Notes: Hawkeyes Face North Carolina in Terre Haute Regional

MATCHUP	North Carolina
LOCATION	Terre Haute, Indiana | Bob Warn Field
DATE	June 2, 2023
WATCH	ACCN & ESPN+
LISTEN	Hawkeye Radio Network | The Varsity Network | Newsradio 600WMT
LIVE STATS	Live Stats

STARTING ROTATION
Game 1 | June 2 | 6 p.m. (CT)	Iowa: RHP Marcus Morgan  (4-2, 3.88 ERA)  UNC: RHP Jake Knapp (5-3, 4.79 ERA)

THIS WEEK

The two-seeded University of Iowa baseball team opens NCAA Regional play against No. 3 seed North Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) at Bob Warn Field. The game will be televised live on ACCN and streamed on ESPN+.

𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/hrPhqGo2UO

— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) June 2, 2023

WATCH/LISTEN LIVE

• Friday’s game will be broadcast on the ACCN and streamed on ESPN+.

• All games will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with John Leo and John Evans on the call. Fans can access the stream for free on YouTube or by downloading the Varsity Network app. Friday’s game will also be available on Newsradio 600WMT.

• Live stats will be available on hawkeyesports.com and live updates will be available on Twitter (@UIBaseball).

LEADING OFF

• The Hawkeyes come into the regional 42-14. 

• This is Iowa’s sixth regional appearance and third under head coach Rick Heller. The Hawkeyes have appearances in 1972, 1975, 1990, 2015, and 2017) 

• Heller is now tied with Duane Banks (1970-1997) for most regional appearances in school history. 

• Heller recorded his 300th win at Iowa on April 14 against Minnesota. Heller is the third coach in Hawkeye history to reach 300 (Duane Banks and Otto Vogel). He recorded his 1,000th career win on May 6 against Ohio State. Heller has the 10th most wins among active coaches. 

• The Hawkeyes got off to their best start in program history (19-3), passing the 1939 team (18-4).

• Iowa has outscored its opponents 466-241, they are averaging 8.3 runs per game. That ranks 23rd in the nation. 

• The pitching staff has a 4.04 ERA good for 11th in the nation. The Iowa staff ranks second in the country in hits allowed per nine innings (6.68), fifth in strikeouts per nine (11.0), and the Iowa defense has a .981 fielding percentage which ranks 14th in the country. The Hawkeyes have a .298 batting average. Iowa ranks 14th in the nation in on base percentage (.418), 20th in the nation in runs scored, 25th with 126 doubles, and 27th with 311 walks.  

• Brody Brecht leads the country in hits allowed per nine innings (4.50) and Marcus Morgan ranks fifth (5.37). Brecht ranks 32nd in strikeouts with 101. 

• The Hawkeyes are receiving votes in the NCBWA Top-30.

SERIES RECORD

Iowa and North Carolina have met twice, with the overall series tied at one.

•  The Hawkeyes and Tar Heels last met on February 29, 2020, at the Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Iowa beat North Carolina, 5-4, in 10 innings. Brayden Frazier hit a 2-RBI single in the 9th to bring Iowa within one.

• Iowa and North Carolina met in the Northeast Region of the 1990 NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Tar Heels edged the third-seeded Hawkeyes, 5-3.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels are 35-22 overall and are making their 35th NCAA Tournament appearance.

• North Carolina finished 14-14 in the ACC and fourth in the Coastal division.

• The Tar Heels went 2-1 in the ACC tournament, defeating Georgia Tech and No. 9  Virginia, before losing to No. 8 Clemson in the semifinals.

• UNC played Penn State, the only common opponent between the Hawkeyes and Tar Heels, and beat them 15-5 on March 8.

• Catcher Thomas Frick leads North Carolina with a .329 batting average, while outfielder Mac Horvath has hit a team-high 22 home runs.

• North Carolina has a team batting average of .285, including six hitters with averages over .300.

• Pitcher Jake Knapp holds a 5-3 record with a 4.79 ERA in 15 starts for the Tar Heels.

• Relievers Matt Poston (1.77 ERA) and Kevin Eaise (3.37 ERA) each have five saves out of the UNC bullpen.

