Nobody said these things come easy.
Brennen Dorighi hit a three-run homer in the 5th, a two-out RBI triple by Michael Seegers in the 13th inning gave Iowa a 6-5 lead, and Will Christophersen pitched the last 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to complete a gutsy win over North Carolina. The Hawkeye victory eliminates the Diamond Heels from the NCAA baseball tournament.
The Hawkeyes now must beat host Indiana State twice in a row, with the first game coming later Sunday afternoon, in order to advance to the super regional.
RECAP
The formula for Sunday's game against the Heels looked bleakly familiar in regulation. Starting pitcher Ty Langenberg pitched seven strong innings after being hit by a line drive in the 1st, and heading into the 8th inning, Iowa had its lead and insurance runs in place — just like Brody Brecht's start on Saturday and also similar to Iowa's near-collapse in the 9th inning against UNC Friday night.
But whereas manager Rick Heller's decision to take Brecht out to start the 8th inning led to immediate trouble from the normally solid Hawkeye bullpen on Saturday, here Heller sent Langenberg back out for the 8th — and Langenberg immediately gave up a pair of singles before a merciful call to the pen ended his day at 124 pitches.
Unfortunately, reliever Jack Whitlock nearly made it out of the 8th inning before allowing a two-run double to pinch-hitter Dylan King that cut Iowa's lead to 5-4. Both runs would be charged to Langenberg. Whitlock came back out for the 9th inning, where star UNC centerfielder (and future high-round MLB draft pick) Mac Horvath blasted a game-tying homer with one out, sending the game to extra innings.
Christopherson got stronger on the mound as his appearance went on, though, retiring the last seven batters he faced and allowing no North Carolina runners past second base in his 4 2/3-inning, no-hit relief appearance.
A single by pinch-runner Blake Guerin with one out in the 13th gave the Hawkeyes a welcome scoring opportunity, and after the 6'6", 280-pound Guerin was (wisely) lifted for pinch-runner Sarsfield, Seegers proved the hero. Seegers lined a double into the left-center gap, just outside of Horvath's diving reach, scoring Sarsfield without a throw and giving Iowa its decisive sixth run.
Christopherson pitched the 13th without difficulty, and the Hawkeyes escaped disaster.
IT'S CALLED CLUTCH FOR A REASON
Throughout this regional, two-out RBIs have been pivotal in Iowa's games. In Iowa's regional opener against UNC, Sam Hojnar's 2-out, 2-RBI double ended up granting Iowa its win over UNC, whereas on Saturday, Indiana State won that battle 4-0 on its two 8th-inning doubles.
Sunday, North Carolina had a 4-0 edge on two-out RBIs in regulation as it fought back to tie the game, but Seegers' two-out double in the 13th was Iowa's saving grace.
On the mound, after giving up three runs to this same North Carolina lineup in just one-third of an inning on Friday, Christopherson's ironman relief effort on Sunday was direly necessary — both for restoring faith in him as a reliever and for the obvious task of keeping Iowa's season alive.
MATCHING HISTORY
This win pushes Iowa's record to 44-15; 44 ties Iowa's program record for wins in a season, set in 1981*. And while such records generally pale in comparison to the importance of winning elimination games, there's no need to draw a distinction in this instance; this team earns the Iowa record outright by keeping its season alive tonight.
*Which, as a personal aside, is NOT that long ago.
Kudos to Rick Heller, his staff and his players for a season that now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in Iowa baseball program history.
NEXT UP
With the game going 13 innings, Iowa gets only a couple hours of respite before having to take the field again to face host Indiana State (5 PM CT, ESPN+). Playing an elimination game on fumes isn't ideal, but such is the consequence of Iowa's 8th-inning meltdown on Sunday.
Righty Zach Voelker will take the mound for Iowa Sunday evening. Voelker has a 5.80 ERA in 40 1/3 innings pitched for the Hawkeyes this season.
