The Iowa baseball team hosted Minnesota for its conference home opener in the 2024 season this weekend.
After dropping the series’ first game, 16-9, the Hawkeyes rattled off wins on Saturday and Sunday by margins of 14-6 and 10-4, respectively, to earn their second-consecutive Big Ten series victory.
Iowa has now won eight of its past 10 games and is in second place in the Big Ten. Here are three takeaways from Iowa’s efforts.
The offense is in full swing
In the previous weekend’s series against Purdue, the Iowa offense struggled to capitalize on runners left on base. Against Minnesota, the Iowa bats converted on every possible RBI chance they could.
The Hawkeyes scored 33 runs on 36 hits against the Gopher pitching staff this weekend. Fourth-year catcher Davis Cop extended his hitting streak to 11 games after recording five hits with four RBIs.
Another fourth-year in Andy Nelson impacted the offense despite only playing two games. The utility man went 5-of-9 from the plate while recording eight total bases for the Hawkeyes, extending his hitting streak to six.
“It was a very good weekend for us offensively — all three games [we] just competed and gave ourselves chances to score runs in virtually every inning,” Iowa head coach Rick Heller said in a release. “This game was no different.”
Despite the success, the Hawkeyes still left 29 runners on base over the weekend.
Raider Tello stays hot
After a promising debut season for the Hawkeyes last year, third baseman Raider Tello has kicked it into a higher gear in 2024.
Against the Gophers, Tello went a blistering 6-of-12 from the plate while driving in six runs.
On the season, Tello has been one of Iowa’s most consistent presences in the lineup. Playing in every game this season, Tello is hitting .393 at the plate with an OPS of 1.025. Both he and Cop lead the team in RBIs with 34.
Cade Obermueller continues to settle in
First-year starting pitcher Cade Obermueller has quietly become the ERA leader after another quality start against Minnesota on Saturday. Obermueller threw for five innings while only giving up two runs and striking out three batters.
“Cade Obermueller picked up the win for us,” Heller said in a release. “He logged five innings. After a little bit of a slow start, he gave up some free bases that scored, but he really settled in and pitched well after that.”
Obermueller has the lowest ERA of all the starting pitchers. The lefty has a team-leading 33 innings pitched, where he has posted a 3.00 ERA, struck out 38 batters, and held opponents to a .156 batting average.
Obermueller has also allowed the least amount of walks out of any starting pitcher, fixing an issue he had last season with allowing free bases.
Up next
The Iowa baseball team was slated to travel to Peoria, Illinois, to take on Bradley on Tuesday for its midweek game, but that game was canceled due to weather.
The Hawkeyes will remain home for a weekend series against Michigan starting on Friday.
