The Iowa baseball team dominated Augustana, 16-1, on Tuesday evening at Duane Banks Field. Though the final score was lopsided, it was a close affair for the first six innings, as Iowa managed only three runs.
The Vikings’ offense constantly threatened the Hawkeye defense with baserunners, but another late-inning offensive explosion sealed the deal for Iowa.
Here are two takeaways from Iowa’s dominating victory:
Pitching staff settles in
Augustana put pressure on the Hawkeyes immediately, as the leadoff man reached base in the first five innings. Iowa’s pitchers were hitting their spots relatively well, but the Vikings simply came to play in the first five frames.
Despite the constant pressure on the Iowa hurlers, they settled in almost immediately after giving up those leadoff knocks, allowing just one run on 12 hits throughout the game.
The most notable pressure-filled situation came in the top of the fourth, where Augustana loaded the bases with two outs. Third-year right-hander Ganon Archer started the inning for the Hawkeyes, allowing a leadoff single. Archer seemed to settle in following the leadoff knock, retiring the next batter on a sacrifice bunt, followed by a beautiful pick-off move to second base to nab the runner who just advanced on the bunt.
A single through the left side sandwiched by two walks warranted a pitching change from head coach Rick Heller. Heller decided to go with Justin Hackett, a TCU transfer. Hackett struck out the first and only batter he faced, firing up his teammates as he headed back to the dugout.
“To give up as many hits as we did and only give up a run meant that we had to make pitches that meant something,” coach Heller said after the game. “We had to make pitches in situations that could completely change the game. When Hackett came in with the bases loaded situation, getting an out there was big.”
In all, the Hawkeyes used 10 pitchers over nine innings, and walked only four batters collectively.
Hard-hit balls lead to success
While the box score indicates a slugfest, it was quite the opposite for the Hawkeyes in the early stages of the game. The Iowa hitters were mashing the ball up and down the lineup, but the strong winds seemed to knock down almost every ball in the air.
“We probably hit five or six balls that would have been home runs,” Heller said. “I’m even surprised that some of them were hit so hard and still didn’t get out, but they didn’t. That’s how you can lose on a day like today.”
In the seventh inning, the tides turned for the Hawkeyes as they brought eight runs across the plate to provide the cushion they had been searching for all game. Iowa’s sluggers hit four doubles in the inning, along with four hard-hit singles.
Hawkeye catchers Reese Moore and Daniel Rogers turned in back-to-back RBI singles in that inning to increase Iowa’s lead to 9-1. Moore and Rogers were the best performing Hawkeye hitters on the night.
Moore went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, while also scoring three runs. Rogers went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while having a solid night defensively behind the dish.
“It was great to see Dan Rogers have a good game,” Heller said. “That one ball he hit was just destroyed, that he ended up getting a double on. It was good to see Dan barrel some balls up.”
Up Next
The Iowa baseball team returns to Banks Field in Iowa City for a three-game series with Michigan State starting on Friday, March 14. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.