The Iowa baseball team will be pretty much set on the mound.

By Ian Murphy
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With fall ball almost done and a strong showing at scout day in the books, the Hawkeyes feel well-positioned on the mound heading into the spring.

The Iowa baseball team lost a big part of its pitching staff to graduation and the MLB draft, but it is bolstered by the return of its Friday starter, senior Tyler Peyton, who was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds but elected to return to the Hawks. Sunday starter senior Calvin Matthews also returns to the team.

And with Luke Vandermaten, another senior, back for another year as the closer, the pitching staff seems poised for another strong season.

“At this point, I really feel good about where we’re at,” head coach Rick Heller said. “I guess the main thing would be setting the tone from a work-ethic standpoint and having our seniors set the tone.”

Heller said the pitchers looked worn the week leading into scout day.

But the tone should be set on the mound, at least, as Heller, Matthews, and Peyton talked about strong showings during the Oct. 2 scout day, which gave professional organizations a chance to see the Hawkeyes who will be eligible for the next draft.

“Some of the pitchers looked like they were getting a little tired,” Heller said. “But I left there feeling a lot better about our staff.”

Another part of that optimism comes from Peyton returning for his senior year. The Hawkeyes now only have to replace one weekend starter — Blake Hickman — who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox.

“That was so big for us to get Tyler back not just on the mound but on offense,” Heller said (Peyton led the team with a .337 batting average  and was 7-4 over 16 starts last season). “He was really sharp on scout day, and his velocity was up in the low 90s again.

“It’s really huge to get your Friday night guy back when you thought you had no chance of getting him back.”

Friday night is the marquee game in a weekend series, and Peyton started Iowa’s opening-round games in both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

Losing Peyton to the draft would have been devastating to the rotation, and he said he weighed the decision heavily over the summer.

“I felt like maybe I wasn’t really ready to leave after my junior year,” Peyton said. “I have not regretted it yet.”

And while the money was enticing, it wasn’t enough to sway him.

Coupled with Matthews, who returns for his fourth season and starts on Sundays, the Hawkeyes are well-positioned to have a strong weekend rotation when the third spot is filled.

Matthews noted he’s had a strong fall and has increased his velocity.

“I threw a lot better than I had been, my velo[city] was up to 92, I heard,” he said.

The extra juice will only benefit Matthews, who led the rotation with 2.45 ERA last season and posted a 5-3 record in 15 starts.

As a whole, the fall has been positive for the Hawkeyes, who will need a strong rotation come February when they take on Dallas Baptist, an NCAA regional host team, in the opening series of the season.

For now, the focus is on finishing the fall.

“We’ve got two big weeks left,” Heller said. “And we have to take advantage of every second to get those guys ready to go.”

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