By Adam Hensley
After three Big Ten games, Iowa receives a break from conference play.
The Hawkeyes (13-9) will host Grand View (10-8) in a mid-week nonconference battle at 4:05 p.m. today.
Both teams enter today’s game on two-game winning streaks. Iowa’s victories came via hot hitting in clutch situations against a Purdue team that had won seven-straight games before dropping the last two meetings.
“It was a battle every inning of this series,” Iowa’s head coach Rick Heller said. “To come out on top and get the series was obviously big for us.”
On March 25 and Sunday, Iowa churned out 5-1 and 7-2 victories, respectively. As the saying goes, if it rains, it pours.
Iowa’s first win against Purdue featured a rain delay (similar to the Hawkeyes’ March 24 loss to the Boilermakers). Once the rain cleared, the runs came in a downpour.
The Hawkeyes unloaded four runs in the eighth inning in the first win and five in the second — both sequences burst a tight-scoring bubble late in the game, creating a hole that Purdue couldn’t escape.
“I think it really gives us momentum,” outfielder Ben Norman said. “[March 24], we didn’t play as well as we should have. These past two [games] show what we can really be.”
Ideally, the goal is for the hitting to be consistent throughout the game, not just in crunch time.
If that’s the case against Grand View, Hawkeye fans won’t be on the edge of their seats in anxiety for most of the game.
“Baseball is a game of consistency,” Heller said. “We just need to start stringing more consistent at-bats together. We can’t have days where it’s all or nothing, and we’ve had a few of those. That’s going to be the big push this week, [consistency] up and down the lineup so we don’t have to rely on two or three guys in the middle. We need to get something out of the guys on the bottom.”
Grand View’s batting led the way in both of its wins this past weekend; specifically, Michael Foggia’s play goes hand-in-hand with the Vikings’ recent success. The senior went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the first win against Missouri Valley, then hit a home run in their second win against the same team.
The Vikings were scheduled to face Graceland University on Sunday, but the game was postponed, giving the team added time and preparation for the Hawkeyes, who have only had one day of rest in between contests.
But the Hawkeyes are resilient and confident — both the players and coaches can agree on that.
“[I learned] that we can fight,” outfielder Robert Neustrom said. “We’re not going to give up, and we’re ready to play.”
Iowa will get a slight break in the action before UNLV takes on the Hawkeyes at Banks Field for a weekend series, starting at 4:05 p.m. Friday.
Those ages 5 and under will receive free admission to today’s game. Youth (ages 6-18) admission is $6, while adults (19-plus) cost $7.