Iowa cruised in its Big Ten Tournament opener on Tuesday, ripping Michigan 13-3 and ending the game in 8 innings. Thursday's game against 2-seed Indiana promised to be a much tougher test: the Hoosiers were one of two Big Ten teams to take a series from the Hawkeyes earlier this season (regular season Big Ten champion Maryland was the other team to do so) and IU entered this game on a hot streak, going 9-2 in their final 11 games before the Big Ten Tournament. While it took Iowa a little while to find its footing in the game, the Hawkeyes blew away the Hoosiers late to earn a 9-4 win and pass that test with flying colors.

Head coach Rick Heller said that Iowa's gameplan entering the game was to "get to [Indiana's] bullpen." Given how the game played out, that proved to an excellent gameplan. In fact, bullpen play was a key difference in the game.

IOWA BULLPEN: 4.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP
INDIANA BULLPEN: 3.0 IP, 6 hits, 8 ER, 2 K, 4 BB, 1 WP, 1 HBP

Once Iowa was able to get Indiana's starter, Luke Sinnard, out of the game, the Hawkeye batters were finally able to get the clutch hits they needed and take control of the game. Iowa scored eight runs in the final three innings, four apiece in the seventh and ninth innings, turning a 4-1 deficit after six innings into a lopsided 9-4 Iowa victory.

Sinnard, a towering 6'8" righthanded pitcher, kept Iowa mostly off the scoreboard for the first two-thirds of the game. Sinnard was absolutely lights out in Iowa's first game against him, back in April: he held Iowa to just three hits and zero runs while striking out 12 over six innings in that contest. He wasn't as sharp in this game -- Iowa managed five hits off him and drew two walks. Sinnard also had a wild pitch and hit two batters.

But while there was no shortage of traffic on the base paths for Iowa while Sinnard was on the mound, the Hawkeyes just couldn't turn those baserunners into actual runs; Iowa went 1/9 with runners in scoring position against Sinnard and left nine men on base in the first six innings.

The most painful missed opportunity came in the first inning, when Iowa managed to load the bases with no outs thanks to an error, a walk, and a single -- and proceeded to get zero runs out of that golden scenario. A pair of fielder's choice plays (including one that allowed the pitcher to get an out at home) and a strikeout ended Iowa's threat with no damage down.

Iowa did get a run in the second inning off a Brayden Frazier sacrifice fly and throwing error that scored Kyle Huckstorf, but that was Iowa's only run through six innings. The Hawkeyes had multiple baserunners in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, but couldn't get any of them further than second base.

But after throwing 117 pitches and escaping multiple jams with limited damage, Sinnard departed after six innings and handed the ball to the Indiana bullpen. With the Hoosiers missing their top option from the bullpen (All-Big Ten relief pitcher Ryan Kraft is being held out of the Big Ten Tournament due to injury concerns), we got to see exactly why Heller was eager for the Hawkeyes to get a crack at the Indiana relievers.

After a leadoff groundball out from Sam Petersen in the seventh, Brennen Dorighi walked and Raider Tello singled. Sam Hojnar hit a single to score Dorighi and move Tello to third. After an IU pitching change, Hojnar stole second and Michael Seegers drew a walk to load the bases. Huckstorf, scorer of Iowa's first run in the game, notched the biggest hit of the game, finally getting the clutch hit that had eluded Iowa against Indiana so often this year. Huckstorf laced a bases-clearing double into the left field corner to give Iowa a 5-4 lead.

Iowa attempted to extend its lead in the eighth inning -- Ben Wilmes led off the inning with a walk and Dorighi got hit by a pitch -- but the Hawkeyes once again left runners on base to end the inning. (The Hawkeyes ended the game with 12 stranded runners --- in a game in which they still managed to score 9 runs.) Fortunately, Iowa got the insurance runs they were after (and then some) in the ninth inning.

Seegers drew a walk to lead off the ninth and got to third after a groundball out and a wild pitch. He tried to score on a fielder's choice but was called out at home -- though Brayden Frazier advanced to second on the same play. Cade Moss hit an infield single off an IU infielder's glove to put Frazier on third before Wilmes hit a single of his own to score Frazier. That gave Iowa a much-needed insurance run and a 6-4 lead, but Iowa's next batter, Sam Petersen, decided to end all doubt by blasting a three-run home run over the left field fence.

That shot gave Iowa a 9-4 lead and effectively ended the game, even if Indiana still had three more outs to go.

The game was over with a five-run lead -- especially with Iowa's bullpen in absolute shutdown mode like it was today. But before discussing the bullpen, a few words on Iowa's starting pitcher this afternoon, Brody Brecht. This was not one of Brecht's sharpest games by any stretch -- but he was able to limit damage well and keep things close until Iowa's hitters could get to the IU bullpen and take over the game.

Brecht finished went 4.1 innings today, allowing three earned runs on four hits, three walks, a wild pitch, and two hit batters. (He also had five strikeouts.) But after a truly shaky start -- Brecht gave up two runs in the first inning and had almost as many balls (17) as strikes (19) in the opening frame -- he settled down enough to keep Iowa in the game. Brecht finished with 94 pitches, 53 of which were strikes. The control wasn't quite there but he was still able to avoid putting Iowa in a deep hole.

Once Brecht departed, the Iowa bullpen took over -- and shut the door on Indiana's offense. Jared Simpson replaced Brecht and was credited with allowing a run in the sixth, but aside from that, it was a flawless, dominating performance from Iowa's relievers. Will Christopherson was the star of the bullpen, allowing one hit and no runs in 2.1 innings. He struck out six of the seven batters that he faced, including the final five in a row.

Jack Whitlock came in to finish off the game in the ninth and recorded three outs on just seven pitches. That efficiency was a hallmark of Iowa's relievers in this game: Christopherson and Simpson threw 34 and 20 pitches, respectively, in their appearances. Given those limited workloads -- and the fact that Iowa has a day off tomorrow -- Iowa's bullpen should be at full-strength when Iowa next plays, on Saturday.

Today's win booked a spot for Iowa in the semifinal on Saturday. The Hawkeyes will play Michigan (who beat Indiana 13-6 on Friday to eliminate the Hoosiers from the tournament) on Saturday morning (9 AM CT, BTN).

If Iowa wins that game, the Hawkeyes will advance to Sunday's championship game (2 PM CT, BTN). If the Hawkeyes lose that game, they'll play a second game against Michigan on Saturday afternoon (5 PM CT). (As a reminder: The Big Ten Baseball Tournament uses a double-elimination format, up until the championship game, which is winner-take-all.)

The new scheduling format of the Big Ten Tournament, which adds some built-in rest days (that can also be slotted for games if poor weather impacts the schedule), is really advantageous to teams that can stay on the winner's side of the bracket. Iowa gets to avoid playing back-to-back games (at least until Sunday, should they reach the Championship Game), which gives them plenty of time to rest and recharge between games.

Heller said that Ty Langenberg (5-3, 4.50 ERA, 1.59 WHIP) will get the start for Iowa in Saturday's semifinal.

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