By Pete Ruden
After doing what it needed to do by sweeping Penn State this past weekend, the Iowa baseball team will try to carry that momentum into its midweek game against Western Illinois.
Prior to the series against the Nittany Lions, the Hawkeyes sat in seventh place in the conference, but after the three wins, they have shot up and are now tied for third in the Big Ten.
“Coach Heller said [on April 29], ‘Maybe we should start getting hot for a change and try to mix things up in the Big Ten,’ ” third baseman Matt Hoeg said. “We’ve had slumps here and there, but maybe we get hot and try to make a run at things, and see what can happen.”
The Hawkeyes have already battled the Leathernecks once this season. On April 11, Western Illinois came to Banks Field and suffered a 4-1 loss.
Hoeg and designated hitter Austin Guzzo were spectacular that night; the pair drove in all of the runs. Guzzo went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs, and Hoeg went 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs as well.
This time will be different, however. Instead of Western Illinois making the trip to Iowa City, the Hawkeyes will take a bus to Macomb, Illinois, to try to pick up their fifth-straight victory.
Unfortunately for Iowa, it will likely be without left fielder Chris Whelan. Whelan, who leads the team with a .431 on-base percentage, injured his arm while making a diving catch against Rutgers on April 23.
Sophomore Cole McDonald is slated to get his first midweek start of the season on the mound after only starting in weekend games. McDonald’s last outing didn’t go as he had planned, though, as the New Hampton, Iowa, native gave up 4 runs on 2 hits in two innings of work against Rutgers on April 23.
Luckily for the Hawkeyes, the pitching staff appeared to turn the corner during the Penn State series. Nick Gallagher and Ryan Erickson delivered stellar performances in an April 28 double-header, which led to another solid performance the next day.
During the weekend, Iowa starting pitchers gave up just 2 earned runs.
Even with the staff being a little thin at this point in the season, the bullpen combined with the starters to grind out a solid weekend. In the April 28 double-header, the teams braved the cold and rain to play two games that didn’t wrap up until around 1:20 a.m.
After picking up the three wins and the sweep, Erickson thinks that says a lot about his team.
“Toughness from our team,” he said. “Obviously, it wasn’t the most ideal conditions for either team, but we really stepped up … Toughness; that’s one word that sums it up.”
Pitching will play a big role today, because Western Illinois is a team that can really hit the ball. Just like Iowa, the Leathernecks have four players batting over the .300 mark.
Senior Adam McGinnis leads his squad with an exceptional .362 average. Drue Galassi also has the potential to change the game, leading Western Illinois with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs.
But for now, Iowa hopes it can do what it did last month and contain them. After a big conference sweep, the last thing the Hawkeyes want is to lose a midweek game to a team they’re capable of beating.
“Hopefully, we can get hot here and make a decent run down the stretch,” head coach Rick Heller said.