.211).
• Nedved is leading the Big Ten batting average against (.147) and fewest hits allowed (10), while ranking fourth in fewest runs (8), fifth in earned runs (6), and ninth in ERA (2.57). Nedved is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA with 25 strikeouts to six walks over 21 innings.

FRIDAY NIGHT MAZUR
Redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur has been strong in his first month-plus with the Hawkeyes, going 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 28 innings. He has seven or more strikeouts in three starts.
• Mazur was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 23 and March 2. He is the first Hawkeye pitcher to earn the distinction in consecutive weeks.
• The right-hander went six innings, allowing one run — a solo home run — over six innings in his debut against Air Force before retiring the final 16 batters he faced on Feb. 18.
• He logged a career-best 7 2/3 innings against Pepperdine on Feb. 25, allowing zero runs on three hits and fanning nine. He retired 10 straight at one point in the contest.
• Mazur carried a no-hitter into the sixth against Wichita State on March 4 and he retired 15 straight batters at one point.
• Mazur, who has two quality starts this season, has three streaks of 10 or more consecutive batters retired this season.
• The Minnesota native is fourth in the Big Ten in batting average against (.170), sixth in innings (28), tied for seventh in fewest hits allowed (17) and tied for eighth in strikeouts (33).

ONE OF THE B1G’s BEST
The Hawkeye pitching staff has been superb through the first five weeks of the 2022 season. Iowa ranks in the top three in the Big Ten in eight different categories, including leading the league in strikeouts (233), batting average against (.190) and fewest hits allowed (109). The team is third in the league in ERA (3.50) and tied for third in shutouts (2), saves (6), fewest runs (77) and earned runs (62).
• Iowa is leading the nation, striking out 13.2 batters per nine innings and third in hits allowed per nine innings at 6.16.
• Iowa’s starting pitchers are 5-3 with a 3.58 ERA, fanning 97 over 75 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just .201.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Iowa’s pitching staff has the top three strikeout games (and four of the top five) in the conference this season. The Hawkeyes fanned 20 against Ball State on Feb. 19 and 20 against San Diego State on March 15. The 20 punch outs are tied for the eighth-most in a single game in the nation this season.
• The Hawkeyes also fanned 19 on March 2 in an 8-0 victory over Cornell College. Iowa has 10 or more strikeouts in 14 of 18 games this season, including five games with 16 or more strikeouts.
• Iowa punched out 32 Red Raiders in the two-game series on March 19-20, including 17 in the Hawkeyes’ 6-3 victory in the finale.

CLOSER BY COMMITTEE
The Hawkeyes have been rolling with a closer by committee at the back end of its bullpen. Three players — Dylan Nedved, Casey Day and Luke Llewellyn — all have two saves on the season.
• Nedved has been a swing reliever on the staff, as he has been a starter, long reliever and closer. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in six appearances (one start), fanning 25 (to six walks) over 21 innings.

THE MEN IN RELIEF
• Senior Ben Beutel notched his first win as a Hawkeye in Iowa’s 6-5 victory over St. Thomas on March 31. The southpaw is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in a team-high eight appearances this season. Beutel has allowed two runs on three hits over 7 1/3 innings where he has 13 strikeouts against two walks.
• Senior Jacob Henderson is second on the team with seven appearances, spanning four innings. The right-hander has seven strikeouts (to one walk) and has a 2.25 ERA over four innings.
• Redshirt sophomore Luke Llewellyn has allowed one hit over five innings in four appearances. He has four strikeouts and is limiting hitters to a .059 average.
• Redshirt sophomore Will Christophersen struck out the side plus one in his first appearance as a Hawkeye. He fanned four batters in the ninth in the win over Ball State on Feb. 19. The Bettendorf, Iowa, native has 13 strikeouts to two walks over 7 2/3 innings. Christophersen is currently out with foot injury.
• Iowa’s relievers are 5-5 with a 3.43 ERA this season, allowing 44 runs (32 earned) on 54 hits over 84 innings. The staff has 136 strikeouts to 46 walks and is limiting hitters to a .179 average.

HEAT ALERT
Freshman RHP Brody Brecht had a blazing debut in his first career appearance at Duane Banks Field. The Ankeny, Iowa, native hit triple digits on his first three pitches, going 101, 101 and 100 in a 1-2-3 inning against Cornell College on March 2.

