By Pete Ruden
Like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or Tom Brady, the Iowa baseball team has been clutch this past week.It started in Manhattan, Kansas, on March 19, when Iowa scored a run in the 10th inning to pick up a win that kept the Hawkeyes from being swept by Kansas State.
It continued this past weekend, when Iowa scored 9 runs in the eighth inning on March 25 and Sunday to avenge a March 24 loss and come out of the series against Purdue as victors.
“I learned that this team is really resilient,” center fielder Ben Norman said. “No matter what situation we’re in, we know we always got a plan, and we need to stick to our plan.”
In the series against Purdue, there were numerous players who stepped up. On March 25, four Hawkeyes knocked in runs, while three Hawkeyes did so on Sunday.
Just like Norman, head coach Rick Heller credits his squad for sticking with the plan in the close games.
“Offensively, I liked our at-bats,” Heller said. “The way the guys were seeing the ball, it was a lot like [March 25] in that if we just stuck with the plan, we’d finally break through … We got some guys who really stepped up with some clutch hits.”
As well as the hitters performed in the late innings for Iowa, the pitching was tremendous at a much-needed point in the game. In both games, the Hawkeye pitching staff was able to keep Purdue from crossing the plate in the final four innings.
The offense that was generated at the plate in the eighth inning in both games helped pitcher Shane Ritter shut the door on any potential Boilermaker comeback in the final frame.
Although Purdue did load the bases in its last chance on March 25, the insurance runs helped the sophomore keep his composure and close out the game without giving anything up.
With a bullpen by committee, the unit stepped up to ensure wins for Iowa.
“It’s huge,” left fielder Robert Neustrom said after the win on Sunday. “Two-two game most of the way, and props to them for keeping it that way. [They] didn’t let up another run, and that was huge. Props to the bullpen.”
Iowa taking the lead in the final two innings in three of the last five games gives the squad a new sense of confidence.
Bouncing back after a loss in which Purdue took the lead in the eighth inning, Iowa showed the fans and the rest of the conference what it is capable of.
Heller and Company have said before that they think the sky is the limit for this team, and they have set some goals that demonstrate that, but picking up these wins in crunch time against a very solid Purdue team shows what they can do when they need to.
“I think it shows us what we thought coming into the season, that we have a chance to have a really good team if we keep improving every day,” Heller said. “That’s the one thing with this team I will tell you is that from Game 1 until now, I really feel like we’re still making headway up the hill to where we want to go.”