Iowa Clinches Big Ten Series Over Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The University of Iowa baseball team (13-6, 2-1 Big Ten) clinched its first Big Ten series of the year over Penn State (5-13, 1-2 Big Ten) with a 12-4 victory Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

"It feels good to win a Big Ten road series to kick the conference season off," said head coach Rick Heller. "After the rough start Friday our guys played hard and showed a lot of toughness. Like yesterday, we had good at bats up and down the line up. Gable Mitchell had a big day with four hits and Caleb Wulf drove in four runs."

Senior Gable Mitchell led Iowa offensively, going 4-for-6 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Senior Caleb Wulf finished 2-for-6 with four RBIs, including a two-run double in the fourth and a two-run single in the seventh.

Penn State struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first and added single runs in the third and fifth, but Iowa used a seven-run fourth inning to break the game open and never looked back.

"After falling behind early and leaving the bases loaded in the first without scoring the offense broke out with a seven run fourth to put us ahead," said Heller. "I was happy to see the hitters score five more in the seventh and eighth for some insurance."

Senior Kooper Schulte started the rally with an RBI double to center field, and Mitchell followed with a two-RBI single through the right side to give the Hawkeyes their first lead. Wulf added a two-RBI double down the right field line before senior Joey Nerat was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in another run. Schulte capped the inning with an RBI groundout to shortstop.

Iowa added to its lead with a four-run seventh inning. Redshirt sophomore Jaxien Frost started the rally with an RBI single to center field, and Mitchell followed with an RBI double to center. Wulf then delivered a single through the left side, plating Mitchell and Frost to cap the inning and push the Hawkeyes’ lead to 11-4. Nerat hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to close out the scoring for the Hawkeyes.

"We weren’t sharp on the mound with nine free base, but fought out of some jams and avoided the big inning," said coach Heller. "Frese, Alivo and Guerin made pitches when they had to."

Redshirt freshman Kyle Alivo earned the win on the mound, allowing one run on one hit over three innings with five strikeouts in relief. Junior starter Maddux Frese worked the first three innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Sophomore Tyler Guerin closed the game to earn the save, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out three.

OF NOTE
- The Hawkeyes secured their first Big Ten series win of the season.
- Iowa finished with 12 runs on 13 hits, while Penn State recorded four runs on six hits.
- Nerat hit two home runs during the weekend series.
- Wulf had at least two hits and one RBI in every game of the series.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Chicago, Illinois, for their first midweek road game of the season against UIC on Tuesday.