• The Tar Heels have a team ERA of 4.73, while teams are hitting .255 against them.

IOWA’S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Iowa is 7-11 all-time in NCAA Tournament play in five tournament appearances. 

• The Hawkeyes won four games during the 1972 College World Series season and went 1-2 in their last NCAA Regional appearance in 2017.

• Iowa went 1-2 at the Houston Regional in 2017. The Hawkeyes won their opening game, 6-2, against No. 15 national seed Houston before falling to Texas A&M, 3-2, and losing the rematch with Houston, 7-5.  

• Iowa won two games at the Springfield Regional in 2015, winning a pair of games against Oregon, while losing twice to No. 8 national seed Missouri State by a combined three runs (5-3, 3-2). The opening round win over the Ducks was the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1972.

• The Hawkeyes tallied wins over Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, and Bowling Green in 1972.

• UI head coach Rick Heller is 4-7 all-time in NCAA Regional play.  He lost two games as a No. 3 seed at Indiana State in 2012 and went 1-2 as a No. 4 seed at Northern Iowa in 2001.  The Panthers beat BYU, 10-1, in the first elimination game in Lincoln, Nebraska.

GETTING THE PARTY STARTED 

The UI baseball managers program used its internal information system called HawkDashboard to run models and predictions to determine that Ben Wilmes should bat leadoff for the Hawkeyes. 

• Wilmes has the third highest on base percentage on the team, grades really well on swing decisions, and his hard hit balls percentage is higher than the DI average. 

• In the 31 games since he has batted leadoff, Wilmes has a .411 on base percentage and has scored 33 runs while tallying 17 RBIs. 

THE NORM — 3-0

The Hawkeyes posted their 30th victory of the 2023 season in the 16-0 victory over Upper Iowa.  It was the eighth time in the Rick Heller era that the program has won 30 or more games. 

• Iowa has had 30 or more wins in each of the “non-COVID” seasons under Heller (2020 and 2021 were altered because of the pandemic).

BANKS MAGIC

• The Hawkeyes are 143-43 at home since the start of the 2015 season.  

• Iowa won 22 games at Duane Banks Field in 2023 tied for the most in school history with the 1977 team.

• Iowa has 17 walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.

BALL MAGNETS 

The Hawkeyes have been hit 101 times this season the 19th most in the NCAA. 

• Sam Petersen leads the team getting plunked 16 times followed by Keaton Anthony with 15 HBPs. 

AIN’T LIFE GRAND

The Hawkeyes have hit nine grand slams on the year.

• Kyle Huckstorf (Indiana State, 2/17)

• Sam Hojnar (Southern, 3/3)

• Chase Moseley (Southern, 3/3)

• Sam Petersen (St. Thomas, 3/15)

• Keaton Anthony (Maryland, 3/31)

• Sam Petersen (Upper Iowa, 4/25)

• Keaton Anthony (Penn State, 4/29)

• Brennen Dorighi (Ohio State, 5/4)

• Brayden Frazier (Michigan, 5/23)

30 WINS X 8

Since head coach Rick Heller’s first season in 2014, the Hawkeyes have reached the 30-win plateau in every “non-COVID affected” season.  The program’s six consecutive year stretch was the longest 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: 36-19 (8th-most wins all-time)

2023: 39-13

MIDSEASON HONORS FOR ANTHONY AND SEEGERS

Michael Seegers was named to the midseason Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award Watch List and redshirt sophomore Keaton Anthony was named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List.

• When named Seegers had started 35 games posting a 0.965 fielding percentage. He had tallied only five errors in 137 chances. The Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, native held a .272 batting average with 37 hits.

• At the release of the list Anthony was leading the Hawkeyes with a .370 batting average. He leads the NCAA in doubles (20) and doubles per game (0.56). He has hit seven home runs and plated 30 RBIs. The Hoschton, Georgia, native has a 4.95 ERA in nine appearances with six starts. He has a 2-0 record with 20 innings pitched and has struck out 14.

MIDSEASON HONORS FOR BRECHT

Sophomore Brody Brecht was named to the Golden Spikes award midseason watch list and a midseason first-team All-American by Perfect Game.

• At the midway point Brecht ranked 13th in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (5.08), 11th in strikeouts (59) and third in strikeouts-per-nine innings (15.77).    

