The Iowa baseball team won two of three contests in the Karbach Round Rock Classic in Round Rock, Texas.

After losing Friday night’s contest to Sam Houston State, the Hawkeyes pulled off back-to-back wins over No. 1 LSU and Kansas State on Saturday and Sunday.

Sam Houston State

The Hawkeyes fell to the Bearcats in the series opener, 6-0.

Ty Langenberg went 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs and fanning six batters. The Hawkeye offense was limited all night, as Iowa only put three balls in play and struck out 12 times.

Sam Houston right-hander Coltin Atkinson got the win for the Bearcats after only allowing two hits over seven innings of work.

“He was really impressive,” head coach Rick Heller said in a release. “He just pounded the zone. Pretty much had command of whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. The disappointing part for us was that he did a lot with fastballs, we weren’t getting our A swings off.”

The last time the Hawkeyes were shut out was on May 2, 2022, against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.

No. 1 LSU

Iowa baseball bounced back from Friday night’s loss with a 12-4 win against No. 1 LSU. Iowa put up a season-high 12 runs on 16 hits, and eight different Hawkeyes recorded a hit.

Sophomore Keaton Anthony set the tone for the Hawkeyes with a solo home run in the top of the first inning with two outs. The Hawkeyes used that momentum to bring in two more runs in the inning after an RBI single by sophomore Sam Petersen and a wild pitch that allowed sophomore Kyle Huckstorf to find home plate.

“I think it was our coming out party,” graduate student Brennen Dorighi said in a release. “Just to show how dynamic our offense was from hitter one through nine. We had guys producing all the way through.”

Dorighi was one of six Hawkeyes to record multiple hits on Saturday. The Wofford College transfer went 3-for-4 with a double and a three-run shot in the eighth to make it an 11-2 ballgame.

Sophomore pitcher Brody Brecht allowed two earned runs over 3.1 innings of work — only giving up one hit while striking out six batters. The hard-throwing righty has struck out 16 batters in only two appearances so far this season for the Hawkeyes.

The Iowa bullpen allowed just two runs in 5.2 innings of work. Senior Jared Simpson led the charge, going 4.2 innings and fanning eight batters.

“We have a really good team,” Heller said in a release. “A tough team. A team that puts in a great effort every single day. Awesome makeup, good culture, good teamwork. Everything that you want to say is good from a culture standpoint, these guys have that.”

Kansas State

Iowa finished the weekend series with a 6-5 victory over the Wildcats. Anthony gave the Hawkeyes the win after a home run in the top of the ninth put Iowa on top.

After jumping out to a 4-0 start, Kansas State rallied back to tie the game in the fourth inning. Long Beach State transfer Zach Voelker replaced starter Marcus Morgan and gave Iowa 5.2 innings of relief, striking out five and only allowing one earned run.

“We competed hard, played good defense again,” Heller said in a release. “Keaton had a big game and stepped up with a big game-winning home run in the 9th. Zach Voelker was outstanding out of the bullpen. I was really impressed with Zach and how well he pitched.

Up Next

Iowa will open its home slate against Loras College on Tuesday. The exhibition contest will not count against either team’s records.

The Duhawks come into the contest with a 4-0 record after sweeping Illinois College on Feb. 26. The Division III team took down the Hawkeyes, 3-1, when they met last season.