By Adam Hensley
Iowa baseball (23-15) enters today’s game having lost four out of its last five games. A midweek nonconference battle against Milwaukee (13-24) gives the Hawkeyes an opportunity to rewrite their script.Today’s matchup at Banks Field begins at 6:05 p.m. and can be streamed on BTN Plus. Tickets are $2 (for both youth and adults).
After two wins against Nebraska, things haven’t been the same recently. The Hawkeyes dropped the third game against the Huskers, beat a sub-.500 Rutgers team on April 21, then dropped two-straight games to the Scarlet Knights.
Their last loss, a 13-5 defeat, was a painful contest all around.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing just because we knew we could have came in here, taken at least two of three — we obviously wanted all three — but we just didn’t get it done,” pitcher Cole McDonald said after the series against Rutgers.
Heller called upon McDonald to start on Sunday, but he only lasted two innings before heading to the bench. The sophomore allowed 4 runs on 2 hits, while walking 4 and striking out only 2.
The top half of the bullpen couldn’t gain any ground either.
Drake Robison and Nick Nelsen came in after McDonald’s exit, but each lasted one inning. They combined to give up 9 runs on 8 hits with only 1 strikeout.
“We walked [Jawuan] Harris three times, the one guy [who’s] the stolen-base leader in the conference – just crazy stuff like that,” Iowa head coach Rick Heller said. “It [was] just a bad day.”
Sammy Lizarraga and Shane Ritter pitched the final five innings. Both looked much better than the previous three on the mound, pitching five scoreless innings with 6 hits, but Rutgers’ damage was already complete.
The Hawkeyes will rely on Elijah Wood’s arm to begin the game against the Panthers today. This game will be Wood’s second start of the season.
Iowa’s five-game stretch hasn’t been all bad, though.
Waukee native Matt Hoeg put together his best series as a Hawkeye against Rutgers, finishing 4-for-12 with 6 RBIs and 2 home runs.
Even in Iowa’s 13-5 loss, he connected on 2 hits (one a home run) and drove in 2.
“Every time you get a good series win, it’s easy to relax,” Hoeg said. “We just need to be better, we need to find a way to get things done.”
Despite its losing record, Milwaukee has played competitive baseball this season. The Panthers are 1-3 against Big Ten teams this season; their one victory came against Illinois on Feb. 18. They lost to Minnesota and Northwestern by a combined 3 runs.
Milwaukee has played the majority of its games on the road this season (29 of 37), recording seven of their 13 wins in opposing ballparks.
Up until the series against Rutgers, Iowa had only lost one game at Banks Field in 2017. Despite a 12-3 home record, the Hawkeyes know they can’t take a midweek game lightly — they lost 6-4 to Bradley on April 19.
For a Hawkeye victory, they need contributions from everyone, especially if they want to avoid another outcome similar to their 8-run letdown on Sunday.
“The thing I took from [Rutgers] was we need to be tougher as a team,” Hoeg said. “They scored a bunch early, but [our] hitters could have been better. The hitter could have found more ways to get on base, more ways to score runs. Pitchers aren’t always going to have their stuff.”