It’s hard not to get excited about the Iowa Baseball team after the performances they have put together the first two days of the season. The Hawkeyes rolled past Ball State 11-1 early today, with the pitching staff racking up 20 strikeouts and holding the Cardinals to just two hits.
The scoring started in the second inning with a bases loaded walk, before Kyle Huckstorf delivered a two-run single to put Iowa up 3-0. Ball State cut into the lead in the fourth, with an RBI single from Zach Lane, but that was all they could muster off of starter Connor Schultz.
Schultz went four innings for the Hawkeyes, allowing just one run on two hits and four walks, while striking out nine Cardinals.
“Connor went out and battled and was super aggressive,” said Coach Rick Heller. “He fell behind (in the count) a little bit more than he normally would, but he fought back to punch out nine in four innings.”
Freshman Brody Brecht made his debut in relief of Schultz and struggled with a couple of walks in the fifth inning, but quickly settled in. Brecht retired 11 of his last 12 batters faced and struck out seven over four innings of work.
Coach Heller liked what he saw out of his highly touted freshman saying, “He had some troubles with his command but fought through it. He settled down and pitched outstanding his final three innings. It was great to see him fight through a jam and get out of it.”
Keaton Anthony helped add to the lead with a three-run home in the fifth and a solo home run in the seventh. The Hawkeyes poured it on in the eighth inning. An Anthony RBI double made it 8-1, while a two-run single by Brayden Frazier made it 10-1. Keaton Anthony was the MVP of the game going 4/4 on the day, with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBIs to lead the way.
Will Christophersen came on for the ninth inning for his Hawkeye debut and finished the game off with a rare four strikeout inning. The win gets the Hawkeyes to 2-0 for the third time since 2014.
“We had better at-bats, pretty much all day long and didn't give too many at-bats away,” said Heller. “We had an error-less game, and it was a really solid day of baseball. Once we got the starter out of the game, they went to their relief, and we took advantage of a lot of free bases. For the most part, it was a great day for us."
Through two games, the pitching staff has struck out 34, while allowing just three hits and three runs over 18 innings. The offense has manufactured 23 runs on 28 hits and 16 walks.
Iowa will look to finish the opening weekend with a 3-0 record, as they take on the Bucknell Bison tomorrow. Freshman Marcus Morgan will make his debut on the mound in the black and goal, while the Bison will throw rSr Austin Odell. The game is at 9:00am and will stream on HiCast Sports Network.
Notes
- First time scoring 10+ runs in back-to-back games to open the season since 2014
- First time allowing 2 or less runs in back-to-back games to open the season since 2002
- Hawkeyes have outscored their opponents 23-3 in two games
- Iowa seeks their first 3-0 start since 2018
- Connor Schultz, Alec Nigut, Cade Moss, Will Mulflur, Ben Wilmes, Will Christophersen and Brody Brecht all made their Iowa debuts
