Iowa baseball’s pitching problem is not a new one.
With Cole McDonald leaving his start against No. 7 Michigan early on Sunday, the Hawkeyes need of someone to step up from a bullpen role into the weekend rotation.
That’s exactly what Ryan Erickson did last season. When Saturday starter C.J. Eldred needed Tommy John surgery early last season, Erickson came in, got batters out, and played a key role in Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament title run.
After being a reliever for his whole Hawkeye career, Erickson went 4-3 with a 3.00 ERA on his way to becoming a Big Ten All-Tournament team selection and eventual 30th-round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox.
Now, it’s someone else’s turn.
“Good chance [McDonald] will be out for the year, and that’s a big blow for us,” Iowa head coach Rick Heller said. “We’re going to have to figure that situation out and a lot of the guys that haven’t been throwing on the weekend are going to have to step up and give us quality innings.”
Iowa could go many different routes in replacing McDonald, although his production will not be easy to replicate.
His potential impact became obvious when he tossed a nine-inning no-hitter against the Czech Republic in the World University Games, where Iowa took the silver medal while representing the United States.
In nine starts this year, McDonald has an ERA of 3.61 to go along with 41 strikeouts in 47.1 innings of work.
He led Iowa in its Sunday matchup with Minnesota, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits in 7 strong innings on the mound. The win helped the Hawkeyes salvage the series against the Gophers, after they lost the first two games.
However, Iowa has a lot of arms in its bullpen to try to help soften the blow.
The Hawkeyes have had a fantastic 1-2 punch on Fridays with Zach Daniels coming in relief for Nick Allgeyer, which allows Daniels to throw again on Sunday.
Now, Iowa can use Daniels in his current relief role, where he boasts a 1.78 ERA in 35.1 innings, while starting Grant Judkins — who was the main midweek starter in 2017.
Or Daniels could be the man taking the bump to start games on Sundays, taking on an Erickson-like role. If that were to happen, Iowa could use its bullpen by committee to close games.
Against Missouri on Tuesday, however, the pitching staff didn’t show its potential.
Trenton Wallace had a solid start, giving up 3 hits in 3 scoreless innings, while striking out 3. In the next six innings, though, the staff gave up 21 hits and 17 runs.
While those numbers may not be an accurate representation of the bullpen’s ability, it isn’t the showing Iowa wants when it needs someone to step up.
“It was a lot of stuff left over the middle of the plate,” catcher Tyler Cropley said about what he saw from behind the plate. “Just balls getting hit, just putting good swings on it.”
The Hawkeyes have shown fight all season, scoring runs while facing big deficits and bouncing back from adversity. Now, with McDonald out, Iowa needs more of that resiliency.