It was another windy and chilly day at Duane Banks Field, but the Hawkeye bats got hot, carrying them to a doubleheader sweep of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Dylan Nedved led the charge, with seven hits and two walks over the two games. “Wind was blowing left to right pretty hard. I went out to the plate looking for something on the outer half of the plate and luckily enough I was able to get it and put good swings on them.”
Game 1
Drew Irvine was on the mound for the Hawkeyes in game one of the day and had a really solid outing. Irvine would throw seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits and four walks, while striking out six Gophers. The only blemish was a solo home run off the bat of Ronald Sweeny in the third inning.
On the other side, Iowa had the long ball going for them. Dylan Nedved hit his first home run of his career in the second inning to give Iowa an early 1-0 lead. “…pitch was a changeup and I was ready for it, saw it well. I was able to put a good swing on it and let the wind carry it out.”
Minnesota tied the game in the top of the third on the Ronald Sweeny home run, but Ben Norman responded in the bottom of the inning with his 7th home run of the season, to put Iowa back in the lead.
In the seventh inning, the long ball returned, this time off the bat of Brett McCleary and this time of the two-run variety. The Hawkeyes would add some insurance runs in the eighth inning, and it started with a Dylan Nedved triple off the right center field wall to get in scoring position. Zeb Adreon would follow up the Nedved triple with a home run to put the Hawkeyes up 6-1.
Then, as if the 4/4 hitting performance wasn’t enough, Dylan Nedved came in and threw the last two innings of the game to earn the save.
Coach Heller had this to say about Nedved’s game one performance, “We’ve been waiting for Dylan to break out offensively. He’s probably had the most bad luck of anybody on our team…On the mound he’s be outstanding all season long and he was again today.”
The Hawkeyes racked up 12 hits in game one and struck out just one time.
Game 2
The second game of the doubleheader was over early with an offensive outburst from the Hawkeyes in the first two innings which led to an 18-0 victory.
Iowa knocked Minnesota starter Trent Schoeberl out of the game after getting five batters on base in their first seven at bats of the game, including three hits and two walks.
Nolan Burchill would come in, but it didn’t get better. Austin Martin, Brendan Sher and Ben Norman would hit three straight doubles to expand the first inning lead to 7-0.
It kept going in the second inning, with the Hawkeyes adding five more runs on two hits, two walks and an thrown in to help the cause. With an early 12-0 lead, Iowa was able to sit back and cruise the rest of the way, but Austin Martin mentioned you try not to get too relaxed in the field.
“I think where we find our success is, we’re able to lock it in every single pitch, whether were up 12-0 or down 12-0.”
Cam Baumann had a really good start on the mound going 5 innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five. Iowa would add six more runs across the game, totaling 17 hits and 28 total baserunners.
The final score was 18-0 and over the span of two games today the Hawkeyes totaled 29 hits, which as Coach Heller previously mentioned, was something he thought was just a matter of time. “You have to be dialed in and focused, but you also have to be relaxed and confident (at the plate). I saw that a lot today, especially in game two.”
The Iowa Hawkeyes have now won eight out of nine and are three games over .500. The second half of the season will be tough, but features an easier slate than the front half provided. With the Hawkeyes just outside of the projected tournament field at the halfway point (D1Baseball) the Hawkeyes just need to keep doing what they are doing, and good news will come at the end of the season.
Next weekend, Iowa will travel to Rutgers for a four-game series. Rutgers is in a similar spot in the standings, so the series will be a big one.
Notes
- Dylan Nedved got out just one time in 10 at bats Sunday
- The Hawkeyes totaled 10 extra base hits Sunday, including four straight doubles in the first inning of game two
- The Iowa defense turned four double plays over the span of the doubleheader
- Matthew Sosa was hit by a pitch for the 12th time this season
- Iowa outscored Minnesota 31-2 over the three-game series
