The Iowa baseball team used a four-run seventh inning to get past St. Thomas, 6-5, Monday evening at Duane Banks Field. 

The Hawkeyes narrowly avoided a loss one day after defeating No. 12 Texas Tech on Sunday. The victory moves Iowa to 10-8 on the season.

“[This win] really was big,” head coach Rick Heller said. “That’s what we talked about after the game yesterday was that, ‘Let’s try to string some of these together where we play really solid baseball and make the opponent beat us. Just take care of our own business and play as clean as we can and try to do things right.’ It wasn’t perfect tonight, but it was a step in the right direction to find a way to get it done.”

Iowa was down, 4-2, in the seventh inning. But the Hawkeyes took advantage of some mistakes from the Tommies in the bottom of the seventh.

Two walks, one error, two fielder’s-choice sacrifices, one wild pitch, and two singles added up to a four-run frame for the Hawkeyes. 

“That was the inning, I think, they did give us a few freebies,” Heller said. “We were able to really take advantage of it.”

The biggest hit of the inning came from sophomore first baseman Sam Hojnar. His two-out, full-count single to right field plated two runs.

“At that point, I was just looking for a fastball middle-away, and then got to two strikes, so I was trying to cut out the inner half,” Hojnar said. “He made a really good pitcher’s pitch there, kind of came in with a fastball and I was able to get just enough of it to squeeze it into the outfield.”

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Hojnar also said the Hawkeyes’ ability to come from behind late in the contest shows conviction.

“I think that’s big for our confidence,” Hojnar said of the four-run frame. “Just to know that no matter how the game has been going or what’s been going on, we can still find a way to scrape some runs together.”

Heller said he knew that St. Thomas could pose a trap for the Hawkeyes.

Although the Tommies came into Monday’s game with a 3-11 record, the Hawkeyes were playing their third straight contest.

“Midweek games are never easy,” Heller said. “They’re tough. Especially after a big win like [Sunday] where everybody’s emotions are high and then you’re playing a team that hasn’t played in a week and they’re all fired up to play. 

“It was a trap game for sure,” Heller added. “[St. Thomas] came in and did exactly what I knew they would. They’re well coached, they have a winning tradition, and they gave us everything we wanted.”

Big picture

Monday’s victory moved the Hawkeyes to 10-8 on the year. Iowa has five nonconference games left on its schedule.

The Hawkeyes will open Big Ten play against the Michigan Wolverines on April 1 at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Up next

Iowa will welcome the Grand View Vikings to Duane Banks Field on Wednesday. There is potential for the game to be rained out, as the National Weather Service currently forecasts a 60 percent chance of rain on Wednesday.