Notes: Iowa Returns to Texas for Frisco Baseball Classic

MATCHUP	Iowa at Frisco College Baseball Classic
LOCATION	Riders Field | Frisco, Texas
DATE	March 4-6, 2022
WATCH	FloBaseball
LISTEN	Hawkeye Radio Network | The Varsity Network
LIVE STATS	Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
STARTING ROTATION
Game 1 | March 3 vs. Wichita State | 1 p.m.	UI: RHP Adam Mazur (2-0, 0.66 ERA, 18 K, 2 BB) WSU: Jace Kaminska (0-0, 6.23 ERA, 13 K, 3 BB)
Game 2 | March 4 vs. Texas A&M | 6 p.m.	UI: TBA A&M: RHP Micah Dallas (2-0, 0.63 ERA, 15 K, 1 BB)
Game 3 | March 5 vs. Washington State | Noon	UI: RHP Marcus Morgan (0-0, 5.87 ERA, 12 K, 8 BB) WAZZU: LHP McKabe Cottrell (1-1, 3.48 ERA, 11 K, 3 BB)

 

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team returns to Texas for a second straight week, traveling to Frisco for the 2022 Frisco College Baseball Classic from March 4-6. The Hawkeyes will face Wichita State on Friday at 1 p.m. (CT), Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Washington State at noon on Sunday.
• All three games will be played at Riders Field, the Double-A home of the Frisco RoughRiders, an affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
• All three games will be streamed via FloBaseball ($) with Chris Mycoskie and Mike Hardge on the call.
• All three games will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with John Evans on the call. Fans can access the stream free by downloading The Varsity Network app.
• A majority of Iowa 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 opened the season with four straight wins for the first time since 2018, but the team has dropped three of its last four games heading into Frisco.
• Iowa is making its debut at the Frisco Baseball Classic. The Hawkeyes are the first Big Ten participant since 2020 and they are looking to become the first Big Ten (and Northern school) to win the event.
• Redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur has won back-to-back Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. His most recent accolade came after he pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings, scattering three hits and fanning nine in a 3-1 win over Pepperdine. He is the first Hawkeye pitcher to earn consecutive Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors.
• Mazur is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA with 18 strikeouts to two walks. He is leading the Big Ten in wins (2), batting average against (.093), fewest hits allowed (4) and ranks second in strikeouts (18) and ERA (0.66).
• Iowa outscored its eight opponents, 46-17, in the eight games and the pitching staff posted a 1.99 ERA, while allowing 17 runs and fanning 115. Iowa leads the Big Ten in seven pitching categories and the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (3.86) and is second in Ks/9 (14.3).
• 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.
• 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 two plus weeks of the season.
• Redshirt senior Izaya Fullard missed the opening weekend because of injury. The North Liberty, Iowa, native will be out 4-5 weeks, recovering from surgery to his hamate bone.
• Fullard closed out the 2021 season riding a career-long 27 game reached base streak. It was the longest streak by a Hawkeye in 2021.
• Iowa scored 12 runs in the season-opening victory over Air Force. They were the most runs on Opening Day since 2019.
• Redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony has hit safely in five straight games and has reached safely in every game this season.
• 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.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Iowa’s pitching staff finished with 20 strikeouts in the game two victory over Ball State on Feb. 19. The 20 punch outs are tied for the fourth-most in a single game in the nation this season.
• The Hawkeyes punched out 19 on March 2 in an 8-0 victory over Cornell College. Iowa has 10 or more strikeouts in every game this season.
• Iowa has two of the top seven single-game strikeout totals in the NCAA this season.

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 three games, allowing three or fewer hits, matching the total from the 2021 season (in 44 contests).
• Ten Iowa pitchers combined to allow just three runs on six hits and struck out 46 in 27 innings at the Swig & Swine Classic.
• Iowa is currently leading the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (3.86) and is second in strikeouts per nine innings (14.3). The team also is 10th in shutouts (2), 11th in WHIP (0.93) and 13th in ERA (1.99).

B1G’s BEST
The Hawkeye pitching staff has been superb through the first two-plus weeks of the 2022 season. Iowa is leading the Big Ten in seven categories, including ERA (1.99), shutouts (2), fewest hits (31), fewest runs (17), fewest earned runs (16), strikeouts (115) and batting average against (.127).
• Iowa’s three weekend starters have each allowed just four hits apiece in two starts.

MAZUR: THE ACE
Redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur has been spectacular in his first two starts as a Hawkeye. The Minnesota native is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings.
• 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 has two quality starts this season and has walked just two batters.
• He is leading the Big Ten in wins (2), batting average against (.093), and fewest hits allowed (4), is second in strikeouts (18) and ERA (0.66) and is third in innings (13.2).

KEA/PEY – TON
Iowa’s top two hitters have been redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony and redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams early in the 2022 season.
• Anthony is leading the team with a .440 average with a team-best seven RBIs and two home runs. The Georgia native had a career performance 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.
• Williams is second on the team with a .387 average with team-highs in hits (12), doubles (4) and runs scored (8). The Johnson, Iowa, native has two four-hit games on the season (vs. Air Force, vs. Wichita State) and he has hit safely in six games.

