On a frigid Saturday afternoon in Iowa City, the Hawkeye baseball team’s hitters were almost as cold as the coat-wearing fans in the stands at Duane Banks Field.

Iowa’s bats managed just five hits in a 10-1 loss to Central Michigan. The Hawkeyes didn’t have a runner pass first base until the fifth inning.

In the fifth frame, Iowa freshman Sam Petersen and senior Brett McCleary drew back-to-back walks. Then, sophomore Brayden Frazier reached first base on a fielder’s choice that took McCleary off the base paths at second. With Petersen at third, sophomore Michael Seegers singled to left field, enabling the lone Hawkeye score of the day.

Central Michigan starting pitcher sophomore Andrew Taylor tossed three innings of no-hit ball, striking out seven of the nine batters he retired.

“There’s a reason he was an All-American [last year],” Iowa head coach Rick Heller said of Taylor. “It’s not easy to be an All-American, and he looked really good today. I thought we battled in some at-bats, but we got punched out. I mean, we struck out seven of the first nine times and then offensively, you know, that set the tone for us. Once we fell behind, it just seemed like it was over today.”

In the final four innings, the Hawkeyes left five runners on base, two of which were in scoring position. 

“We got to have guys step up when we’re losing like this,” Petersen said postgame. “Nobody stepped up, and that includes me. We got to take responsibility for that, didn’t play well enough. Losing a game like this, it’s pretty embarrassing. So, tomorrow we want to respond. What matters is if you step up when stuff goes wrong like this, and we didn’t do that today.”

Hawkeye hurlers struggle to find the zone

Iowa starter Dylan Nedved opened his outing with two scoreless innings. Then, the right-hander got into trouble during the third inning, surrendering four runs.

Nedved proceeded to give up three more runs in the fourth.

“Dylan, most of the time, always gives us a chance,” Heller said. “He hasn’t had very many bad outings since he’s been here. Unfortunately, today was one. I don’t know if it was the wind or what it was, but he just couldn’t hit the corners. He was just missing. I didn’t think he was missing bad. But when he came over the middle of the plate, they hit him today. Most teams don’t hit him. He just happened to have a bad day.”

After Nedved exited the game, Iowa’s hurlers gave up eight more walks. Heller called his bullpen’s performance “disappointing” and “embarrassing.”

By the time Saturday’s game ended, the Chippewas had amassed 22 base runners.

Big picture

Iowa is currently 11-9 this season. The now-10-9 Chippewas ended a three-game Hawkeye winning streak on Saturday.

Up next

The Hawkeyes and Chippewas will face off one more time on Sunday. First pitch at Duane Banks Field is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Action between Iowa and Central Michigan can be streamed on BTN+.