OMAHA, Neb. – Michigan jumped out to a 4-0 lead and put up a nine spot late to down the University of Iowa baseball team, 13-1 in seven innings, on Sunday in a semifinal elimination game at the Big Ten Tournament at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Iowa had a strong week in Omaha, winning three games and becoming the first team to win two games on the same day during the tournament. The Hawkeyes are 36-19 overall.
Iowa’s NCAA Resume
– Won 20 of 26, 23 of 32 & 30-of-42 games
– Won 6 str. series and 8 of 9 overall
– 20 wins against Big Ten foes, 3 BTT wins
– Hasn’t lost back-to-back games since April 9-10
– One of best pitching staffs in the nation
– Wins over TTU, USAFA, CMU, RU#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/oeoQXr7kuX— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) May 29, 2022
Michigan took advantage of two free bases against Iowa starter Brody Brecht in the first inning, which led to two runs scoring. After Brecht gave up an RBI single to Jimmy Obertrop, Iowa went to Dylan Nedved in relief. The redshirt senior struck out two of the three batters he faced, but Michigan’s Riley Bertram’s RBI single through the right side made the score 2-0.
Michigan used a single, hit by pitch and Hawkeye fielding error to load the bases in the fourth before back-to-back sacrifice flies pushed the lead to 4-0.
Iowa scored its lone run in the bottom half when Izaya Fullard walked and scored on Kyle Huckstorf’s RBI single.
Michigan put an end to the game in the seventh, scoring nine runs on three hits, while sending 13 batters to the plate. Tito Flores had a two-run double, Ted Burton had a three-run double and Clark Elliott and a three-run triple in the inning.
Brecht (1-4) suffered the loss, allowing two runs on one hit in 1/3 of an inning. Iowa used seven pitchers in the game and the staff issued nine free bases.
QUOTING COACH HELLER
“Today was disappointing, it didn’t go as planned. Anytime you’re in a situation like this, if you’re going to have a chance, you have to eliminate the free bases. It was a free base fest from the start, and it didn’t work out. Unfortunately, if it had worked out, it was a great day to pitch with the wind howling in and it was a tough day to hit. When we did throw strikes, we had success.
“Offensively, I felt if we could have kept it close, Weston had thrown three days, and we felt like there would come a point where we could get deep in their bullpen if we kept it close, but that didn’t happen.”
OF NOTE…
– Iowa won three games at the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth time in program history.
– The Hawkeyes’ 36 victories are eighth most in a single season in program history.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will await to learn their fate for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show will be held Monday at 11 a.m. (CT) on ESPN2.
