CLOSER BY COMMITTEE
The Hawkeyes have been rolling with a closer by committee at the back end of its bullpen this season. Four players — Dylan Nedved, Casey Day, Luke Llewellyn and Jacob Henderson — have tallied a save.
• Llewellyn has a team-best three saves, which are tied for third-most in the Big Ten. The right-hander is 1-0 and hasn’t allowed a run in six appearances, spanning 6 2/3 innings. He has allowed two hits and has four strikeouts (but has issued four walks).
• Day is 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA in seven appearances with two saves. Henderson notched his first save in the series finale against Central Michigan. He is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA over 5 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts to one walk.
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 2.89 ERA in a team-high 10 appearances this season. Beutel has allowed three runs on five hits over 9 1/3 innings where he has 15 strikeouts against two walks.
• 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 7-5 with a 3.09 ERA this season, allowing 49 runs (34 earned) on 62 hits over 99 innings. The staff has 155 strikeouts to 62 walks and is limiting hitters to a .176 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 111 runs in 21 games, averaging 5.3 runs per contest. Iowa has three games with 10 or more runs and six games with 10 or more hits.
• Iowa is 7-3 when scoring first this season and 8-5 when out-hitting its opponent.
• The Hawkeyes are outscoring opponents, 45-25, over the first three innings and 31-25 over the final three innings (including extra innings).
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Leadoff hitter Michael Seegers has reached base safely in a career-best 15 straight games. The streak is the longest by a Hawkeye this season. Seegers average has climbed 29 points since March 15. He is hitting .271 with 12 runs and nine RBIs.
• Redshirt sophomore Kyle Huckstorf has reached safely in 11 consecutive games. The outfielder is hitting .288 with nine RBIs and six steals this season.
• Freshman Sam Petersen hit a three-run homer in the series opener against Central Michigan and had the go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning in the series finale against the Chippewas. The Huxley, Iowa, native has hit safely in three of his last four games.
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 11 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.)
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
• The Wolverines are 13-11 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Michigan took two of three games at Nebraska last weekend in Lincoln. After falling 13-9 in the opener, the Wolverines won 8-6 and 6-1 to take the series.
• Michigan and Iowa have a common opponent in Texas Tech. The Red Raiders beat the Wolverines, 7-6, in the season opener in Texas.
• The Wolverines are ranked in the top 40 nationally in home runs (34), runs (191) and scoring (8.0). The team is hitting .281 with four regulars hitting over .315. Clark Elliott has a .355 average with 27 RBIs, 27 runs, nine doubles, one triple and four home runs. Ted Burton has a team-best 31 RBIs and is 7-for-7 on the base paths.
• Michigan has a 6.08 team ERA, allowing 237 hits over 208 2/3 innings. The staff has 221 strikeouts (against 118 walks) and opponents are hitting .286.
SERIES RECORDS
• The Wolverines lead the all-times series, 118-54. Michigan won three of four games last season in Texas in both teams’ season-opening series.
• Iowa’s last series win over the Wolverines came in 2018 when the Hawkeyes won two of three games in Iowa City. Michigan was ranked No. 7 at the time.
• The Hawkeyes’ last road series win in Ann Arbor came in 2015. Iowa won two of the three games.
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 68 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 15 walk-offs. Thirty-two 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 110-36 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.
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.
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 252 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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