By Adam Hensley
Iowa won with a walk-off single, but with a tie game heading to the eighth inning, 1 run for Milwaukee could have proved to be a game-winner.
Thanks to Drake Robison’s clutch performance in back-to-back innings, the Hawkeyes held the Panthers scoreless in the game’s closing sequences.
“I was just concentrating on hitting my spots,” he said. “I knew Milwaukee’s hitters had done a good job on barreling up balls. I knew that with the pitch calling, if I did what they wanted we were going to have a good outcome.”
Robison struck out his first batter after taking over for Zach Daniels. Milwaukee’s Ben Chally grounded out to third base, but Mike Jordahl reached first on an error the next at-bat.
A passed ball sent Mike Ferri, who pinch ran for Jordahl, to third base, putting Milwaukee in prime scoring position.
Robison pitched three-consecutive strikes to retire the Panther’s last batter of the inning while also erasing their best chance at adding a run late in the game.
“Drake was really good late,” head coach Rick Heller said. “I think it might have been as good as he’s been all season long. He had good life on his fast ball, he had good command on all his pitches.”
Milwaukee had one more chance to take the lead, however.
After the Hawkeyes failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, Robison needed his A-game to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.
With Hawkeye fans on the edge of their seats, the senior delivered.
Milwaukee’s Ian Ross struck out looking and Robison followed up with his second strikeout, a swing on a 2-2 count.
Robison needed just three pitches to end the final batter’s bid for a score. Billy Quirke grounded out, giving Iowa a chance to win without extra innings.
“It was exactly what we needed in the situation we were in,” Heller said.
No Norman, Whelan, no problem
Ben Norman and Chris Whelan did not play in Iowa’s win against Milwaukee.
Whelan, Iowa’s lead-off man, suffered an injury in the Hawkeyes’ 13-5 loss against Rutgers on April 23.
“That’s a big blow to us,” Heller said. “He’s been one of our best players all season, and the last 10 games he’s been our best offensive player.”
The Naperville, Illinois, native leads Iowa in on-base percentage, at .439. He also holds the 14th-best batting average in the conference (.326, good for fourth on Iowa’s roster) and ties for third for the Hawkeyes in home runs (4) and ranks fourth in hits (44).
Heller said he’s “keeping his fingers crossed” that Whelan will play against Penn State this weekend, starting on Friday.
Unlike Whelan, Norman was a healthy scratch.
“Ben has been scuffling a bit offensively,” Heller said. “We thought we’d give him the night off and let him clear his head.”
Justin Jenkins, who filled in for Norman, finished 1-for-3 at the plate, giving Iowa a boost toward the bottom of its lineup.
Rallying from an early deficit
In Iowa’s 8-run loss to Rutgers, the Hawkeyes gave up 8 runs through the game’s first three innings. The Scarlet Knights added 2 more before the Hawkeyes answered.
Milwaukee’s homer in the first put Iowa in an early hole, but the Black and Gold recovered, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the first and another in the third, answering the Panther’s score in the second.
“We struggled a little bit — I mean, we’ve struggled in the last couple games — [but] we started off pretty good,” Jake Adams said.
His home run (his 15th on the season) gave Iowa a 3-2 advantage in the third.