Notes: Hawkeyes Head to Lincoln to Face Nebraska

Notes: Hawkeyes Head to Lincoln to Face Nebraska

MATCHUP Iowa (24-13, 8-4) at Nebraska (17-23, 5-7)
LOCATION Hawks Field at Haymarket Park | Lincoln, Neb.
DATE April 29-May 1, 2022
WATCH BTN+
LISTEN Hawkeye Radio Network | The Varsity Network
LIVE STATS Live Stats
 
STARTING ROTATION
Game 1 | April 29 | 3:30 p.m. (CT) UI: RHP Adam Mazur (4-2, 2.76 ERA)
NU: RHP Shay Schanaman (2-6, 4.34 ERA)
Game 2 | April 30 | 2:02 p.m. (CT) UI: RHP Connor Schultz (2-0, 1.97 ERA)
NU: LHP Emmett Olson (1-3, 2.45 ERA)
Game 3 | May 1 | 12:05 p.m. (CT) UI: RHP Ty Langenberg (4-1, 3.89 ERA)
NU: 
TBA

 

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team heads to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a three-game Big Ten road series at Nebraska from April 29-May 1 at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. Friday’s series opener will begin at 3:30 p.m. (CT) followed by 2:02 p.m. and 12:05 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday.

WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
• All three games 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 eight of their last nine, 11 of 14 and 16 of 21 games to improve to 24-13 overall. Iowa won a season-best seven consecutive games from April 12-23.
• Iowa is 8-4 in the Big Ten, which is tied for fourth in the regular season standings. The Hawkeyes have won three of their last four series, which includes a road win at No. 8 and league-leading Rutgers last weekend in Piscataway.
• 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 and his 950th game on April 17 against Minnesota. Heller is third all-time on the program’s career wins list.
• Graduate student Connor Schultz and redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams were tabbed as the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week on April 27. It is the team’s school record seventh and eighth Big Ten weekly honors this season.
• Williams hit for the cycle against Bradley on April 19, finishing 5-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, home run, five RBIs and four runs scored. It is the first cycle by a Hawkeye since Lorenzo Elion in 2018. The five hits tied a single-game school record (last set by Elion) and his five RBIs and four runs scored were career highs.
• Over the last 10 games, Iowa is 8-2 overall and is averaging 8.7 runs per game. The Hawkeyes are hitting .318 as a team with six players hitting over .300. Williams is hitting .486 with nine extra base hits and 13 RBIs.
• During his last two starts, redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur is 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA with 22 strikeouts to zero walks in wins over Minnesota and No. 8 Rutgers. The Minnesota native went eight innings in back-to-back starts.
• The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits in 15 games this season. Iowa is 11-4 in such contests.
• Iowa’s pitching staff has been remarkable through the first 2 1/2 months of the 2022 season, allowing just 233 hits and fanning 444 over 332 1/3 innings, while limiting hitters to a .196 average.
• Iowa leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.1) and is second in hits allowed per nine innings (6.22). The Hawkeyes are also 12th in ERA (3.49) and 13th in WHIP (1.24).
• The pitching staff ranks in the top two in the Big Ten in six categories. Iowa leads the Big Ten in strikeouts (444), fewest hits allowed (233), batting average against (.196), fewest runs (157) and fewest earned runs (129), while ranking second in ERA (3.49).
• Seventeen of Iowa’s 37 games have been decided by two runs or fewer. The Hawkeyes are 9-8 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
• Iowa has had six games canceled/altered because of weather this season.
• Four Hawkeyes — Keaton Anthony (18), Peyton Williams (17), Izaya Fullard (15) and Will Mulflur (10) — are riding double-digit reached base streaks. Anthony and Mulflur’s streaks are career-bests.
• Iowa scored 14 runs in back-to-back seventh innings against Minnesota and Bradley. The Hawkeyes’ eight runs against the Gophers matched a season-high inning scoring output (at Milwaukee, 4/12).
• The Hawkeyes have used six different starting pitchers in their weekend rotation during the first 11 weeks of the season.
• Iowa has scored 10 or more runs in eight games this season. The Hawkeyes have 15 games with 10 or more hits with seven coming since April 9.
• Iowa’s pitching staff has allowed four runs or fewer in 23 of its 37 games and five or fewer hits in 17 contests.
• The Hawkeyes have played errorless baseball in 16 games this season. Iowa is 15-1 in such contests. The team didn’t commit an error in a stretch of five games from April 16-23. The Hawkeyes have one error over their last seven contests.
• Head coach Rick Heller is 32-33 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.
• Iowa won two of three games at Michigan from April 2-4. It was the program’s first road series win in Ann Arbor since 2015.
• 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.

