By Pete Ruden
It was a record-breaking weekend for one Hawkeye in Iowa’s (34-19) series win against Illinois (23-28) in Champaign.
Jake Adams etched his name into the Hawkeye record books when he crushed his school-mark 23rd home run of the season. He adding No. 24 for good measure.
“After I hit that, I knew I made history,” Adams said in a release. “Coach [Rick] Heller congratulated me as I came through, and my teammates all gave me hugs. It was a cool experience to be a part of.”
The homer broke John Knapp’s record of 22 set in 1986. In fact, the most recent player to come close to the record was Brad Carlson in 2002, when he hit 16 home runs, further showcasing the power Adams has displayed all season.
But before Adams separated himself from everyone in Iowa baseball history and tied the NCAA lead for homers, the Hawkeyes had some games to win.
Winning two out of three, Iowa took its first contest against Illinois in a game that was too close for comfort. Luckily for Iowa, Justin Jenkins was there to save the day.
In a 6-5 game with two outs in the ninth on May 18, the Illini had the tying run on third when Mark Skonieczny came to the plate, seeking to turn the tables on the Hawkeyes.
He connected on a pitch to right center, but Jenkins, who entered the game in the ninth, robbed him of the hit – and the tying RBI – with an incredible diving catch worthy of “SportsCenter” highlight reels.
“It was an amazing catch,” head coach Rick Heller said in a release. “He’s a great defender in center field. To walk off the bench and make that play, it was pretty amazing and definitely a game-saver for us.”
Even after making such a clutch play, Jenkins wasn’t the only star of the game; Adams tied the school record for homers, connecting on his 22nd of the season.
It was a game full of dingers; the teams combined for 8 home runs in the first six innings.
After Robert Neustrom went yard for the first of the day in the second inning, Illinois countered by launching back-to-back shots in bottom of the second.
But Iowa went one better, as Mason McCoy, Adams, and Neustrom went back-to-back-to-back to give the squad a 4-3 lead.
After picking up the victory, things went downhill for the Hawkeyes in the first game of the May 19 double-header.
Iowa led 7-2 in the sixth inning, putting itself in position for a sweep, but the Illini battled back to down the Hawkeyes, 12-8.
Illinois scored 8 runs in a big seventh inning to boost and eventually won the game.
Blowing a lead like that will usually leave a mark, but Iowa bounced back in the third game to pick up an 8-3 victory as well as the series.
That was when Adams made his mark on the Hawkeyes. The Brandon, South Dakota, native finished the game 3-for-6 with 2 home runs, 4 RBIs, and 2 runs scored.
Accounting for 6 of Iowa’s 8 runs scored and breaking a long-standing record, Adams had a game that will be remembered for a long time.
“Jake was amazing,” Heller said in a release. “The wind was howling in from left field, it was cold, and Jake hits two bombs into the teeth of the wind. I am happy for him breaking the record. He’s on a tear, and he drove in a bunch of runs for us.”
Next up for Iowa: the Big Ten Tournament, starting on May 24 in Bloomington, Indiana.