No. 12 Texas Tech baseball takes advantage of Iowa walks, errors
The Hawkeyes walked eight batters and committed two errors in their 11-3 loss on Saturday.
Iowa pitcher Benjamin Detaeye throws a pitch during a baseball game at Duane Banks Field on March 2, 2022.The Hawkeyes defeated the Rams, 8-0. Detaeye had three strikeouts in one inning against the Cornell Rams.
March 19, 2022
“Wreck ‘em” is a phrase in Texas Tech’s fight song, and that’s what the No. 12 Red Raiders did against the Hawkeye baseball team at Duane Banks Field on Saturday.
Texas Tech crushed Iowa, 11-3, taking advantage of eight walks and two errors.
“We just didn’t play very well,” Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller said. “I mean, there’s nothing really else to say. We just made it really easy for them. We didn’t make them earn it.”
Red Raider leadoff hitter Easton Murrell sent a homerun to right field to start the contest for Texas Tech. More damage occurred in the third inning when a throw to home base by Hawkeye third baseman Brendan Sher went off target, allowing two runs to score.
Hawkeye starting pitcher Adam Mazur threw a wild pitch in the fourth inning, leading to another run. Then, Red Raider catcher Cole Stilwell smashed a two-RBI home run to left field.
Mazur, Iowa’s ace, took his first loss of the season after allowing four earned runs in four innings. Connor Schultz filled in for Mazur for three frames and surrendered one earned run. After walking the first batter of the eighth inning, Benjamin DeTaeye replaced Schultz. In 2/3 innings, he allowed three earned runs.
Jared Simpson pitched the last four outs for the Hawkeyes and didn’t allow a runner to cross home plate. The Hawkeye pitching staff recorded eight earned runs despite securing 15 strikeouts.
“You got to be able to throw strikes the majority of the time,” Heller said. “Right now, we struggle doing it. We strike out a lot of guys, but we got a wild pitch, run scores. Just everything that we do anymore leads to runs and some of that is just how baseball works when it’s not going good.”
The Hawkeyes did not get on the board until the fourth inning. Iowa designated hitter Ty Snep hit an RBI single. Iowa registered another run in the fifth when first baseman Peyton Williams got an RBI on a fielder’s choice. Pinch hitter DJ Heck batted in the Hawkeyes’ final run of the game in the eighth inning.
Big picture
The Hawkeyes broke their two-game winning streak and dropped to 8-8 on the 2022 season. Iowa has seven nonconference games remaining before its Big Ten opener at Michigan on April 1.
Up next
The Hawkeyes return to Duane Banks Field on Sunday to finish their two-game series against the 17-3 Red Raiders.
First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. Iowa is 0-3 all-time against Texas Tech.