MR. CYCLE
Redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams hit for the cycle in Iowa’s 15-8 midweek win over Bradley on April 19. The Johnston, Iowa, native doubled in the first, singled in the third, homered in the fourth — a 410 foot blast with a 112 mph exit velocity — was hit by a pitch in the sixth, doubled again in the seventh and tripled down the right field line in the eighth.
• Williams tied a school record with his five hits and his five RBIs and four runs scored were career-highs.
• The cycle was the first for a Hawkeye since Lorenzo Elion in 2018. Williams is the third player at Iowa to hit for the cycle under head coach Rick Heller (Mason McCoy).

RETURNING REINFORCEMENTS
The Hawkeyes are slowly getting back to near full strength from an injury standpoint.
• Redshirt junior Brendan Sher returned to the lineup at Rutgers (and he hit his third home run in the series opener).
• Redshirt sophomore Sam Hojnar entered Tuesday’s game as a defensive replacement after missing 12 games with mono.
• Sophomore Andy Nelson is closer to returning from a hamstring injury suffered in game two against Illinois on April 2.

B1G POW X 2
Iowa earned its record seventh and eighth Big Ten weekly honors on April 27 when Connor Schultz (Pitcher of the Week) and Peyton Williams (Player of the Week) earned their first career honors.
• Schultz earned the distinction after tossing eight shutout innings, scattering two hits, walking one and fanning six against No. 8 Rutgers. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native needed just 85 pitches to shut down the high-powered Rutgers offense.
• Williams was the Player of the Week after slashing .600/.727/1.067 with a 1.794 OPS during a 3-1 week. The Johnson, Iowa, native hit for the cycle to start the week against Bradley.
• Iowa has earned eight weekly Big Ten honors this season — the most in a single season in program history.

NEDVED: A WEAPON IN RELIEF
After making four starts, redshirt senior Dylan Nedved returned to the bullpen during the Minnesota series as a swing reliever/closer. The Kansas native is 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in nine relief appearances this season with three saves. He has allowed 13 hits over 24 innings with a 28-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• Nedved tallied his third save, getting the final three outs on just eight pitches in game one at Rutgers.
• Nedved made two appearances against the Gophers, allowing zero runs over five innings. He logged four innings, allowing one hit, to earn the win on April 17 to complete the Minnesota sweep.
• Nedved, who was named to the preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, has 12 career saves as a Hawkeye, which are tied for the eighth most in program history.
• Nedved won as Iowa’s Friday starter against Michigan and Illinois in consecutive starts. He was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in the two wins.
• On the year, Nedved is 4-2 with a 3.72 ERA in 13 appearances. He has allowed 28 hits over 46 innings with 49 strikeouts to 19 walks.
• He is leading the Big Ten in fewest hits allowed (28), second in batting average against (.179), eighth in fewest runs allowed (21), strikeouts looking (17) and tied for eighth in saves (3).

SEEGS JUMPSTARTS THE OFFENSE
Since seeing his batting average dip to a season-low .242 on March 15, sophomore Michael Seegers has been the Hawkeyes’ most consistent hitter.
• In the 22 games since, the Wisconsin native is hitting a team-best .344 (31-of-90) with his 31 hits leading the team. Seegers has driven in 21 and has scored 19 runs during the stretch. Iowa is 16-6 since Seegers got going.
• Seegers has hit safely in 19 of the 22 games with 10 multi-hit games, including a four-hit contest at Michigan on April 2 and a two-hit, four-RBI game on April 26 against Western Illinois where he hit his first career home run.
• Seegers is hitting .303 (46-of-152) with 25 RBIs and 28 runs scored as Iowa’s leadoff hitter. He has hit safely in 27 games and reached base safely in 32 contests.
• As good as Seegers has been offensively, he has been even better defensively. The Hawkeye shortstop has just two errors in 36 games, where he has a .983 fielding percentage.

RANKED OPPONENTS; RANKED WINS
Iowa is 3-2 against ranked foes this season, going 1-1 against No. 12 Texas Tech on March 20 in Iowa City and 2-1 at No. 8 Rutgers on April 22-24.
• The team’s road win over the Scarlet Knights was its first over a top 10 ranked team since 2018 (No. 7 Michigan) and its first road series win over a ranked foe since 2019 (No. 19 Oklahoma State).
• Head coach Rick Heller has defeated at least one ranked foe in each season as Iowa’s head coach.

