By Adam Hensley
Iowa baseball head coach Rick Heller, the program’s winningest coach in the first three years of his tenure, knows a thing or two.
So when he says that Iowa had its strongest pitching unit in the past few years, it’s wise to listen up.“We’ve had really good pitching the last three years, and I guess we feel like this staff might be the deepest, from top to bottom,” Heller said. “Starting pitching should be solid. The back end, the bullpen, with the guys we have returning should be good. This year, the depth in the middle is probably what makes it a little deeper than the other three years.”
Junior Nick Gallagher, a Big Ten All-Tournament Team selection, will be Iowa’s Friday night pitcher this season.
His coach said Gallagher earned that spot because of his work ethic and makeup, not just by his numbers.
Last season, he started four of the 14 games he appeared in, recording 8 wins (a team high), compiling a 2.57 ERA, and limiting batters to a .211 batting average.
“I figured out in the last couple years how to pitch a lot better than just throwing and trying to blow guys away,” Gallagher said. “[I’m] trying to hit my spots a lot more and keep people off balance.”
Those 8 wins ranked second in the Big Ten and sixth all-time in the Hawkeye program.
Last season’s Friday night starter, C.J. Eldred, will take over the Saturday duties, and he’s confident that even with the change, he and Gallagher will form a duo to be reckoned with.
“I think we have a chance to be one of the best one-two punches in the country,” he said. “I’m really excited to see what we can do.”
Eldred had success in the Big Ten Tournament last season, in which Iowa made a deep run.
The redshirt junior allowed just 2 runs (6 hits) over 7 innings against Minnesota, then pitched a scoreless 2.1 innings in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State.
“His makeup is off the charts, his toughness is there, he’s a guy you definitely want to give the ball to,” Heller said.
Eldred noted that just because he and Gallagher bring the heat on Friday and Saturday, the damage doesn’t stop there.
“We’ve got a lot of options for Sunday,” he said.
Senior Josh Martsching’s leadership could easily elevate him to the Sunday starter.
Heller noted that he was concerned with the fact that Iowa had 22 new players on the roster, but the culture of the team is very strong — thanks in part to Martsching, among others.
“[They] really did a nice job, Day 1, back in August of setting the tone with this team and not letting that culture go backwards,” Heller said.
Martsching made a statement against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament in 2016; he recorded the final three outs in the comeback victory.
Iowa’s pitching depth even goes down to the sophomore class. The second-year Hawkeyes could easily sneak up and grab a starting position.
Cole McDonald, Iowa’s midweek starter, went 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA last season. In 24.1 innings, he struck out 29 batters.
Zach Daniels showed promise in his freshman season last year, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 14. He also had a team-high 5 saves in 16 games, which ranks ninth in the conference. Daniels also allowed no runs in 14 appearances.
“I think you’ll see a couple guys get a shot in [Sunday’s] spot and just trying to figure out which one is better starting and which ones are better coming out of the pen,” Heller said. “I think all of them are quality pitchers.”