ON THE OFFENSIVE

• The Hawkeyes have scored 466 runs in 56 games. averaging 8.3 runs per contest. Iowa has 20 games with 10 or more runs.

• Iowa is 26-9 when scoring first and 41-2 when out-hitting its opponent.

• The team is 38-1 when scoring six or more runs.

• The team is 26-1 when scoring nine or more runs.

• In 2022 the Hawkeyes scored 358 runs in 55 games, averaging 6.5 runs per contest in 2022.  Iowa had 12 games with 10 or more runs and 24 games with 10 or more hits.

SOUTH ALABAMA INVITE CHAMPS

The Hawkeyes went 3-0 at the South Alabama Invitational to claim the title.

• Iowa defeated Southern, 20-8, on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the tournament.

• Iowa beat host South Alabama winning 6-2 on Saturday night.

• Iowa then defeated Pepperdine who was also 2-0 on the weekend on Sunday, 10-1,  to win the tournament.

MIDDLE INFIELD HEATING UP 

Michael Seegers and Sam Hojnar had huge weekends for the Hawkeyes at the South Alabama Invitational. 

• Seegers hit .600 and slugged 1.200 as the Hawkeyes leadoff man. He hit two home runs and a triple tallying six RBIs. 

• Hojnar hit .385 with two home runs and eight RBIs. 

SIMPSON & VOELKER

Iowa middle relievers Jared Simpson and Zach Voelker have combined to throw 82.2 innings, striking out 94 while walking only 42. 

• Voelker is 4-1 with a 5.80  ERA 

• Simpson is 4-2 with a 5.74 ERA

CHRISTO

Iowa pitcher Will Christophersen allowed just one hit in his first nine appearances.

• Christophersen has thrown 28 innings and struck out 55.

• Christophersen is 4-1 and is 1-for-1 in save situations.

IOWA DOWNS NO. 1

The Hawkeyes defeated No. 1 LSU 12-4 at the Karbach Round Rock Classic

• The win vs. No. 1 LSU is believed to be the first win ever for the Hawkeyes against the No. 1 team in the country.

• The last matchup for the Hawkeyes against the top ranked team in the country is believed to be in 1972 when they faced Arizona State in the College World Series (ASU, 2-1).

• The last win for the Hawkeyes against a top 10 team came last season at No. 8 Rutgers (4/23/22).

• Head coach Rick Heller has defeated at least one ranked foe in each season as Iowa’s head coach.

ALL-ROUND ROCK TEAM

Keaton Anthony, Brennen Dorighi, and Zach Voelker were all named to the Karbach Round Rock Classic All-Tournament Team.

• Anthony hit .429 with five runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and three RBIs.

• Dorighi hit .333 with three doubles, five RBIs, and a home run.

• Voelker earned the win on Sunday against Kansas State throwing 5.2 innings of relief allowing one run and striking out five.

HUCK OPENS SEASON WITH A BANG

Redshirt junior Kyle Huckstorf played the role of hero in the bottom of the 11th inning connecting on a walk off grand slam as the Hawkeyes defeated Indiana State, 6-2, in their season opener.

• The last walk off home run for the Hawkeyes  was Brett McCleary vs. Northwestern (4/26/21).

BRODY’S BIG DEBUT

Sophomore RHP Brody Brecht was perfect in his season debut not allowing a baserunner through five innings of work as the University of Iowa baseball team defeated Quinnipiac, 7-1. Brecht struck out 10-of-15 Bobcat batters while hitting 100 MPH on the radar gun.

• This was Brecht’s second career start. His first came in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament against Michigan (5/29/22).

• Brecht struck out a career-high 10 batters in a career-high five innings pitched.

PITCHING STAFF SHINES OPENING WEEKEND

The Iowa pitching staff combined for a 0.96 ERA over opening weekend, the fourth lowest in the nation.

•  The staff allowed 5.14 hits per nine innings, ranking 12th nationally, and had a 0.89 WHIP, the 15th lowest in the nation.

WINNING BASEBALL

• The Hawkeyes have posted ten consecutive winning seasons under head coach Rick Heller.  For perspective, the program had just two winning seasons from 1997-2013 and five from 1990-2013.