DEFENSE COMING AROUND
Iowa’s defense has been coming around as of late, as the team has committed just one error over its last seven games.
• The Hawkeyes have 10 games without committing an error since Big Ten play started on April 2. (Iowa has 16 such games this season).
• Iowa is fifth in the Big Ten in fielding percentage with a .974 clip. In league only games, the Hawkeyes are fourth with a .982 fielding percentage.

WELCOME BACK PATTY
Redshirt senior Izaya Fullard, a.k.a. Meat Patty, is hitting .328 (20-of-61) in the 15 games since returning to the starting lineup after missing the first six weeks of the season after breaking his hamate bone.
• The North Liberty, Iowa, native has hit safely in 10 of the 15 games with nine multi-hit games and he has reached base in all 15 contests.
• Fullard went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBIs in the series-opening win at No. 8 Rutgers and he had a season-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the series finale.

IOWA’S BIG BASHER
Redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams has hit safely in all but 10 games this season and he has 14 multi-hit games (tied for second most on the team), including one five hit and three four-hit contests.
• Williams went 4-for-4 with a three-run homer at San Diego State on March 15 and he had a career game April 19 against Bradley, finishing 5-for-5 with five RBIs and four runs scored. He became the first Hawkeye to hit for the cycle since 2018, which led to him being named the Big Ten Player of the Week on April 27.
• On the year, Williams is hitting .374 (52-of-139) with 38 runs and 31 RBIs. The Johnston, Iowa, native has 26 extra-base hits, including 15 doubles, two triples and nine home runs.
• Williams is leading the Big Ten in slugging (.705) and OPS (1.199), while ranking third in doubles (15) and on-base percentage, sixth in batting average (.374) and ninth in triples (2).
• Williams has a team-high nine home runs, including a 422-foot blast with a 110 mph exit velocity against Washington State at the Frisco Classic and a 410 foot shot with a 112 mph exit velocity against Bradley.

OUR GEORGIA PEACH
Redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony is posting impressive numbers in his first season of collegiate baseball. The outfielder, who has been honored a school record four times this season as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week this season, is hitting .353 (47-of-133) with 17 doubles, seven home runs, 35 RBIs and 30 runs scored.
• The Georgia native has hit safely in 28 games and reached safely in 33 contests this season. He has a team-high 15 multi-hit games.
• Anthony is second in the Big Ten in doubles (17) — a figure that ranks 15th nationally — while ranking fourth in OPS (1.079), fifth in and he has 24 extra base hits for a .639 slugging percentage, which ranks fifth
• Anthony has homered in three of his last five games. He hit a three-run blast in Iowa’s 16-2 road win at Milwaukee on April 12 and hit a two-run homer in the series opener against Minnesota (4/15).
• 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 has earned four Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors — Feb. 23, March 16, April 5 and April 19. They are the most weekly honors in a single season in program history (Jake Adams earned three Big Ten Player of the Week honors in 2017).

MR. WASHINGTON STEPS UP
Redshirt sophomore Will Mulflur has taken an opportunity and run with it. Since being inserted into the starting lineup on April 12, the Mercer Island, Washington, native is hitting .387 (12-of-31) with 10 RBIs and seven runs scored.
• Mulflur has made nine straight starts, hitting safely in seven of the nine contests. He went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs at Milwaukee on April 12 and he had the go-ahead two-run double in the series finale against Minnesota (4/17).
• He tallied his second three-hit game, finishing 3-for-5 with a home run, double, three RBIs and two runs in the win over Bradley on April 19. At Rutgers, Mulflur had two hits and two RBIs in the game two win before tripling in the series finale.

STANDING TALL AT THE DISH
Redshirt sophomore Ben Tallman has taken over as Iowa’s every day catcher. The Montana native is hitting .290 (18-of-62) with 11 RBIs and 14 runs scored in 26 games.
• Tallman hit a towering 458-foot home run in the series finale against Illinois to kick start a hot streak. He followed with four straight multi-hit games.
• The catcher had the game-winning RBI single in Iowa’s 2-1 win over Minnesota on April 16 and the game-tying single in the come-from-behind win on April 17 to secure the sweep.

