The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Hawkeyes down Ohio State in series finale

Iowas+Matt+Hoeg+turns+a+double+play+during+todays+game+against+Rutgers+at+Duane+Banks+Field+on+Sunday%2C+April+23.+The+Scarlet+Knights+went+on+to+defeat+the+Hawkeyes+13-5.+%28The+Daily+Iowan%2FBen+Smith%29
The Daily Iowan; Photos by Ben S
Iowa’s Matt Hoeg turns a double play during today’s game against Rutgers at Duane Banks Field on Sunday, April 23. The Scarlet Knights went on to defeat the Hawkeyes 13-5. (The Daily Iowan/Ben Smith)

By Pete Ruden

[email protected]

 

The Iowa baseball team had a pretty good ending to its weekend against Ohio State.

After winning on May 12 and dropping a game on May 13, the Hawkeyes battled back from being down 7 in the seventh inning to win on Robert Neustrom’s 2-run walk-off home run in a 12-11 victory to cap off the Mother’s Day battle and take the series from the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes jumped out to a 9-2 lead that lasted through six innings, but Iowa came back to life in the seventh inning on a 3-run homer from Jake Adams. The shot was Adams’ 19th of the season, moving him closer to the school record of 22.

After a Ben Norman RBI single, Iowa cut the lead to 9-6. Then, Corbin Woods came to the plate and blasted a huge 3-run shot to tie the game at 9.

Ohio State took the lead on a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, and things started to look a little worse for the Hawkeyes.

Adams then added another hit onto his stat line with a single in the bottom of the ninth to bring the winning run to the plate.

Neustrom stepped up, and the rest was history, as the sophomore right fielder crushed a 446-foot bomb to center field to give Iowa its third walk-off win of the year.

“I was telling myself all day, I have been struggling at the plate that I wanted to [do] something special when I got up that last at-bat,” Neustrom said in a release. “I saw the first pitch and thought I was going to hack at it.”

With the victory, the Hawkeyes clinched their school record fourth-straight Big Ten tournament berth.

While the win on Sunday ended the weekend on a high note, its series-opening win on May 12 gave the team a satisfactory start.

Iowa used 15 hits to knock in 9 runs on its way to a 9-5 triumph.

Nick Gallagher continued his sensational Big Ten season, giving up 2 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings. The right-hander from Iowa City also struck out 9.

“It was one of those games where you knew it would be tough,” Gallagher said in a release. “They always battle; I had to continue to battle and the offense would pick me up.”

Gallagher moved his conference record to 4-0, while his ERA in Big Ten play is an outstanding 1.87.

Iowa led 9-2 heading into the ninth, but the Buckeyes scored 3 in the final frame to make the game a little closer. In the end, though, the result was never in question.

“We ended up making this game closer than it should have been, but we strung good at-bats up and down the lineup,” head coach Rick Heller said in a release after the win. “It was a good way to start the weekend; I was happy with the way we came out and played.”

Ohio State took the second game of the series, using 19 hits to overpower the Hawkeyes.

The Buckeyes led 8-1 after the top of the fifth, but Iowa stormed back to make it 8-7 through seven.

Ohio State ultimately took the game, 12-7, but Iowa took the series and improved its record to 31-18, 13-8 in the conference.

The Hawkeyes will take the field for their final home game on May 16, when they battle Nebraska-Omaha.

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