The Iowa baseball team dropped two of three games on the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Hawkeyes led 4-1 in game one, but the Huskers eventually roared back and rode the momentum to a series victory.
Here are three takeaways from the weekend disappointment:
Streaky hitting in first two games
Iowa entered the series on a five-game winning streak, and it seemed poised to extend it early in game one.
Raider Tello got the Black and Gold off and running in the first with an RBI triple, and Davis Cop and Kyle Huckstorf responded with additional RBI singles to give the Hawkeyes a quick 3-0 lead. Sam Peterson tacked on another run in the fourth to give Iowa a 4-1 lead. But the Hawkeyes went cold the rest of the game and eventually lost game one, 7-4.
Iowa only mustered a single run in game two before the contest was suspended in the sixth inning due to a rain delay. When the game finally resumed the following day, the Hawkeyes only pushed across one more run and lost 12-2.
“The effort was there, and the energy was good, but it’s just disappointing,” head coach Rick Heller said after the first game.
Brecht deals again
Third-year flamethrower Brody Brecht has dealt with a variety of injuries this season, but it looks like he has recaptured his old form over the last few weeks.
Brecht steamrolled his way through the Husker lineup, going seven full innings while allowing only one run and striking out 11 batters. This mark’s his second straight dominant outing after his seven inning, 12 strikeout performance on April 21 against Rutgers.
Brecht is regarded as one of the best MLB pitching prospects in the country and terrifies opposing hitters with his 100 mph fastball. His 3.76 ERA is a slight drop off from last season, but if Brecht can consistently string together quality outings the rest of the way, then the struggling Iowa pitching staff will be in a much better place moving forward.
Big week ahead
At 22-17, the Hawkeyes will have to win the Big Ten Tournament if they want to return to the postseason for the second straight season. It’s safe to say they have a crucial week ahead of them.
Iowa will enjoy the friendly confines of Duane Banks Field throughout the week, first with two midweek contests against Illinois State and North Dakota State. The Hawkeyes will be favored in both games, but Illinois State defeated Iowa 5-3 last season.
The Hawkeyes will then host their final Big Ten series of the season against the Northwestern Wildcats, who are 13-26 overall and 2-13 in conference play. A sweep would nearly guarantee Iowa a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.