It was a brisk May night in Lansing for the series opener between Iowa and Michigan State, but the Hawkeyes used a big eighth inning to pull away from the Spartans for a 12-1 win.
Trenton Wallace was on the mound for the Hawkeyes and continued his dominance against Big Ten bats going seven strong innings to lead the charge. The second inning provided some trouble for Wallace, loading the bases with a couple of singles and a hit by pitch, but got a strikeout to end the threat.
Iowa got on the board in the third inning, with a Ben Norman RBI double, putting Iowa up 1-0. The Hawkeyes added to their lead in the fourth inning, with four singles. The fourth hit, a Dylan Nedved single, plated two runs, extending the Iowa lead to 3-0.
The Spartans fought back in the bottom of the inning with a couple of hits off of Wallace, including an RBI single off the bat of Andrew Morrow to cut the lead to 3-1. However, a line out into a double play cut the MSU rally short.
Trenton Wallace went on to retire nine of the next ten batters, putting together yet another quality start on a Friday night. The final line showed 7 innings pitched, allowing just one run on five hits, while striking out nine and walking just one.
Coach Heller praised Wallace and gave his Big Ten Pitcher of the Year campaign speech postgame.
“It was another tremendous start by Trenton…Whether he wins the Pitcher of the Year award or not, in my mind, he’s the Pitcher of the Year. He’s had an outstanding year. He pitched great again tonight and went deep into the game.”
The Hawkeyes added to their lead in the sixth on a Brayden Frazier RBI single, which put Iowa up 4-1. Mason Erla threw six innings for the Spartans, allowing three earned runs, while striking out six, but the bullpen did not help in relief.
“I thought our hitters were locked in tonight against Mason Erla. We had a lot of great at-bats. It got out of hand with free bases when it went to their bullpen, but it was a good game for seven innings,” said Coach Heller postgame.
Iowa opened up the lead in the eighth because the Spartan bullpen could not find the strike zone. The Michigan State bullpen trotted out four pitchers to the mound in the inning, but they all struggled to throw strikes. The four pitchers walked nine Iowa batters and allowed two hits, which led to eight runs in the inning. After, the 37-minute inning ended Iowa led 12-1.
Trace Hoffman and Jack Guzek would come out of the bullpen to get the final six outs, giving Iowa the series opening 12-1 win.
Although, the general consensus coming out of last week was that the Hawkeyes had blown their chances of making the NCAA Tournament, the Hawkeyes may just still be alive. Due to some help from other bubble teams around the country, Iowa finds themselves just a couple of spots out of the projected field.
“It was huge to start the series with a win, it’s our only chance (to make the tournament),” said Coach Heller on getting the win tonight.
A sweep of the Spartans and some help in the Big Ten, as well as around the country, may be enough to grab a spot in the tournament, but things will have to fall just the right way.
The Hawkeyes face the Spartans tomorrow at 3:05pm in game 2 of the weekend series.
Notes
- Izaya Fullard extended his on-base streak to 25 games.
- Michigan State walked 15 batters in the game.
- Iowa has won nine straight Friday games.
