The Iowa Hawkeyes dance in the locker room as they celebrate their win against the Indiana Hoosiers Saturday, May 21, 2022 at Duane Banks Field. (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)MAZUR ON THE MOUND
Redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur is Iowa’s staff ace, posting a 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA with 90 strikeouts over 88 2/3 innings. He has seven or more strikeouts in seven 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 had seven consecutive quality starts from April 2-May 13 and has nine quality starts this season.
• Mazur is 5-0 with a 2.77 ERA with 48 strikeouts to eight walks over his last seven starts. He has logged 48 2/3 innings in the seven outings.
• Mazur pitched 24 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings against Rutgers, Nebraska and Purdue. It was the longest stretch by a Hawkeye since Tyler Peyton’s 26 1/3 shutout frames during the 2016 season.
• In Big Ten play, Mazur is 5-1 with a conference-best 2.59 ERA, striking out 52 in 55 2/3 innings. He has allowed 18 runs (16 earned) on 38 hits.
• He posted his sixth straight quality start against Purdue, allowing two runs on five hits over 8 2/3 innings. Mazur surrendered a two-run single with two outs in the top of the ninth. He followed it up with seven shutout innings, scattering four hits and fanning seven in a road win at Michigan State on May 13.
• Mazur was marvelous at Nebraska on April 29, tossing a two-hit, complete game shutout in a 1-0 victory. He fanned six and walked two in the first complete game shutout since Peyton in 2016 (vs. Penn State).
• It came on the heels of back-to-back starts where he went eight innings in wins over Minnesota (April 15) and at No. 8 Rutgers (April 22). He allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits and fanned 11 (without walking a batter) against the Gophers and he retired 21 of the final 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.
• 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 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 (before taking a line drive off the hip) and he retired 15 straight batters at one point.
• Mazur has four 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 in the top 10 in the Big Ten in seven categories, leading the league in batting average against (.176), second in innings (88.2), fourth in strikeouts (90), tied for fourth in wins (7), fifth in ERA (3.05), tied for ninth in strikeouts looking (20) and 10th in fewest hits (56).
• In league games, Mazur is tops in the Big Ten in ERA (2.59), innings (55.2) and wins (5), while ranking third in batting average against (.189), fourth in strikeouts (52), tied for fifth in fewest walks (11), tied for seventh in strikeouts looking (13), and tied for eighth in fewest runs allowed (18).
• Mazur is 10th nationally, allowing just 5.68 hits per nine innings and his 0.92 WHIP ranks 14th.
SCHULTZ STIFFLES RU
Graduate student Connor 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.
SUNDAY LANGENBERG
Sophomore Ty Langenberg has settled into weekend rotation as Iowa’s Sunday starter. He has made 11 straight Sunday starts. The Urbandale, Iowa, native is 5-2 with a 3.61 ERA, giving up just 25 runs on 57 hits over 57 1/3 innings. Langenberg has 69 strikeouts to 19 walks on the year.
• The righty notched his sixth win, tossing five shutout innings in a 2-1 victory over Indiana on May 21. He scattered four hits and fanned four.
• Langenberg earned his fifth win, tossing a career-long seven innings in the series-clinching win over Purdue on May 8. He allowed one run on five hits and fanned seven en route to being named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on May 11.
• Langenberg’s fourth win 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 & NATION’S BEST
The Hawkeye pitching staff has been superb this season as Iowa leads the Big Ten in ERA (3.57), batting average against (.207), fewest hits allowed (336), fewest runs allowed (218), fewest earned runs allowed (177) and shutouts (5),while ranking second in strikeouts (560).
• The Hawkeyes have given up just 336 hits over 446 1/3 innings with just 96 going for extra bases.
• Iowa is ranked in the top 13 in five categories nationally, as the staff is second in hits allowed per nine innings (6.78) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.3)
• Iowa’s starting pitchers are 19-9 with a 3.98 ERA, fanning 248 over 221 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just .216.
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 10th-most in a single game in the nation this season and Iowa has three of the top 15 totals.
• 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 33 games this season, including eight games with 16 or more strikeouts.
• The Hawkeyes have 560 strikeouts over 50 games, which has broken the previous school record of 499, set in 2018.
LIMITING 1Bs
• The Hawkeyes have allowed five or fewer hits in 22 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 eight games, allowing three or fewer hits this season. The Hawkeyes have five games allowing two or fewer hits.
THE MEN IN RELIEF
• The Hawkeyes have seven different relievers that have tallied at least one save this season. Iowa is tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 15 saves.
• Senior Ben Beutel tallied his third victory of the season, tossing 1 2/3 innings in relief against Michigan State on May 14. The southpaw is 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA with four saves in a team-high 26 appearances this season. Beutel has allowed five runs (four earned) on 17 hits over 27 innings where he has 36 strikeouts to four walks.
• Beutel hasn’t allowed a run in 22 of his 26 appearances and he has made multiple weekend appearances seven times this season. He saw action in all three games in the road series win at Michigan State (May 13-15).