MAZUR ON THE MOUND
Redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur has a steady piece of Iowa’s rotation through the first two-plus months of the season, going 4-2 with a 2.76 ERA with 73 strikeouts over 62 innings. He has seven or more strikeouts in six starts.
• The right-hander started the first six weeks on Friday before making two Saturday starts. Mazur returned to Friday on April 15 against Minnesota.
• Mazur went a career-long eight innings on April 15 against Minnesota, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and fanning 11 (without walking a batter). After allowing four hits in the first two innings, he retired 21 of the next 24 batters he faced.
• He followed it up with another eight-inning outing at No. 8 Rutgers, allowing one run on six hits and fanning 11 without walking a batter in a 4-1 victory.
• Over his last five starts, Mazur is 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA, allowing 10 runs (seven earned) on 19 hits over 34 innings, where he has 40 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .157 during the stretch.
• 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 six quality starts this season, has three streaks of 10 or more consecutive batters retired this season.
• Mazur has five games this season where he has fanned nine or more batters (9 vs. Air Force, 9 vs. Pepperdine, 9 vs. Illinois, 11 vs. Minnesota, 11 at No. 8 Rutgers).
• The Minnesota native is leading the Big Ten in batting average against (.179), second in innings (62), third in strikeouts (73), sixth in ERA (2.76), tied for sixth in fewest hits allowed (36), and tied for ninth in wins (4).
• He is eighth nationally, allowing just 5.23 hits per nine innings.

SATURDAY SCHULTZ
Graduate transfer Connor Schultz returned to the starting rotation on April 16 against Minnesota. In the two starts since, the Cedar Falls, Iowa, native is 1-0 with a 0.71 ERA, allowing one run on six hits with 11 strikeouts to three walks.
• Schultz dissected No. 8 Rutgers in his April 23 start, scattering two hits, walking one and fanning six over eight shutout innings. He retired 24 of the 27 batters he faced and needed just 85 pitches to shut down the high-powered Scarlet Knight offense. Schultz earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors on April 27 for his efforts.
• In five starts this season, Schultz is 2-0 with a 1.19 ERA over 22 2/3 innings. He has allowed three runs on 10 hits and has 27 strikeouts to six walks.
• In Big Ten play, Schultz is leading the conference in ERA (1.15) and batting average against (.135).

SUNDAY LANGENBERG
Sophomore Ty Langenberg has settled into weekend rotation as Iowa’s Sunday starter. He has made seven straight Sunday starts. The Urbandale, Iowa, native is 4-1 with a 3.89 ERA, giving up just 17 runs on 40 hits over 39 1/3 innings. Langenberg has 51 strikeouts to 13 walks on the year.
• The right-hander has struggled in back-to-back starts, logging just four innings and giving up seven runs on nine hits. Langenberg went one inning at No. 8 Rutgers, allowing three runs, as he was saddled with his first loss.
• Langenberg’s last win — his fourth of the season — came after tossing 5 2/3 shutout innings at Michigan on April 3. He scattered five hits and had a career-high 11 strikeouts.
• He had 34 strikeouts (10 vs. Texas Tech, 7 vs. Central Michigan, 11 at Michigan, 6 vs. Illinois) in four starts from March 20-April 10. He has eight or more Ks in three appearances this season.

ONE OF THE B1G’s BEST
The Hawkeye pitching staff has been superb this season as Iowa leads the Big Ten in strikeouts (444), batting average against (.196) and fewest hits allowed (233), fewest runs allowed (157), fewest earned runs allowed (129) while ranking second in ERA (3.49).
• The Hawkeyes have given up just 233 hits over 332 1/3 innings with just 66 going for extra bases.
• Iowa is leading the nation, striking out 12.1 batters per nine innings, while ranking second in hits allowed per nine innings at 6.22, 12th in ERA (3.49) and 13th in WHIP (1.24).
• Iowa’s starting pitchers are 13-6 with a 3.67 ERA, fanning 196 over 162 innings. Opponents are hitting just .205.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Iowa’s pitching staff has the top four strikeout games (and six of the top 10) in the Big Ten this season. The Hawkeyes fanned 22 in the 13-inning contest against Illinois on April 9, 20 against Ball State on Feb. 19 and 20 against San Diego State on March 15. The 22 punch outs are tied for the ninth-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 and 17 against Bradley on April 6.
• Iowa has 10 or more strikeouts in 26 games this season, including eight games with 16 or more strikeouts.
• The Hawkeyes have 444 strikeouts over 37 games. The staff is on pace to shatter the school record of 499 strikeouts set in 2018.

