Highlighting Iowa’s series win over Minnesota was the walk-off home run and a caught stealing at second by redshirt freshman Carter Geffre. Geffre made his Hawkeye debut back on March 21st in game two of the Michigan State series.
Since then, Geffre has made consistent at-bats and starts at catcher for the Hawkeyes, with the series against Minnesota being one he won’t forget.
In Saturday’s game, after battling back to tie the game at two in the bottom of the sixth, Iowa and Minnesota went scoreless through the seventh and eighth innings. But with the help of redshirt freshman pitcher Kyle Alivo, the Hawkeyes were allowed to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth inning.
And wasting no time was Geffre, who took only a single pitch to drill a moon shot into the 15-mile-per-hour wind straight out of left field.
“I grabbed Carter before he walked out and was like, ‘Get something out over the plate that you can get over into right center field,’” head coach Rick Heller said. “Instead of using the wind to help, he instead pulled it into the wind and out, which I thought was almost impossible today.”
But for Geffre, it was just textbook preparation and execution.
“We have a bit of video on him, so I was watching that knowing his slider was very similar to others I have hit,” Geffre said. “I knew I had hit it well, but with the wind, I didn’t know until I saw it disappear behind the wall.”
Sunday’s game was no different again in the ninth inning, Iowa was up 5-4 with two outs and a Minnesota runner on first. Geffre stayed calm and composed as he would throw out the Gopher baserunner at second on an attempted steal, ending the ball game for the second day in a row.
“Carter is a guy that works so hard and deserves these big moments, and we know he is going to execute in these moments when needed,” redshirt sophomore Max Burt said.
The Ames, Iowa, native has been growing since his debut, becoming more confident and patient at the plate. Geffre has recorded 30 at-bats, earning nine hits with three doubles and now two home runs following Saturday’s walk-off, all within the last 10 games for Iowa.
Though defensively, Geffre is still adapting to the college-level catching role. His coaches have seen quite a few improvements since the beginning of the season, but still know he has a lot to learn.
“He is really just getting into playing shape, and we know he is going to continue to grow,” Heller said. “But I think he is doing a very good job with as many games he has sat out both last year and this year.”
His fellow catchers and pitchers have also been seeing some improvement, not only since the start of the season, but since he became a starter in the lineup.
“He is just a guy that takes it day by day and continues to show up to the ball park with enthusiasm and the goal to get better each and every day,” Burt said.
Geffre has also worked to build trust with his pitchers so he can help them become more confident and trust their pitches, both in practice and on the field.
“All the pitching staff really enjoys throwing to Carter, which is a plus,” Heller said. “At the end of the day, the hitting is great, but your number one job as a catcher is to be the guy the pitchers want to throw to, and Carter has been that guy.”
Thanks to Geffre’s stellar game enders, the Iowa Hawkeyes look to keep the momentum rolling, and as Geffre put it, “playing with fire the rest of the year”.