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A look back at the Iowa baseball season

A look back at the Iowa baseball season.
A look back at the Iowa baseball season.

Unfortunately, this article is coming a week or two earlier than what Coach Heller and the Iowa Baseball team wanted, but the season was far from a disappointment. The Hawkeyes battled adversity all season in a season unlike any other and finished 4th in the Big Ten standings, going 26-18 overall. However, the conclusion of the season means it is time to look back at some of the moments that shaped the 2021 Iowa Baseball season.

Preseason

The Covid-19 pandemic caused the Big Ten to change the scheduling for all of their teams, moving to a 44-game conference-only schedule. This hurt every team in the conference, but Iowa could have gotten the worst of it. Coach Heller described their non-conference slate they had set up, as the best they have every had. UC Irvine, Connecticut, Arizona State, California, San Diego Sate and Utah headlined a non-conference schedule that would have surely pushed Iowa to a respectable RPI.

On top of that, the Hawkeyes had an obstacle to clear before the season kicked off and it came in the form of a Covid pause. The team had to go through a pause in practices that ended just over a week before the season began.

Rough Start puts Iowa behind in the Big Ten Standings

The Hawkeyes schedule did them no favors early in the season, as they played their first 15 games against teams that finished in the top 6 of the final Big Ten standings. Early in the year, the Hawkeyes were struggling to get hits with runners in scoring position and they got off to a 4-8 start.

This prompted Coach Heller to call for change from his senior leaders in a post-game press conference, after a loss to Nebraska. “That group of leaders needs to step up and they need to lead…As the head coach you say a lot of things and you try to get them going, but at some point, the group needs to take over and run with it. We’re getting to that point.”

Around this point, the team conducted a players-only meeting in hopes that they could turn the season around. “That was the turning point. When we had that conversation as a team, everything turned around from then (on),” said Cam Baumann during an interview earlier this year.

Hot April turns the Hawkeyes Season Around

“The month of April that we had was pretty special…When we had to rally and try to get caught back up.,” said Coach Heller on what was a special month for the Hawkeyes. Iowa went 12-3 over the month of April and a 4-8 start, all the sudden turned into a 19-11 record.

Of course, when you have a good stretch of baseball, there are going to be some memorable moments. April 9th, was the first home game where fans were allowed to attend a game at Duane Banks Field and Peyton Williams made sure they had a good time. A grand slam in the 5th inning, extended an Iowa 2-0 lead to 6-0 vs Minnesota. That weekend the Hawkeyes swept Minnesota and got themselves over .500 for the first time all year.

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April 16th brought the best comeback of the entire season. The Hawkeyes were on the road playing a tough Rutgers team and Trenton Wallace did not have his best stuff on the mound. Coach Heller’s squad found themselves trailing 10-7 going to the bottom of the 9th, but seven Hawkeye runs with two outs propelled Iowa to an improbable 14-12 victory. Izaya Fullard delivered a two-run single with two strikes to give Iowa the lead.

April 26th Iowa took on Northwestern and Brett McCleary played hero in this comeback. The Hawkeyes trailed 8-5 in the 8th and 9-8 going to the bottom of the 9th, but a McCleary walk-off home run completed another late inning comeback. Time and time again, the Hawkeyes battled late in games to make things interesting

After a hot April, the Hawkeyes had put themselves in the perfect position to make the NCAA Tournament. Coach Heller was proud of his team’s fight and praised their ability to go from 4-8 to an NCAA worthy team. “At the end of the day, I am really proud of this team…We will go down in my mind, as one of the better years in my career. Just because of all the things they had to deal with and how they just kept fighting and finding ways to give themselves a chance.”

Rough Stretch Extinguishes NCAA chances

Entering May, the general consensus was that a series win in each of their last four series would give Iowa a spot in the field of 64. Iowa struggled down the stretch going 4-7 to start the month and putting themselves on the wrong side of the bubble.

