Iowa baseball won all three contests against Indiana and picked up its second consecutive series sweep this weekend at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City.
After a thrilling 2-1 extra-inning victory on Friday, the Hawkeyes outscored the Hoosiers, 23-2, in the final two games. Iowa is 31-12 on the season and 20-4 in Big Ten play, retaining the top spot by three games over UCLA. This is the best conference start in program history.
Aaron Savary and Reece Beuter continue to dominate
One of the biggest question marks entering the season was how well the starting pitching would be with the departures of Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan to the MLB. Iowa returned Cade Obermueller to the rotation, but the other two names were to be determined for most of the offseason. Head coach Rick Heller sat on Aaron Savary and Reece Beuter, and both pitchers have done better than expected to lead the starting rotation.
This weekend was another example of that.
On Saturday, with a chance to secure the team’s eighth-straight series victory, Savary had the ball in his hands.
While not his best outing of the season, Savary did enough to limit Indiana and keep Iowa in the game. He ended the game with over six innings pitched, two earned runs, and six strikeouts — moving his record to 7-0 on the year.
“Aaron pitched another gem,” Heller said. “He almost went a full seven innings against that offense, and that’s really impressive.”
Beuter was even better in the series-sweep-clincher. In six innings pitched, Beuter allowed zero earned runs and seven strikeouts. He has allowed one earned run in his last 12 innings pitched. Savary and Beuter have earned run averages of 3.56 and 3.54 with a combined record of 12-0.
Daniel Rodgers heating up
New addition Daniel Rodgers has been a staple on the Iowa roster at the catcher position this season. Though the former Loras Duhawk struggled at the plate early in the year, he has come alive in the past handful of weekend series.
Rodgers entered the weekend recording a hit in eight of the past nine contests. Using that recent momentum, he came alive against the Hoosiers to fuel the Iowa offensive attack. He ended the series going 6-of-10 from the plate with two RBIs and zero strikeouts. Rodgers’ batting average has moved to .304 on the season. His 40 RBIs are the third-most on the team.
The addition of Rodgers to the lineup this season has been beneficial for many reasons. Taking some pressure off Reese Moore while also contributing mightily on offense, Rodgers has become a weapon for the middle of the Hawkeye roster.
Up next
The Iowa baseball team returns to action against Illinois State on Tuesday, April 29. First pitch starts at 6:02 p.m. with coverage on Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network. Iowa lost to the Redbirds earlier this season, 10-8, in Normal, Illinois.