Hawkeyes Fall To Purdue in Elimination Game

OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 8-seeded University of Iowa baseball team fell to No. 5-seeded Purdue, 8-1, in an elimination game Thursday afternoon at the Big Ten Tournament at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

“It says a lot about the group of guys we have,” said head coach Rick Heller. “After USC, it looked like we were dead in the water without a chance to make the tournament, but we found a way to right the ship and win a bunch of games to get here and even end up with a decent seed in a year when the league is really good. I’m really proud because there were plenty of times we could have packed it in, and they didn’t. They found ways. It wasn’t traditional a lot of the time. We pieced it together, and our offense did a great job carrying us. This was one of the best defensive teams I’ve ever coached. Just a great group of older players that wouldn’t let the program go backward, and that says a lot about those guys.”

Cole Moore got the start for the Hawkeyes, throwing two innings and allowing no runs on one hit before turning it over to the bullpen. Brolan Frost threw one inning and was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs after two walks and a hit batter. Tyler Guerin went 2 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on four hits. Logan Runde threw 1 1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits, before Gannon Archer closed out the final inning.

Iowa got on the board first in the fourth inning as redshirt sophomore Jaixen Frost singled to plate senior Miles Risley.

It was all Purdue the rest of the way as the Boilermakers responded with three runs in the fourth inning before adding three more in the sixth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth.

Senior Kellen Strohmeyer led the Hawkeyes offensively with a 3-for-3 day and he also reached base via walk.

NOTABLES

• Caleb Wulf now stands alone at No. 2 all-time in program history for single-season hits with 89.
• The Hawkeyes finished the season with a 33-23 record and a 15-15 mark in conference play.