By Blake Dowson
An offensive outburst to the tune of 16 hits and 8 runs saved the Iowa baseball team (18-19, 7-8 Big Ten) from a sweep at the hands of Michigan on Sunday in front of a crowd of almost 1,500 fans at Banks Field.
After being stifled by Michigan starter Evan Hill in the first two innings, the Hawkeyes scored runs in the next five, picking apart seven different Wolverine hurlers in an 8-3 win.
The leadoff hitter for Iowa got on base in the fourth through seventh innings, and most of them scored.
“I was really proud with how the guys came out and played today,” head coach Rick Heller said. “After a couple days that didn’t go our way and we really didn’t play all that well, to bounce back like we did with that kind of effort was tremendous. We got back to playing Hawkeye baseball.”
Sophomore pitcher Nick Gallagher earned the win in relief of starter Calvin Mathews, tossing seven innings and allowing only 1 run, in that coming ninth inning.
Heller said the plan was to throw Mathews, Gallagher, and senior Tyler Peyton equally on Sunday. But after Mathews was touched up for 2 runs in 1.2 innings and Peyton was spiked on the arm diving back into first base, he decided to ride Gallagher.
The Iowa City native came in and threw six-straight scoreless frames, enabling his offense to take and then extend the lead.
Gallagher had the Michigan offense off-balance all game, striking out 7 while walking only 1 and spreading out 6 hits through his seven innings of work.
“[Gallagher] was tremendous,” Heller said. “He commanded all of his pitches, and I loved his intent. He was really aggressive to their hitters, and they are obviously a good hitting team.”
Every Iowa starter had a hit on Sunday except freshman Luke Farley, who was pulled for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. Six Hawkeyes collected RBIs.
Senior center fielder Joel Booker led the charge for Iowa while hitting in the 3-hole for the second game in a row, going 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs to raise his average to .360.
Peyton and fellow senior Nick Roscetti both had 2-hit games, raising their averages to .298 and .340, respectively.
Peyton, slotted in the leadoff spot in an effort to get Booker more RBI opportunities, reached base six times in the last two games of the series.
The win Sunday saved the Hawkeyes from being swept and also provides them with a bit of momentum heading into next week.
“I just felt like everybody was relaxed [today] and everyone kind of had a mission,” Booker said. “I don’t think anybody likes losing to Michigan, so we used that as fuel to the fire and put it on them. With Michigan being a ranked team, it makes us realize that if we can beat them, we can beat anybody.”
After the Wolverines had tagged the Hawkeyes for 20 runs in the first two games of the series, Gallagher and the Iowa defense played a clean game Sunday.
The Hawkeyes have shown all year that if they limit walks, they can compete, and beat, anybody they play. Sunday was just the latest example of that.
“Today we played like we should, and it showed that we can beat some ranked teams,” Peyton said. “Stuff seemed to click today. We weren’t making as many mistakes.”