By Blake Dowson
In front of more than 3,300 people in combined games one and two attendance of a series versus the Michigan Wolverines, the Iowa baseball team has been overmatched and outgunned in just about every aspect.
“I’m happy that we fought back,” head coach Rick Heller said, after his team scored five runs in the final two innings of Saturday’s game. “We gave ourselves a chance, especially on a day with the wind blowing out like it was. But on the other hand, I’m really disappointed with how we played, especially the first five innings.”
The Hawkeyes dropped game one Friday night by a score of 8-4, getting outhit by the Wolverines 12-6.
Michigan scored runs in the third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and ninth innings, scratching five runs against Hawkeye starter C.J. Eldred in five innings of work.
Iowa was a combined 1-for-14 with runners on base and left 11 base runners stranded.
The Hawkeyes scored all four of their runs in the sixth, thanks to four walks and two errors by Michigan. Senior Eric Schenck-Joblinske and sophomore Austin Guzzo gathered the two RBIs for Iowa in the game.
Three Hawkeye pitchers entered the game after Eldred, all allowing one earned run in limited work.
Iowa threatened in the ninth inning, loading the bases with one out to bring the tying run to the plate. After a Mason McCoy fly out to right, freshman Robert Neustrom stepped to the plate, flying out to the warning track in center to end the game.
The one bright spot for the Hawkeyes was the performance of senior Nick Roscetti at the plate. Roscetti, who had been slumping in Big Ten play, collected six hits in his final two games last weekend against Indiana, and knocked two more against the Wolverines.
Game two was more of the same for the Hawkeyes, falling to the Wolverines 12-9.
Iowa and Michigan exchanged zeroes in the first two innings before Hawkeye pitcher Ryan Erickson lost the strike zone in the third, walking three and allowing four runs.
“The fifth inning was when it really came unraveled,” Erickson said. “A couple things didn’t go my way there, and I wish I could have a few batters back.”
The wheels started to fall off for Iowa after the third, allowing three runs in both the fifth and sixth, and one more each in the seventh and eighth.
For the first time all year, senior Joel Booker moved from the leadoff spot to the three-hole, with senior Tyler Peyton manning the leadoff spot.
“I’ve never hit leadoff before,” Peyton said. “My stats have been good leading off an inning, so [Heller] decided to go with me.”
Peyton ended up 2-for-5 in his leadoff spot debut, with a towering two-run home run in the eighth inning that carried over the scoreboard in left field.
Freshman Luke Farley also had a home run for Iowa. The pinch-hit, three-run homer was the first of his career.
Roscetti continued his production at the plate in game two, getting two more hits out of the two-hole.
Iowa will try to salvage game three on Sunday and avoid a sweep.
“We didn’t pitch well, and that was disappointing,” Heller said. “Especially with a big crowd here and a good team playing against us. But we did battle and finally get some guys to step up and get hits with runners in scoring position.”