• Freshman Brody Brecht has 25 strikeouts and has allowed just one earned run (on five hits) over his last 10 appearances, spanning 13 2/3 innings, giving him 44 Ks over 22 1/3 innings this season. He is 1-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 16 appearances and he has given up just one extra base hit.
• Redshirt junior Duncan Davitt is 4-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 16 appearances as a swing reliever. He has allowed 13 runs (12 earned) on 26 hits and has 53 strikeouts (to 11 walks) over 34 innings.
• Iowa’s relievers are 14-8 with a 3.16 ERA this season, allowing 111 runs (79 earned) on 159 hits over 225 innings. The staff has 312 strikeouts to 137 walks and is limiting hitters to a .198 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 37 times this season (in games where Trackman data is available).
SEEGS AT THE TOP
Since seeing his batting average dip to a season-low .242 on March 15, sophomore Michael Seegers has been one of the Hawkeyes’ most consistent hitters.
• In the 35 games since, the Wisconsin native is hitting .296 (42-of-142) with his 42 hits ranking third on the team. Seegers has driven in 25 and has scored 31 runs during the stretch. Iowa is 25-10 in the 35 contests.
• Seegers has hit safely in 25 of the 35 games with 13 multi-hit games, including two four-hit contests at Michigan on April 2 and a 4-for-5, four RBI game in game two against Indiana on May 20. Seegers set a program record, drawing five walks in the series-opening win against the Hoosiers on May 19.
• Seegers is hitting .279 (57-of-204) with 29 RBIs and 40 runs scored as Iowa’s leadoff hitter. He has batted leadoff in all but three games this season. He has hit safely in 33 games and reached base safely in 41 contests.
• As good as Seegers has been offensively, he has been just as good defensively. The Hawkeye shortstop has just four errors in 50 games, where he has a .976 fielding percentage.
WELCOME BACK PATTY
Redshirt senior Izaya Fullard, a.k.a. Meat Patty, is hitting .330 (34-of-103) in the 28 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 20 of the 28 games with 12 multi-hit games and he has reached base in 27 of the 28 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.
• Fullard was the Iowa offense in a 1-0 victory at Nebraska, as he hit a solo home run in the fourth inning that proved to be the difference. It was his second blast of the year.
ON THE OFFENSIVE
• The Hawkeyes have scored 332 runs in 50 games, averaging 6.6 runs per contest. Iowa has 11 games with 10 or more runs and 22 games with 10 or more hits.
• Iowa is 22-8 when scoring first this season and 26-8 when out-hitting its opponent.
• The team is 22-4 when scoring six or more runs this season.
• The Hawkeyes are outscoring opponents, 103-90, over the first three innings and 105-63 over the final three innings (including extras).
HAWKEYE SPARKS
• Redshirt junior Brendan Sher is hitting .300 with six RBIs over his last nine games.
• Freshman Ben Wilmes has started six straight games, where he has driven in seven runs. The Johnston, Iowa, native batted leadoff in two of three games at Michigan State.
• Sophomore Cade Moss is hitting .400 (8-of-20) over his last eight games. He hit safely in two of the three games against Purdue, including a 2-for-3 day with a double and RBI in the series finale. He had a career-high three hits, finishing 3-for-3 in the series-opening win at Michigan State on May 13.
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 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.
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 PENN STATE
• The Nittany Lions ended the regular season with a 25-27 overall record and finished sixth with an 11-13 Big Ten record. Penn State is making its first Big Ten Tournament appearance since 2012.
• Penn State dropped its final two Big Ten series, losing two of three games at Ohio State before getting swept at home against Illinois.
• The Nittany Lions hit .270 as a team and average 5.8 runs per game. First-team All-Big Ten catcher Matt Wood is hitting .395 with 73 hits, 52 runs, 50 RBIs, 14 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs. He is one of three regulars hitting over .300.
• Penn State’s pitching staff has a 5.85 team ERA, allowing 513 hits over 463 innings. The Nittany Lions have punched out 477, but opponents are hitting .277.
• Two Penn State coaching staff members have Iowa ties. Assistant coach Sean Moore played for and coached for the Hawkeyes between 2015; 2017-18, while director of operations/player development Jake Stone served as Iowa’s head manager in 2017 and 2018.
SERIES RECORDS
• Penn State leads the all-time series, 40-38. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
• Iowa has won four straight series over the Nittany Lions dating back to the 2013 season. The Hawkeyes won two of three games last season in Iowa City.
• This is Iowa’s second all-time meeting against Penn State in the league tournament. The Nittany Lions won, 5-4, in 2007 in Ann Arbor.
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 75 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 17 games this season, winning 12 of those contests.
30 WINS X 7
Since head coach Rick Heller’s first season in 2014, the Hawkeyes have reached the 30-win plateau in every “normal non-COVID affected” season. The program’s six consecutive year stretch was the lonest 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)
2022: 33-17
#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 seven 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 273 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 seven of his eight (full 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 30 All-Big Ten honorees in nine seasons under Heller.
• Heller has coached one Big Ten Player of the Year (Jake Adams), two Big Ten Pitcher of the Years (Trenton Wallace, Adam Mazur) and one Big Ten Freshman of the Year (Keaton Anthony) during his time as a Hawkeye.
• 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.
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