Iowa Clinches Series Over Illinois

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team clinched the series against Illinois with a 6-5 victory on Saturday afternoon at Duane Banks Field.

Junior Maddux Frese started on the mound for the Hawkeyes, tossing six innings while allowing five hits and three unearned runs. Frese struck out three and walked two. Sophomore Jaron Bleeker and graduate student Joe Husak followed in relief, pitching the remaining three innings with Husak earning the save.

The Hawkeyes struck first in the bottom of the second when redshirt sophomore Jaixen Frost launched a three-run home run to left field, giving Iowa an early 3-0 lead.

Iowa added to its advantage in the following inning as graduate student Matthew Delgado drove in two runs, scoring seniors Gable Mitchell and Caleb Wulf, to extend the Hawkeyes’ lead to 5-0.

Illinois found momentum in the top of the sixth, scoring three runs to cut Iowa’s lead to two.

Iowa answered in the bottom half of the inning when senior Joey Nerat singled to right field, scoring redshirt junior Kellen Strohmeyer from second base to give the Hawkeyes an additional insurance run.

Illinois added two more runs in the top of the eighth to cut Iowa’s lead to one. The Hawkeyes escaped the inning when Illinois’ JR Nelson was caught stealing home.

“I thought Maddux gave us a great start, and Bleeker came in and went one‑two‑three with really good stuff. Husak is our closer, and he did exactly that,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Today was Jaxien’s day, and he stepped up with a big home run to give us the lead. Maddux does a really nice job pitching with a lead and pounding the zone. I loved that we only had two walks today, and we definitely cleaned things up.”

OF NOTE..
- The Hawkeyes have won three series in a row.
- Frese tallied his fourth win of the season.
- Husak recorded his third save of the season and the 17th of his career. 

UP NEXT
Iowa and Illinois finish the series Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1:02 p.m. (CT) at Duane Banks Field.