LIMITING 1Bs
• The Hawkeyes have allowed five or fewer hits in 17 games this season.
• Iowa posted a one-hitter against Air Force on Feb. 18 — the first for the program since 2019 (vs. Simpson, 7-2 win).
• Iowa has six games, allowing three or fewer hits this season. The Hawkeyes have four games allowing two or fewer hits.

THE MEN IN RELIEF
• The Hawkeyes have six different relievers that have tallied at least one save this season. Iowa is fifth in the Big Ten with 11 saves.
• Senior Ben Beutel recorded his second win to clinch the series win over Minnesota on April 16. The southpaw logged 2 1/3 shutout innings and fanned four.
Beutel is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in a team-high 18 appearances this season. Beutel has allowed four runs on 12 hits over 18 innings where he has 25 strikeouts to two walks.
• Beutel hasn’t allowed a run in 15 of his 18 appearances and he has made multiple weekend appearances five times this season.
• Freshman Brody Brecht has 21 strikeouts and hasn’t allowed an earned run (and has allowed just two hits) over his last seven appearances, spanning 10 1/3 innings, giving him 36 Ks over 19 innings this season. He is 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 13 appearances.
• Redshirt junior Duncan Davitt is 3-1 with a 3.43 ERA in 12 appearances as a swing reliever. He has allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 15 hits and has 36 strikeouts over 21 innings.
• Redshirt sophomore Luke Llewellyn has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. The Urbandale, Iowa, native is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 11 appearances with three saves.
• Iowa’s relievers are 11-7 with a 3.33 ERA this season, allowing 85 runs (63 earned) on 112 hits over 170 1/3 innings. The staff has 248 strikeouts to 111 walks and is limiting hitters to a .187 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.
• Brecht has hit 100 or higher on the radar gun 21 times this season.

ON THE OFFENSIVE
• The Hawkeyes have scored 234 runs in 37 games, averaging 6.3 runs per contest. Iowa has eight games with 10 or more runs and 15 games with 10 or more hits.
• Iowa is 15-6 when scoring first this season and 18-7 when out-hitting its opponent.
• The Hawkeyes are outscoring opponents, 78-48, over the first three innings and 70-52 over the final three innings (including extras).

PETEY: THE FROSH
• Freshman Sam Petersen, who has hit safely in 13 of the last 17 games, is hitting .284 on the season with four doubles, three home runs, 21 RBIs and 20 runs scored.
• The Huxley, Iowa, native 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.
• In the series-clinching win at No. 8 Rutgers, Petersen went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, tying a career-high.

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.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
• The Huskers have won three straight games to improve to 17-23 overall. Nebraska is 5-7 in the Big Ten with series losses vs. Michigan (1-2), Rutgers (0-3) and Indiana. (1-2). The team swept Ohio State.
• Nebraska is 12th in the Big Ten in batting average (.247). The Huskers don’t have a regular batting over .300 as Griffin Everitt leads the team with a .295 average with seven home runs and 35 RBIs.
• The Nebraska offense is leading the Big Ten in strikeouts (372); Iowa’s pitching staff leads the conference in strikeouts (444).
• The Huskers’ pitching staff has a 4.95 ERA, allowing 338 hits over 342 innings. The staff has 323 strikeouts to 153 walks. Friday starter Shay Schanaman is 2-6 with a 4.34 ERA.

SERIES RECORDS
• The series between Iowa and Nebraska is tied at 24.
• The Huskers won the five-game series last season, winning three of the five games (played because of the Big Ten only schedule).
• Iowa has won the last four “traditional” series over the Huskers during the Rick Heller era. The Hawkeyes won two of three games in 2014 in Iowa City, swept the series in 2015 in Iowa City, won two of three in 2017 in Lincoln and two of three games in 2019 in Iowa City. The two teams split a weather-shortened two-game series in 2018 in Lincoln.
• Heller is 13-8 against Nebraska since taking over the Hawkeyes in 2014.

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 73 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 15 walk-offs. Thirty-four of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. Twenty have come in the final at-bat.
• Iowa has overcome deficits in 15 games this season, winning 11 of those 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 116-38 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. The Iowa native won his 950th career game on April 17, 2022, against Minnesota.
• 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 264 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 23 Major League Baseball Draft picks in eight seasons.
• 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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