IN THE B1G
Redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony ranks in the top nine in the Big Ten in six offensive categories. He is leading the league in OBP (1.400), is second in on-base percentage (.600), fourth in walks (8), sixth in batting average (.440) and slugging (.800) and is ninth in home runs (2).
• Peyton Williams is sixth in the league in doubles (4), seventh in hits (12) and 10th in OBP (.500).

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

EARLY OFFENSE
• The Hawkeyes have scored 46 runs in eight games, averaging 5.8 runs per contest. Iowa has two games with 10 or more runs and three games with 10 or more hits.
• Iowa is 4-1 when scoring first this season and 5-2 when out-hitting its opponent.
• The Hawkeyes have outscored its opposition, 13-8- over the first three innings and 13-3 in the seventh-ninth innings.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
• The Hawkeyes rank in the top six in the Big Ten in seven offensive categories. The team is fourth in batting average (.273), hits (76), doubles (18) and OBP (.376), while ranking fifth in total bases (117), sixth in runs (46) and RBI (41).
• Sophomore Will Mulflur hit a solo home run for his first hit as a Hawkeye on March 2 against Cornell. He is the sixth player to homer this season.

IN DEFENSE
• Iowa boasts the third-best team fielding percentage in the Big Ten at .978. The Hawkeyes have committed six errors in eight games, third-fewest in the league.
• Iowa’s middle infielders — Michael Seegers and Brendan Sher — haven’t committed an error in 41 chances.

THE MEN IN RELIEF
• 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 nine strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings without issuing a walk or allowing a hit.
• Senior Dylan Nedved has two four-out saves this season and his two saves are tied for the Big Ten lead. Nedved has 11 career saves, which are tied for ninth-most in program history.
• Iowa’s relievers are 2-2 with a 1.50 ERA this season, allowing six runs on 13 hits over 36 innings. The staff has 59 strikeouts to 21 walks and is limiting hitters to a .107 average.

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 WICHITA STATE
• The Shockers are 2-7 overall after falling 11-6 at Oral Roberts on Tuesday. Wichita State went 2-1 at the Kleberg Bank Classic with wins over Pepperdine (5-2) and Iowa (8-7).
• Wichita State is hitting .226 as a team and has scored 38 runs in nine games. Sawyre Thornhill is leading the team with a .333 average with three home runs and nine RBIs.
• Iowa will face RHP Jace Kaminska, a 2021 All-American and Freshman All-American. Kaminska is 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA in two starts, where he has allowed six runs on nine hits over 8 2/3 innings.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
• The Aggies bring a 6-2 record into Frisco under first-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle. Texas A&M dropped two of three at home against Penn last weekend before beating Houston Baptist, 3-2, on Tuesday.
• Texas A&M is hitting .272 as a team with Brett Minnich leading the way with a .381 average. The Aggies have scored 43 runs in seven games.
• The Aggies have a 2.57 staff ERA with 60 strikeouts over 63 innings. Texas A&M will send RHP Micah Dallas to the mound against Iowa. He is 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA with 15 strikeouts to one walk in two starts.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
• Washington State is 6-3 overall and brings a three-game winning streak to Frisco. The Cougars took three of four games from Long Island before winning at Tartleton State on Wednesday.
• The Cougars are hitting .253 as a team with 23 extra bas hits (15 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR). WAZZU is averaging 6.1 runs per game. Kyle Russell is leading the team with a .394 average with 13 hits, while Jacob McKeon has a team-best eight RBIs.
• WAZZU’s pitching staff boasts a 3.53 ERA with 95 strikeouts over 79 innings. LHP McKabe Cottrell (1-1, 3.48 ERA) will face the Hawkeyes. He has allowed four runs on nine hits over 10 1/3 innings.

SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa is 0-5 all-time against Texas A&M with the most recent meeting coming in 2017 at the NCAA Houston Regional. The Aggies edged the Hawkeyes, 3-2, in the Regional semifinal.
• Washington State leads the all-time series 1-0. The Cougars downed Iowa, 6-2, during the 1988 season in Minneapolis.
• Wichita State leads the all-time series over Iowa, 12-0. The Shockers rallied from a 4-0 deficit to down the Hawkeyes, 8-7, last weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas.

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 63 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 overcame deficits in 19 games in 2021. The team was 12-7 in such contests.

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 106-34 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.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
• Iowa will play 25 home contests at Duane Banks Field with its home opener scheduled for March 1 against Loras College
• The Hawkeyes will travel the first four weekends of the regular season, playing tournaments in South Carolina (Swig & Swine Classic), Corpus Christi, Texas (Kleberg Bank Classic), Frisco, Texas (Frisco College Baseball Classic) and a three-game road series at UC Irvine.
• The Hawkeyes will play 15 games against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams, including three-game home series against Super Regional team Texas Tech and NCAA Regional qualifier Central Michigan. Iowa will play road series at NCAA Regional teams UC Irvine (3), Michigan (3) and Nebraska (3).
• After a two-year pause, the Big Ten Tournament returns in 2022 and it will be held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, from May 24-29.

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 244 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.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
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