• Since Heller took over the program in 2014, only three schools — Iowa, Indiana and Michigan — have qualified for the Big Ten Tournament each season it has been contested. (There was no tournament in 2020 or 2021 because of COVID.)

PRESEASON HONORS

• A pair of Hawkeye sophomores received preseason All-America honors. RHP Brody Brecht was named third team All-America by Baseball America and two-way player Keaton Anthony was named second team All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

• Junior pitcher Ty Langenberg was named Big Ten Preseason Pitcher of the Year by both Perfect Game and D1Baseball.

• Langenberg and Anthony were named to the preseason All-Big Ten team by Perfect Game.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

• Iowa’s 39-man roster features one graduate transfer, one senior, 17 juniors, nine sophomores, two redshirt freshman and nine freshmen.

• The Hawkeyes have 17 newcomers (eight transfers), including Division I transfers in Zach Voelker (Long Beach State), and Brennen Dorighi (Wofford).

• The Hawkeye roster is made up of student-athletes from 11 states and Canada — Iowa (23), California (2), Georgia (2), Illinois (2), Minnesota (2), Wisconsin (2), Arizona (1), Missouri (1), Montana (1), Ohio (1), Washington (1), Canada (1).

• Iowa has two sets of college teammates and four sets of high school teammates — Kyle Huckstorf and Ben DeTaeye (Iowa Western CC); Luke Llewellyn and Cade Moss (Kirkwood CC); Gable Mitchell and Cade Obermueller (Iowa City High); Luke Llewellyn, Ty Langenberg and Gehrig Christensen (Urbandale); Cade Moss and Ben Wilmes (Johnston); Jack Young and Will Christophersen (Pleasant Valley).

IMPACT TRANSFERS

The Hawkeyes added two Division I transfers to their 2023 roster.

• Redshirt sophomore RHP Zach Voelker joins the Hawkeyes after a stint at Long Beach State where he had a 4-4 record in 14 appearances (seven starts) with a 6.05 ERA and 32 strikeouts.

• Voelker was a Cape Cod League All-Star in 2022 playing for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. He went 2-2 with a 1.97 ERA in 11 games (three starts) with 23 strikeouts.

• Graduate student Brennen Dorighi joins Iowa after hitting .339 with 65 hits, nine home runs, 39 runs, and 53 RBIs at Wofford on his way to being named a first-team All-Southern Conference selection.

• Dorighi started 81 games in his four years for the Terriers hitting .318 with 101 hits, 13 home runs, and 85 RBIs.

FRESHMAN DISTINCTION

Two Hawkeyes — Keaton Anthony and Brody Brecht — garnered Freshman All-America honors in 2022.  It was the first time since 2017 that multiple Iowa newcomers garnered freshman All-America distinction.

• Both players were honored by Collegiate Baseball.  Anthony earned an additional honor from the NCBWA and D1Baseball.com, while Brecht was honored by Perfect Game.

MCGRATH AND BOE JOIN STAFF

The Hawkeyes welcomed two new coaches to the staff after Robin Lund and David Pearson left to take roles with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively.

• Sean McGrath joined the Hawkeyes after three seasons coaching in the Mariners’ minor league system. In 2022, he served as the pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners Double-A affiliate — the Arkansas Travelers.

• Under McGrath, The Travers put together an ERA of 4.27, ranking second in the Texas League. The staff led the league in three categories: totaling 11 shutouts, a 1.30 WHIP and a .229 batting average against.

• Mitch Boe — who played for the Hawkeyes from 2016-2019 — joined the staff after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach for Valparaiso. Boe served as the team’s infield and baserunning instructor while also coaching third base.

•  The Naperville, Illinois, native appeared in 193 career games, tied for the ninth-most all-time at Iowa. In 2019 the team captain was named Iowa’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.  Boe tallied 144 hits, 28 doubles, 72 RBIs and 21 stolen bases during his Hawkeye career.

5 HAWKEYES MOVE ON TO MLB

The Hawkeyes had four players selected in the 2022 Major League Draft — the most for the program since 2018.  Iowa also had a fifth player sign as an undrafted free agent.

• Iowa’s three top 10 round picks are the most in a single draft in program history.

