The Iowa baseball team took home a series victory, 2-1, against Lindenwood with a walkoff win Sunday afternoon. The Hawkeyes now sit 10-5 on the season, and have one midweek game before their first Big Ten conference series against Penn State.
“After being on the road so much this season and the weather not being in our favor, having some time here at home was much needed, including taking a win like this to Penn State,” head coach Rick Heller said.
Strong Start to the Weekend Series
Friday’s 11-6 victory over the Lions was highlighted by standout pitching on the mound and executed at-bats by both veterans and underclassmen.
Second-year Jaron Bleeker earned the third win of his career with a stellar six innings on the mound for Iowa. Bleeker struck out eight of his 25 batters faced and only gave up five hits, one walk, and two runs.
“Jaron was outstanding in his first weekend start for us,” head coach Heller told Hawkeye Sports. “He pounded the zone with all his pitches and kept the leadoff guy off the first six innings.”
Following up Bleeker on the mound was veteran fourth-year Justin Hackett, who closed out the final three innings for the Hawkeyes, giving up five hits, one walk, and four runs.
After a silent first inning, Iowa rolled across two runs in the bottom of the second, where it would remain 2-0 till the fifth inning, when fourth-year Kooper Schulte delivered a solo home run for the Hawkeyes.
Lindenwood looked to claw its way back into the game with a three-run seventh inning, only to see Iowa answer those runs with four of its own in the bottom of the seventh. Fourth-year Mitch Wood delivered a three-run home run to extend the lead, his second home run of the season and his career.
Iowa Falls in a Tight Game Two
The Hawkeyes walked away Saturday with a tough loss, 4-3, with the Lions tying the weekend matchup and leaving Sunday’s game three to decide the series.
Veteran pitcher Logan Runde got the call to start on the mound and delivered nearly five innings, striking out five of his 19 batters faced and giving up two runs on four hits.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Alivo followed up Runde on the mound, pitching through the sixth inning, striking out one Lion and giving up two runs on just one hit.
Graduate Joe Husak then made his fifth appearance this season, striking out four of his 12 batters faced and holding the Lions scoreless in hopes of a late Hawkeye comeback.
Iowa’s bats did not continue their series-opener success in game two, with only five players earning hits. Redshirt junior Jaylen Ziegler led Iowa with three hits on his four at-bats, but Lindenwood’s defense came to play Saturday.
“I thought we did a good job getting their starter out a little earlier than we expected,” Heller told Hawkeye Sports. “But we made two errors that cost us runs, and on a day like today, the team that makes the fewest mistakes and gives up the fewest free bases usually wins.”
Hawkeye Walkoff Win in Extra Innings
Iowa fell behind in the first inning, but slowly clawed back to lead 9-8 going into the ninth, only to see Lindenwood’s Jake Radosevich send one over the right field wall to tie the game. Two fly outs and a groundout ended the ninth for Iowa sent the series finale to extra innings.
First-year Tate Slagle made his fifth appearance this season, delivering a shutout top of the tenth inning with a strikeout and two ground outs to allow Iowa the potential walkoff.
Wood got on the bases early for Iowa with a walk, and thanks to a deep double to center field by redshirt junior Kellen Strohmeyer, the Hawkeyes had runners on third and second. With an intentional walk for Schulte, it left fourth-year Joey Nerat at the plate with no outs and bases loaded.
With a 2-2 count, Nerat sent one high to left field for a sacrifice fly and the walkoff RBI, giving Iowa the series victory with a 10-9 win.
“It felt awesome, a win in any fashion is great, but today’s was really special,” Nerat said. “We showed a lot of grit, and we all just kept passing the baton with each hit.”
The Hawkeyes struggled on the mound Sunday, needing six innings from the bullpen before the tenth. First-year Brady Ferguson started the game for Iowa, throwing three innings and giving up four runs on two hits and two walks.
Second-year Tyler Guerin took to the mound in the fourth only to be exchanged for third-year Maddux Frese near the end of the fifth.
“Brady wasn’t as sharp as he usually is and was struggling with all his pitches,” Heller said. “For some reason, it felt like all the guys that threw today we off a little bit besides Slagle.”
Up Next
Iowa matches up with St. Thomas on Tuesday at 3:02 p.m. for a midweek game before hitting the road for its first conference series with Penn State in State College, PA, with game one on Friday, March 13, at 4:30 p.m.