The Iowa baseball team took down Upper Iowa, 16-0, on Tuesday afternoon at Duane Banks Field. 

The Hawkeyes came out of the gate with a 12-run inning to set the tone for the rest of the contest.

The scoring began with a double from graduate student Brennen Dorighi to bring in sophomore Ben Wilmes. Sophomore Raider Tello then grounded out to score sophomore Keaton Anthony. After a pop-up by sophomore Sam Petersen, the Hawkeyes rattled off 10 more runs in the frame — all with two outs. 

“Just really impressive how we came out offensively,” Iowa head coach Rick Heller said. “Just barrel, after barrel, after barrel. Guys were locked in.”

After three consecutive bases-loaded walks were drawn by Anthony, Dorighi, and Tello, Petersen hit a grand slam to put a stamp on the first inning — the sixth home run of the year for the Huxley, Iowa,  product. 

“I was really impressed with the focus that we had,” Heller said. “That’s what we talked about before the game. Don’t try to do too much or try to chase balls off the plate. Don’t chase hits. Just be disciplined like we were this weekend and make them throw over the plate.”

Iowa scored a pair of runs in both the second and sixth inning, ending the game early via the 10-run lead in the seventh inning rule. 

Graduate student Zack Voelker improved to 4-1 on the mound this season after he gave the Hawkeyes two scoreless innings to begin the game, allowing one hit and one walk. The rest of the Iowa pitching staff threw five scoreless innings to seal the deal. 

Tuesday marked the Hawkeyes’ third shutout on the year, after blanking Quinnipiac in February and Nebraska this past weekend. 

“The pitching staff for the most part did a really nice job,” Heller said. “They limited bases and pitched a four-hit shutout.”

Big picture

This win improves Iowa’s record to  30-10 on the season, the second consecutive 30-win season for the Hawkeyes and eighth in Heller’s 10 years at the helm, including the COVID-19-shortened 15-game 2020 season.

Iowa now boasts the second-best win total in the Big Ten, only behind Indiana’s 31 victories. The Hoosiers have played two more games than the Hawkeyes.

Up next

Iowa will travel to State College, Pennsylvania, to take on Penn State in a three-game set. The Nittany Lions come into the game with a 23-14 record and are 5-7 in Big Ten play. Friday’s game will begin at 4 p.m., Saturday’s contest will start at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s first pitch will be thrown at 12 p.m. Friday’s game will be on Big Ten Network while the other two will air on BTN Plus. 

“It’s a tough place to play,” Heller said of Penn State. “It’s an interesting team. A bunch of older hitters on that team. Really good arms, I mean legit arms. We are gonna see four or five really good-stuff guys. A team that’s capable of beating anybody.”