• Adam Mazur became Iowa’s highest draft pick since 1990 when he was selected with the 53rd pick in the second round by the San Diego Padres.  He was the highest picked Hawkeye since Tim Costo in 1990.

• Peyton Williams was chosen in the seventh round (218th pick) by the Toronto Blue Jays.

• Dylan Nedved was picked in the ninth round (270th pick) by the San Diego Padres.

• Duncan Davitt was selected in the 18th round (554th pick) by the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Ben Beutel signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago White Sox.

B1G HONORS

• Keaton Anthony earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year, second-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.  Anthony is the program’s second Big Ten Freshman of the Year, joining C.J. Thieleke in 1994.

• Brody Brecht joined Anthony on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.  They were Iowa’s first honorees since 2011.

OF NOTE

• Twenty-two of Iowa’s 55 games in 2022 were decided by two runs or fewer. The Hawkeyes went 13-9 in such contests.

• 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.

• Iowa scored 10 or more runs in 12 games last season. The Hawkeyes had 22 games with 10 or more hits with 16 coming from April 9 through the end of the season.

• Iowa’s pitching staff allowed three runs or fewer in 32 of its 55 games and five or fewer hits in 23 contests.  The Hawkeyes had five shutouts to lead the Big Ten.

• The Hawkeyes played errorless baseball in 21 games last season.   Iowa went 20-1 in such contests.  The team didn’t commit an error in a stretch of five games from April 16-23.

• 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.

MR. DOUBLE

In 2022 Redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony finished fourth in the Big Ten with 22 doubles, which ranked 34th nationally.  The doubles total are the second-most in a single season in program history, trailing only John Knapp’s 24 doubles in 1986.

• Anthony hit his first double of the 2023 season vs. Quinnipiac (2/19)

• Anthony has 22 doubles this season bringing his career total to 44.

RANKED OPPONENTS; RANKED WINS

Iowa is 2-2 against ranked opponents this year having defeated #1 LSU at the Round Rock Classic on February 25 before going 1-2 at Texas Tech on March 10-12.

• The Hawkeyes have now defeated a top 10 team in back-to-back seasons having defeated No. 8 Rutgers in 2022.

• Head coach Rick Heller has defeated at least one ranked foe in each season as Iowa’s head coach.

OUR GEORGIA PEACH

Redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony had a breakout season in his first season of collegiate baseball (2022).  The outfielder, who was honored a school record six times as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, hit .361 (73-of-202) with 22 doubles, 14 home runs, 55 RBIs and 46 runs scored en route to Freshman All-America, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Big Ten and all-region honors.   

• The Georgia native hit safely in 44 games and reached safely in 50 contests this season.  He had a team-best 22 multi-hit games.

• Anthony ranked in the top 10 in five Big Ten categories, sitting third in slugging (.678) and OPS (1.183), tied for fourth in doubles (22), sixth in batting average (.361) and 10th in OBP (.455).   

• In league games, Anthony tied for fourth in home runs (10), fifth in slugging (.768), tied for sixth in RBIs (30) and seventh in OPS (1.193).

• Twelve of Anthony’s 14 home runs came in his final 25 games. He hit a three-run blast in Iowa’s 16-2 road win at Milwaukee on April 12, hit a two-run homer in the series opener against Minnesota (4/15) and homered in back-to-back games in the series win over Purdue (5/7-8).

• He connected on his 11th homer — a grand slam — in the series finale at Michigan State and he hit a blast in three straight games in the sweep of Indiana.  His 14 home runs were the most by a Hawkeye freshman since Brad Carlson hit 21 in 1999.

• 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 earned six Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors — Feb. 23, March 16, April 5, April 19, May 11, May 24.  They were the most weekly honors in a single season in program history (Jake Adams earned three Big Ten Player of the Week honors in 2017).

LANGENBERG –> WEEKEND ROTATION

After starting the 2022 season in the bullpen, sophomore Ty Langenberg settled into the weekend rotation as the Hawkeyes’ Sunday starter.  He made 12 straight Sunday starts, finishing the season with a 7-2 record and a 3.71 ERA.  The Urbandale, Iowa, native allowed 60 hits, 28 runs (26 earned) and fanned 74 over 63 innings.