ON THE OFFENSIVE
• The Hawkeyes have scored 99 runs in 18 games, averaging 5.5 runs per contest. Iowa has three games with 10 or more runs and six games with 10 or more hits.
• Iowa is 6-3 when scoring first this season and 6-5 when out-hitting its opponent.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Leadoff hitter Michael Seegers has reached base safely in a career-best 12 straight games. The streak is the second longest by a Hawkeye this season.
• Redshirt sophomore Kyle Huckstorf has hit safely in six of Iowa’s last seven games. The outfielder is hitting .303 with five RBIs and two steals during the team’s last 10 games.
• Redshirt sophomore Sam Hojnar had the go-ahead two-run, seventh-inning single in Iowa’s come-from-behind win over St. Thomas. Hojnar is hitting .320 with three doubles and four RBIs over his last 10 games.
• Sophomore Andy Nelson has hit safely in five straight games, including belting a two-run homer and finishing with three RBIs in Iowa’s 6-3 win over No. 12 Texas Tech on March 20. Nelson is hitting .321 with four extra base hits (three 2B, 1 HR) this season.

FRISCO HONORS
Three Hawkeyes – Keaton Anthony, Peyton Williams and Dylan Nedved — were named to the Frisco Classic All-Tournament Team on March 6.
• Anthony hit .385 (5-of-13) in three games with three doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored.
• Williams had a .333 (4-of-12) average with three extra base hits, including two home runs. The first baseman also made a key defensive play against Washington State, making a catch in foul territory before going into the stands. The play was a top-10 play for the week by D1Baseball.com.
• Nedved pitched a career-long 4 2/3 innings in relief against Texas A&M. He entered in the first inning with one out and the bases loaded and got out of the jam by inducing an inning-ending double play. The right-hander allowed two unearned runs and fanned a career-high nine in the outing.

ODD STAT LINE
The Hawkeye pitching staff’s unique stat line to open the season came to a halt on March 2 (thankfully so).
Game 1 – 1 hit vs. Air Force
Game 2 – 2 hits vs. Ball State
Game 3 – 3 hits vs. Bucknell
Game 4 – 4 hits vs. Pepperdine
Game 5 – 5 hits vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Game 6 – 6 hits vs. Wichita State
Game 7 – 7 hits vs. Loras College
Game 8 – 2 hits vs. Cornell College

1-2-3-4-5-6-7
• The Hawkeye pitching staff posted a one-hitter against Air Force on Feb. 18 — the first for the program since 2019 (vs. Simpson, 7-2 win).
• Iowa has four games, allowing three or fewer hits, surpassing the total from the 2021 season (in 44 contests).
• The Hawkeyes have allowed five or fewer hits in eight games this season.

FRONTLINE TRANSFERS
Iowa added a pair of Friday night starters to the 2022 roster as transfers in RHP Adam Mazur (South Dakota State) and RHP Connor Schultz (Butler).
• Mazur, who was tabbed as a first-team All-Big Ten selection by Perfect Game, went 3-9 with a 5.50 ERA in 16 starts in two seasons with the Jackrabbits. The Minnesota native had a breakout season in the Cape Cod League, going 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA in six starts en route to Cape Cod All-League honors.
• Mazur is rated as the No. 89 player on MLB.com’s top-100 draft prospects, while being the No. 2 draft prospect in Big Ten and No. 61 nationally by D1Baseball.com.
• Schultz is a graduate pitcher from Butler University where he went 13-9 with a 3.79 ERA in four collegiate seasons. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native was a first-team All-Big East selection in 2019 and was the Big East Preseason Pitcher of the Year in 2020. Schultz battled hip injuries in each of the past two seasons.

FRESHMEN PHENOMS
The Hawkeyes signed a pair of high-end pitchers in freshman right-handers Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan. Brecht is from Ankeny, Iowa; Morgan is from Iowa City.
• Brecht is rated as the top incoming recruit in the Big Ten and No. 9 nationally by Perfect Game, while being tabbed as the No. 4 impact recruit in the Big Ten by D1Baseball.com.
• Morgan was named D1Baseball.com’s Preseason Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the top impact freshman in the league.
• Morgan is the first freshman to be in the starting rotation to start the season under head coach Rick Heller. (LHP Jack Dreyer started four games (late in the season) during his true freshman season in 2018.)

NEDVED NAMED TO CLOSER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Senior Dylan Nedved has been named to the NCBWA Closer of the Year Watch List for the 2022 season. The Kansas native went 4-1 with a 4.19 ERA with nine saves over 20 appearances last season. The nine saves ranked second in the Big Ten Conference.

