Peaking at the end of the season is the goal for every college baseball team.
For the Iowa baseball squad, it does not just want to peak at the right time — it must.
If the Hawkeyes want to make an appearance in the Big Ten Tournament, they need to play some of their best baseball May 19-21, when they travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State.
If the May 17 drumming of Western Illinois — Iowa won 10-2 — is any indication, the Hawkeyes will be more than a handful for the Nittany Lions.
Iowa jumped on the Leathernecks early and often at Macomb Illinois, scoring 1 run in the second, third, fifth, and seventh innings before exploding for 6 runs in the eighth.
The win moved Iowa above .500, 25-24.
The Hawkeyes got hits from eight players, with five Hawks collecting numerous knocks.
Junior Mason McCoy was 4-for-5, and seniors Tyler Peyton, Nick Roscetti, and Joel Booker and freshman Robert Neustrom all had more than 1 hit.
“We had hits up and down the lineup,” head coach Rick Heller said in a release. “That’s big when you’re getting production from the top and bottom of the order.”
Freshman starter Cole McDonald threw the first three frames for Iowa, allowing 2 runs in the third inning and striking out 6.
Four relievers combined to blank Western Illinois the rest of the way. Freshman Shane Ritter picked up the win for Iowa, his second of the year, throwing three scoreless innings and allowing only 2 hits.
Sophomore Nick Allgeyer, senior Tyler Radtke, and junior Jared Mandel each threw one scoreless inning to close the win out for Iowa.
“It was a good day for us,” Heller said in a release. “We got a lot of pitchers in the game who didn’t throw last weekend. Cole gave us a solid start; he came out and set the tone, and Ritter was good. The rest of the guys in the bullpen were all solid.”
The Hawkeyes will now shift their focus to Penn State and the most important series of their season.
Sitting in a tie for ninth in the Big Ten, Iowa needs to win 2-of-3 games this weekend to secure a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
To give each tournament team time to rest its pitching staff before the opening round on May 25, each weekend series will begin on Thursday this week, meaning the Hawkeyes will have a quick turnaround.