• Langenberg won his final two starts of the season, tossing five shutout innings in a 2-1 victory over Indiana on May 21.  He scattered four hits and fanned four.  In the Big Ten Tournament, Langenberg allowed three runs on three hits and fanned five in an elimination game victory over Penn State.

• Langenberg’s fifth win came after 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 had eight or more Ks in three appearances last season.

• Langenberg ranked in the top eight in the Big Ten in six categories.  He was tied for second in fewest runs allowed (28), tied for fourth in wins (7), tied for sixth in fewest earned runs (26), eighth in fewest walks (23), ninth in ERA (3.71) and tied for ninth in fewest hits allowed (60).

ONE OF THE B1G’s & NATION’S BEST

The Hawkeye pitching staff was superb in 2022, leading the Big Ten in ERA (3.72), shutouts (5), strikeouts (609), fewest hits allowed (374), fewest runs allowed (246), fewest earned runs (202) and batting average against (.210).

• The Hawkeyes gave up just 374 hits over 489 1/3 innings with just 109 going for extra bases.

• Iowa ranked in the top 17 nationally in five categories, sitting second in hits allowed per nine innings (6.88), third in strikeouts per nine innings (11.2), fourth in ERA (3.72), 11th in WHIP (1.29) and 17th in shutouts (5).

• Iowa’s starting pitchers went 21-11 with a 4.06 ERA, fanning 270 over 244 innings.  Opponents hit just .217.

LIMITING 1Bs

• In 2022 the Hawkeyes allowed five or fewer hits in 23 games.

• Iowa posted a one-hitter against Air Force on Feb. 18 — the first for the program since 2019 (vs. Simpson, 7-2 win).

• Iowa had eight games, allowing three or fewer hits.  The Hawkeyes had five games allowing two or fewer hits.

HEAT ALERT

Freshman RHP Brody Brecht had a blazing debut in his first career appearance at Duane Banks Field in 2022.  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 hit 100 or higher on the radar gun 37 times in 2022 (in games where Trackman data was available).

• Brecht has hit 100 or higher on the radar gun 31 times in 2023 (in games where Trackman data was available).

• In 2022 Brecht had 25 strikeouts and allowed just one earned run (on five hits) over his final 10 relief appearances, spanning 13 2/3 innings, giving him 44 Ks over 22 2/3 innings this season.  He went 1-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 17 appearances and he gave up just one extra base hit.

SEEGS’ STORY

Since seeing his batting average dip to a season-low .242 on March 15, sophomore Michael Seegers was one of the Hawkeyes’ most consistent hitters in 2022.

• In the 40 games from then on, the Wisconsin native hit .303 (50-of-165) with his 50 hits ranking second on the team.  Seegers drove in 27 and has scored 34 runs during the stretch.  Iowa went 28-12 in the 40 contests.

• Seegers hit safely in 29 of the 40 games with 15 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 hit .286 (65-of-227) with 31 RBIs and 43 runs scored as Iowa’s leadoff hitter.  He batted leadoff in all but three games this season, where he hit safely in 37 games and reached base safely in 45 contests.

• As good as Seegers was offensively, he was just as good defensively.  The Hawkeye shortstop had just four errors in 55 games, where he had a .980 fielding percentage.

TEAM CAPTAINS

Graduate student Brennen Dorighi, redshirt senior Jared Simpson, redshirt junior Brayden Frazier, and juniors Ty Langenberg and Michael Seegers were voted team captains for the 2023 season.

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT

The Hawkeyes have overcame deficits to win 91 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 16 walk-offs. 35 of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. 21 have come in the final at-bat.

#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.

• 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 282 at Iowa, including the second (41), fifth (39) and eighth-most (36) wins in a single-season 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 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 nine (full seasons), and has 27 Major League Baseball Draft picks in nine seasons (29 players have gone on to play professional baseball).

• Heller had three players drafted in the top 10 rounds of the 2022 MLB Draft — a first in program history.  That included Adam Mazur, who was the 53rd pick overall (San Diego) — the highest pick by a Hawkeye since 1990.

• 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 2023) and eight games (in 2017) — the longest streaks for the program since 2012.