“Unfortunately, we kind of hit the wall and didn’t get the wins in May that we needed. It was just an average May,” said Coach Heller. “We had certain guys that all the sudden had struggles on the mound or certain guys that didn’t hit when you needed them to. I mean that’s how the game works, but we fought through most of it.”

While Izaya Fullard was on a hot streak, Ben Norman and Zeb Adreon fell off. Couple that with a Peyton Williams injury in there and the Hawkeye offense struggled at times.

The Hawkeyes dropped back-to-back series vs Illinois and Northwestern, which effectively ended the team’s chances of getting an at-large bid. Despite the late season losses, Coach Heller still thought his team put together a good season.

“It was not like we got beat by bad teams…in a normal year, Illinois would have been a regional team. Northwestern had the best group of position players they’ve had since I’ve been here…There are baseball things that are going to happen, and you aren’t going to win every game…We played good baseball. We didn’t throw the ball around (at the end of the year).”

Iowa finished up the season with a three-game sweep of Michigan State to finish 26-18, but going into Selection Monday, the chances of an at-large bid were small.

Hawkeyes name not called on Selection Monday

“We talked (before). The odds were pretty slim, based on the track record of the committee…The guys were prepared that it wasn’t a great chance for us to get in, but all of us were still hopeful.”

Although, the Hawkeyes battled all season, and finished in a tie for fourth in the Big Ten, they did not hear their name called in the field of 64. Coach Heller laid out a list of reasons why he felt the Hawkeyes should have been included in the field, but unfortunately the Big Ten was given just three bids to the NCAA Tournament.

“The mood was somber, but we were very realistic going into it,” said Coach Heller on the emotions inside the clubhouse during the show.

Throughout the season, Iowa struggled to find a group of consistent bullpen arms and at times struggled to find hits in key situations. Coach Heller said that the loss of midweek games was a big factor.

“Not being able to get guys innings. Not just in midweek games, but the first four weeks of non-conference. You can throw a lot of different guys…Basically, you are getting guys out there a number of times and getting their confidence built up before you have to throw them into the fire of a Big Ten game.”

Although, the season ended on a disappointing note, the season was still a successful one. Seniors Ben Norman, Zeb Adreon, Austin Martin, Matthew Sosa, Grant Leonard and Trace Hoffman will all be remembered for their contributions to the Iowa Baseball Program. Those players and others before them have turned Iowa into a program to be reckoned with in the Big Ten.

Top Season Performers

OF Ben Norman – First Team All-Big Ten Selection

- 44 starts, .306 avg, 52 hits, 14 2B, 10 HR, 53 RBI, .421 OBP

- Tied school record for games played in a career

1B/2B Izaya Fullard – Third Team All-Big Ten Selection

- 41 starts, .296 avg, 48 hits, 5 HR, 21 RBI, .395 OBP

- Ended season with 27 game on-base streak

1B/DH Peyton Williams

- .295 avg, 36 hits, 15 2B, 6 HR, 27 RBI, .470 OBP

- Battled through leg injuries all year, missing eight starts

OF Brayden Frazier

- 19 starts, .325 avg, 26 hits, 10 2B, .430 OBP

- Battled through Covid mid-season

P Trenton Wallace – Big Ten Pitcher of the Year

- 7-1, 2.34 ERA, 73 innings, 106 strikeouts, 37 walks

- Second most strikeouts in a season in school history

P Cam Baumann/Duncan Davitt

- 10-7, 4.87 ERA, 117.1 innings, 103 strikeouts, 33 walks

UTL Dylan Nedved

- 4-1, 4.19 ERA, 34.1 innings, 31 strikeouts, 11 walks, 9 saves

- Played 2B, SS, LF and pitcher


While this closes the book on the 2021 Iowa Baseball season, this group should be remembered for the incredible amount of adversity they had to fight through and that even putting themselves in the NCAA Tournament after a 4-8 start was an accomplishment. Hopefully, the 2022 season is back to 100% normal and the Hawks can focus solely on baseball.

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