Iowa’s left fielder Sam Petersen hits the ball during the first baseball game of a doubleheader between Iowa and Illinois at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Petersen batted four times. The Hawkeyes defeated the Fighting Illini, 4-2.
Point/Counterpoint | Who is Iowa baseball’s most valuable freshman?
Two Daily Iowan staffers debate whether Sam Petersen or Keaton Anthony is Iowa baseball’s best freshman in 2022.
April 10, 2022
Sam Petersen
Sam Petersen is the best freshman on the Iowa baseball team this spring, so far. His timely hitting and perfect defense have made him the most valuable first-year Hawkeye on the diamond.
At the plate, Petersen started the season off slow. Through his first 14 games in the Black and Gold, the freshman from Huxley, Iowa, batted just .222 with six hits in his first 27 official at-bats. During that stretch, Petersen hit one home run and tallied four RBIs.
In his last seven games as of April 8, however, Petersen has heated up. In an identical 27 at-bats over that span, Petersen has batted .407, collecting 11 hits, eight RBIs, and two home runs.
Against Central Michigan from March 25-27, Petersen drove in the winning runs in both Hawkeye victories.
First, in the series-opener, he bashed a three-run homer in the second inning that proved to be the difference. In the finale, with two outs, two runners on base, and down 0-2 in the count, he poked a single into center field to drive both runners home and give Iowa another win.
In the Hawkeyes’ first Big Ten series of the season against Michigan the next weekend, Petersen added six hits in 13 at-bats. In Iowa’s most recent game against Bradley, Petersen went 2-for-5 at the plate. He is riding a five-game hitting streak and had two or more hits in four of those contests. The freshman has hit safely in seven of the last eight games.
Defensively, although Petersen is listed as an infielder on the Hawkeyes’ roster, most of his time this season has come roaming the outfield. Even so, Petersen has yet to make an error this season and has made multiple diving plays to save hits and runs for his team.
So, Petersen is my pick for the Hawkeyes’ most valuable freshman.
Keaton Anthony
Technically, Iowa baseball outfielder Keaton Anthony isn’t a true freshman. He joined the Hawkeyes ahead of the 2021 season. But he only made one appearance in 2021 as a pinch hitter because of a preseason hamstring injury.
In 2022, Anthony has fully recovered from his injury to become the Hawkeyes’ most valuable (redshirt) freshman.
Anthony has been strong for the Hawkeyes all season, leading Iowa with a .348 batting average over 25 games as of April 8. He also tops the Hawkeye leaderboard and is second in the Big Ten with 12 doubles.
He has started all of the Hawkeyes’ 25 games and hit safely in 19.
The outfielder out of Hoschton, Georgia, has earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor a conference-leading three times this season.
Most recently, he won the conference freshman of the week award on April 5 for his performance against Michigan.
The Hawkeyes took two of three games over the Wolverines in their opening Big Ten series April 1-3 behind Anthony’s .462 batting average. He hit 6-of-13 in the three-game series and contributed a three-run home run in the final game of the series.
Anthony also hit .500 against UC-Irvine with five runs and four RBIs March 11-13.
Like Petersen, Anthony has a perfect fielding percentage in the Hawkeye outfield. Anthony has 22 putouts and one assist in 2022.
Both Petersen and Anthony are assets to the Hawkeye outfield and batter’s box. But Anthony is en route to be the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year, making him the most valuable freshman for the Hawkeye baseball team.