OMAHA, Neb. – Sometimes, the best offense is a good walk. That was the case for the Indiana Hoosiers against Iowa on Thursday night. The Hawkeye hurlers walked nine batters and hit three for a total of 12 free bases on the night.
“I wish I knew, I would be a billionaire,” head coach Rick Heller said with a chuckle when asked about what leads to the free bases. “I don’t know. It was going so good with Ben (DeTaeye), and then walk, walk, home run. Just like that you’re down three runs.”
In almost every instance where the Iowa pitchers have struggled this season, free bases have been the root of the issue. The Hawkeye bullpen seems to struggle the most with allowing free bases, as all three weekend starters have been solid all season.
Heller decided to execute a bullpen game, something Iowa fans are used to seeing in midweeks. Left-hander Ben DeTaeye was the opener, and he was solid through the first two innings.
In the third, DeTaeye walked back-to-back hitters after recording his fourth strikeout. Indiana’s Devin Taylor then crushed the next pitch into the Hoosier bullpen in right field to take a 3-0 lead. Indiana never looked back, winning the contest 5-0.
The free bases also impacted the Hawkeye offense, as runs would be hard to come by with a lineup that featured multiple players who typically don’t find themselves in the mix every day.
“I guess going into it, we were hopeful that we could limit the free bases,” Heller said. “On a night where it wasn’t great to hit, keep it close until the end and find a way to score some runs and get ahead.”
Fourth-year Chas Wheatley was the only Iowa pitcher who didn’t surrender a walk or hit-by-pitch on the night. First-year Tyler Guerin struggled with his command the most, walking two batters and hitting two more in just ⅔ innings of work.
While the matchup had no weight for either squad regarding the conference tournament, the approach from each side was vastly different.
Indiana simply wanted to end the season on a high note, and had the luxury of throwing their No. 2 starter, Cole Gilley, while Iowa was forced to use its bullpen. The Hawkeyes saved third-year righty Aaron Savary for the semifinal on Saturday against UCLA. Savary is 7-1 this season with a career-high 81 strikeouts over 77 innings.
The new Big Ten Tournament format, which switched to pool play this season, provided a new and weird feeling for everyone involved, including coach Heller, who has been in the profession for over 37 years.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been in a game like that,” Heller said. “It was a weird feeling. You’re trying to win the game, you’re just trying to win it completely differently than the other team is trying to win it.”
The Athletic’s Mitch Sherman reported that three of the four contests Thursday night were meaningless for both teams.
“They’re throwing two of their best guys,” Heller added. “And you’re throwing guys who haven’t thrown a whole lot, and trying not to burn anybody that you possibly need to try to get to the championship game.”
With the Hawkeyes returning to action on Saturday, how the team responds to the loss and approaches its day off is key to success in the semifinal.
“I think you have to be careful not to let the emotions of right now deflate things,” Heller said. “Because, at this point in the season, that’s the last thing you need.”
“We need to build and be super positive,” Heller continued. “Have a good day tomorrow, have a good practice, get our lift in, and get ourselves locked in and ready to go to make a good run on Saturday.”