By Pete Ruden | [email protected]
Iowa baseball will try to right its ways after a disappointing series against Northwestern this past weekend when it takes on Western Illinois in a midweek game at Banks Field at 6:05 p.m. today.
The Leathernecks enter the game with a 9-20 record, so it’ll be a nice opportunity for Iowa to bounce back after being unable to salvage the series against the Wildcats.
The Hawkeyes have been stellar in midweek games, compiling a 5-0 record. Even though all of the games have been victories, there have been close ones.
The last two Tuesday games against Grand View and South Dakota State were each decided by 1 run, making it too close for comfort for Iowa fans.
Because of closely contested games, the Hawkeyes have reaped the benefits by figuring out what it needs to do to improve and staying sharp for weekend series.
“We’ve played some tight ones midweek,” right fielder Robert Neustrom said after the win over South Dakota State. “Sometimes, we don’t do what we want to do with teams, but I think they always end up kind of helping us out, making us realize what we need to fix before the weekend.”
While freshman Grant Judkins has started on the mound for most of the midweek games, senior Drake Robison got the call against the Jackrabbits.
Robison had a difficult outing, giving up a run in 2 innings, although he did that without giving up a hit. The Machesney Park, Illinois, native walked three and hit another with a pitch, however, leading to the run.
Judkins has had an up-and-down season on the mound. But with a spot in the lineup as a designated hitter on most days, he has found ways to contribute other than pitching.
This week, Iowa will change it up; junior Elijah Wood will make his first career start when the Leathernecks come into town. He has a 2.84 ERA, allowing 4 earned runs on 15 hits in 12.2 innings.
Iowa lost its eight-game winning streak on April 8 against Northwestern, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Pitcher Kyle Shimp said the squad is going to play the way it has all season.
“Whether you are riding a 19-game winning streak or losing 19 straight, you have to come in with the same mindset and prepare the same for each game,” he said.
Head coach Rick Heller has tried to instill that in his team. He has coached the Hawkeyes to play to the end of the game, as evidenced by two-consecutive comeback wins over UNLV on April 1.
Fewer than two weeks later, the Hawkeyes are trying to get back to their winning ways. They didn’t quit before, so it doesn’t make sense that they would quit now.
“That’s kind of our motto, we don’t really worry about it. We just play hard and look at the scoreboard at the end of the game,” Heller said. “Hopefully, we come out on top if we played well enough. Try to take care of our own business.”