IOWA BY THE NUMBERS
• Iowa returns four starters, its designated hitter, one weekend starter, eight pitchers, and 20 letterwinners in 2022.
• Offensively, the Hawkeyes return 67.1 percent (49-93) of doubles, 47.2 percent of home runs (17-36), 44 percent of runs (122-277), 43 percent of hits (163-379), 39.8 percent of RBIs (102-256), 18.1 percent of steals (8-44) and eight percent of triples (1-12).
• Iowa welcomes back third-team All-Big Ten selection Izaya Fullard (.296, 48 H, 9 2B, 21 RBIs) and redshirt sophomore first baseman Peyton Williams (.295, 15 2B, 6 HR, 27 RBIs) to headline the offense. Redshirt sophomore Brayden Frazier had 10 doubles in 31 games, while hitting .325 in 80 at-bats.
• On the mound, Iowa returns weekend starter LHP Cam Baumann, who went 5-5 with a 4.19 ERA as the team’s Sunday starter in 2021.
• Senior RHP Dylan Nedved has shifted solely to the mound after being a two-way player last season. Nedved led the team and ranked second in the Big Ten with nine saves. He finished the season with a 4-1 record and a 4.19 ERA over 34 1/3 innings.
• Iowa has 81.8 percent of its saves (9-11), 53.8 percent of its wins (14-26), 53.4 percent of its innings (186 1/3-384 2/3) and 42.1 percent of its strikeouts (164-390) returning.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
• The Chippewas have won six of their last seven games to improve to 9-8 overall. Central Michigan swept a four-game series over Miami (Ohio) last weekend and it opened league play with a split at Kent State.
• Central Michigan, who is currently second in the league standings with a 7-1 record, was selected as the Mid-American Conference preseason favorite in 2022. The Chippewars are the two-time defending MAC champions.
• RHP Jordan Patty is the reigning MAC Pitcher of the Week. He tossed eight shutout innings, allowing just three hits and fanning eight in CMU’s 2-0 win over Miami (Ohio) last weekend.
• The Chippewas, who scored a season-high 13 runs on March 21 at Miami (Ohio), are hitting .240 as a team and they average 5.4 runs per game. Two players — Jakob Marsee and Mario Camilletti — are hitting over .300. Marsee has a team-best .365 average with highs in hits (23), home runs (3) and RBIs (19). Camilletti has a .345 average with six doubles and 19 runs scored.
• CMU’s pitching staff has a 5.57 team ERA with 136 strikeouts to 56 walks. All-America pitcher Andrew Taylor, the 2021 MAC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts this season.

SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa is 1-2 all-time against the Chippewas.
• The two teams split a pair of games in the District 4 Playoffs during the 1972 season. The Hawkeys went 3-2 in the playoffs to advance to their lone College World Series.
• Central Michigan also won a neutral site game in the series in 2000.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Cam Baumann, Brett McCleary and Nedved, redshirt junior Brendan Sher and redshirt sophomores Brayden Frazier and Ty Snep were voted team captains for the 2022 season.

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT
The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits to win 67 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 15 walk-offs. Thirty-one of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. Twenty have come in the final at-bat.

30 WINS X 6
Since head coach Rick Heller’s first season in 2014, the Hawkeyes have reached the 30-win plateau in six seasons. It was 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)
2021: 28-16 (*Big Ten-only schedule)

BANKS MAGIC
• The Hawkeyes are 108-35 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.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
• Iowa’s 42-man roster features one graduate transfer, five seniors, three juniors, 14 sophomores, two redshirt freshman and nine freshman.
• The Hawkeyes have 21 newcomers (12 transfers), including Division I transfers in Adam Mazur (South Dakota State), Connor Schultz (Butler), Jared Simpson (Missouri), Casey Day (Wichita State) and Will Christophersen (Michigan State).
• The Hawkeye roster is made up of student-athletes from 10 states and Canada — Iowa (28), Illinois (4), Wisconsin (2), Arizona (1), Georgia (1), Kansas (1), Minnesota (1), Missouri (1), Montana (1), Washington (1), Canada (1).
• Iowa has two sets of college teammates and six sets of high school teammates — Kyle Huckstorf and Jared Simpson (Iowa Western CC); Luke Llewellyn, Casey Day and Cade Moss (Kirkwood CC); Brendan Sher and Duncan Davitt (Indianola); Brett McCleary and DJ Heck (Iowa City High); Anthony Mangano and Ty Snep (Lake Zurich); Brody Brecht and Weston Fulk (Ankeny); Ty Langenberg and Gehrig Christensen (Urbandale); Peyton Williams, Cade Moss and Ben Wilmes (Johnston).

#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 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 250 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 six of his first eight 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 26 All-Big Ten honorees in eight 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.

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