IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team run ruled Western Illinois in both halves of a doubleheader on Saturday at Duane Banks Field. The Hawkeyes won the first game, 17-7, in eight innings and the second game, 19-9.
“Hopefully this gives us some confidence,” said head coach Rick Heller. “We had three games where we kept our free bases under 10. We made improvements from where we had been. That needs to become the norm, and less if possible. It needs to be an accountability thing in the clubhouse, that is who we are and that is how we go about our business.”
The Hawkeyes trailed 6-5 through 5 ½ innings but put up 13 runs to win game one. Iowa then trailed 9-4 through five innings in game two before coming back with an eight run sixth inning.
Cade Obermueller got the start in game one for the Hawkeyes. He threw 4 1/3 innings and allowed five runs (two earned) while striking out five. Jack Young threw 2/3 of an inning and Aaron Savary threw three innings allowing one hit and one run to earn the win.
Six different Hawkeyes tallied a multi-hit performance in the first game. Raider Tello was 4-for-5 with an RBI, Andy Nelson 3-for-6, Davis Cop 3-for-5 with six RBIs, Reese Moore 3-for-4 and Sam Petersen and Kyle Huckstorf each tallied two.
Marcus Morgan threw 2 2/3 innings starting game two for Iowa. He allowed five runs on seven hits. Jack Whitlock threw 1 2/3 innings and allowed four runs while striking out three. Zach Voelker earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of work. Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue closed out the game with two innings of hitless ball.
Raider Tello was 5-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Sam Petersen was 3-for-5 and Davis Cop was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Reese Moore had two RBIs on two hits. Michael Seegers added four RBIs for Iowa.
“We had an opportunity to see what we were made of today,” said Heller. “Stringing hit after hit. So many guys had great games offensively. Raider Tello had an incredible day, nine hits on the day and five in the second game. It was good to see Cadiuex-Lanoue get in and bounce back. It was a really good weekend. Overall, I was pleased that we showed some toughness and fought back and found a way to get a sweep, because sweeps aren’t easy.”