IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team struck out 24 batters and piled up 22 hits en route to a 18-2 victory over the Indian Hills Warriors on Monday evening in a 14-inning exhibition at Duane Banks Field.
Iowa scored in each of the first four innings, including a five-run first. Fifth-year Davis Cop opened the scoring with a two-RBI double, followed by a sacrifice fly from junior Ben Wilmes. Junior Connor Hennings capped the scoring in the opening frame with a two-run home run into the wind in left-center field.
Junior Marcus Morgan fired two scoreless innings, striking out one Warrior hitter. Morgan flew through the second inning in just seven pitches. Sophomore Cade Obermueller used two strikeouts to set down the visitors in order in the fourth.
The Hawkeyes built a 10-0 lead through four innings of play behind RBI doubles from Cop and Wilmes and an RBI single from junior Sam Petersen. Indian Hills got on the board after a Hawkeye error in the fifth, but Iowa answered with six runs in the bottom of the sixth. Redshirt senior Kyle Huckstorf started the inning with a home run over the right field wall. A wild pitch, RBI groundout from Wilmes, RBI single from Hennings, and a two-RBI double from senior Andy Nelson gave Iowa a 16-1 lead through six.
Redshirt junior Zach Voelker, junior Sam Hart, senior Ben DeTaeye and senior Jack Young held the Warrior bats in check through the tenth, striking out a combined nine hitters. Iowa newcomers Reece Beuter, Justin Hackett and Ganon Archer struck out eight of the final nine batters to close out the Warriors.
Up Next: The Hawkeyes begin their best-of-three intrasquad Black and Gold World Series on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Admission is free.