The Hawkeyes have found themselves with a 20-11 overall record but just 3-3 in Big Ten play which puts them tied for 7^th in the conference with Michigan State. Coming up this weekend is a vital three game series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers who currently sit at number two in the Big Ten standings with a 4-1-1 record and a similar 20-11-1 overall record.

Iowa took a big blow to their starting pitching rotation early in the year when it was announced that junior pitcher, C.J Eldred, would miss the season with a right elbow injury that would require surgery. But none-the-less the season continued on and while in the pre-season Eldred claimed that himself and fellow starting pitcher, sophomore, Nick Gallagher,

could be “the nation’s best 1-2 punch in a weekend rotation” Gallagher had to take that job on his own. Half way through the season Gallagher hoists a very respectable 2.15 ERA with a 4-1 record in 7 game appearances (all in which he started). While Gallagher has been productive in his all of his starts, another sophomore pitcher, Zach Daniels, has made the most out of his opportunities. While Daniels has struggled at times, he has given up a tied team high 3 home runs; he currently sits tied at 3^rd in the nation among all D-1 baseball players with 6 victories. While Daniels comes in during relief innings, his wins come in large part thanks to the Hawkeye bats.

Leading the way for the Hawkeye hitters is Junior First Baseman, Jake Adams.

Adam’s currently is ranked 4^th nationally with his team high 13 home runs. Adam’s is also ranked 8^th in the nation in runs batted in (RBI) with 43 but those runs wouldn’t be possible without hitters like Mason McCoy batting in front of him. McCoy another Hawkeye Senior, currently sits at 34^th in the nation with only 9 strikeouts in 121 plate appearances. McCoy who is currently batting .347 (second on the team) and not only is McCoy getting the job done at the plate, he’s also excelling in the field. McCoy is currently helping the Hawkeyes defense, which is ranked 17^th in fielding percentage, by upholding a .983 fielding percentage himself. This might not be a team that will get into a “run-fest” with you, but they will make the plays they need to and will wait for you to make the mistake for them to take advantage of.

Going into this weekend’s contest against Nebraska, the Hawkeyes need to be ready to swing the bats as the Cornhuskers are currently allowing over 8 hits a game but have the Big Ten’s second lowest earned run average with just over 3 which places them in the top 25 in the nation. First pitch is scheduled for Friday April 14^th at 6:35 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Recap of last weekend:

The Hawkeyes’ bats last weekend were again hot, as they swept UNLV at home after a 3-0 win on Friday, and two late scoring rallies on Saturday 6-5,and 7-6. They tallied up 16 runs total outscoring the Rebels 16-11 for the weekend. Pitching for Iowa still struggled, although they had a highlight as Friday’s win was the first time this season that they allowed no runs in a game.

Although the struggling bullpen has given up runs, it has mainly been the bats leading them to a 6-game win streak so far after going 2-1 against Purdue the weekend before and a win over Grand View (6-5) on March 28th. Riding high, Iowa was going into this week looking to make that 7.

Recap of this week:

Iowa was victorious, once again, over South Dakota St. on Tuesday with a final of 4-3 as their bats were the deciding force. The Hawkeyes found themselves down 3-2 after their first five innings, going into the seventh. However, that quickly changed after Mitchell Boe walked followed by a double by Mason McCoy that allowed for Jake Adams to tie the game off of a fielder’s choice ground out. Robert Neustrom then doubled to make it 4-3 which ended up being the final.

As mentioned previously Iowa’s pitching hasn’t been the best and that continued on Tuesday allowing for 5 hits and 3 runs. Meanwhile, the bullpen ended up saving the game by controlling the game with excellent relief pitching from Zach Daniels and Kyle Shimp.

“Zach Daniels and Kyle did a great job of settling the game down in the fifth,” Manager Rick Heller said about the relief pitchers. Thankfully, that wasn’t the only thing Heller was happy about. “We played hard, played good defense, and our focus was better than it was this past weekend.” For a team coming off of a series sweep, this is great news and something to look forward to.

Preview of this weekend:

The Hawkeyes will try to expand their win streak to 8+, as they take on Northwestern in Evanston this weekend, to continue Big Ten play. First game will be Friday April 7th at 3:30 P.M.

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