IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa Baseball team defeated Ohio State, 15-3, on Saturday afternoon as head coach Rick Heller earned his 1,000th win in front of 2,138 fans at Duane Banks Field.
“For me I always think about all the guys and all the teams,” said Heller. “The great players that I had an opportunity to coach and be a part of their lives. The other big one for me is it’s an awesome time to give thanks and be appreciative of the assistants I have had over the years.”
𝐌𝐫. 𝟏𝐊
Congrats to @rheller21 on 1,000 career wins! #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/IrVHGj9NUU
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) May 6, 2023
The Hawkeyes outhit the Buckeyes 19-6 and scored in five of the last six innings.
Sam Hojnar led the Hawkeyes hitting two home runs and tallying five RBIs. Brennen Dorighi was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs and Cade Moss was 3-for-5 with a double.
Kyle Huckstorf and Sam Petersen each had three RBIs and Raider Tello added two of his own.
“Guys are committed to the plan,” said Heller. Committed to doing their 1/9, and not trying to do it all themselves. The last six weeks I feel like the offense has gelled and committed to that approach.”
Marcus Morgan got the start for Iowa and threw five innings earning his third win of the season. He stuck out seven and allowed two earned runs on three hits.
“It was not clean by any stretch,” said Heller. “The thing Marcus did was he competed hard and fought hard and battled out of some jams. He was big getting us five today after last night when we had to go to the bullpen as many times as we did and gave the offense a chance to get going.”
Aaron Savary, Will Christophersen, and Jack Young combined for four innings of relief to close out the game.
Of Note
- The Hawkeyes improved to 34-11, and 10-6 in Big Ten Play.
- The win was Rick Heller’s 1,000th career win. Heller has the 10th most wins among active coaches.
- Sam Hojnar had two home runs marking the third game in a row that a Hawkeye hit two home runs. (Brennen Dorighi, Illinois State and Sam Petersen, Ohio State)
- Iowa set a new season high with 19 hits.
- Iowa improved to 17-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.
Up Next
The Hawkeyes continue the series with Ohio State tomorrow (CT) at Duane Banks Field. The game will now start at Noon (CT) due to anticipated weather.