The Hawkeyes open Big Ten play with a big weekend series against the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Michigan comes into the series with a 13-11 record, but they have played a very tough non-conference slate. They have played Texas Tech, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Oklahoma, ECU, Indiana State and Kansas State in the early season to make up 10 of their 24 games.
Michigan opened Big Ten play last week with a series win against Nebraska, while they dropped their midweek game against Oakland by a final score of 14-7. The Wolverines are expected to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten, so this is a big one.
Friday Pitching Matchup – rSr Dylan Nedved vs Soph Connor O’Halloran
Dylan Nedved gets his third start of the season and his first Friday start. This move could be as simple as Coach Rick Heller and Robin Lund liking the pitching matchup better when they flip Nedved and Mazur. Nedved has posted a 4.88 ERA this season over seven games and last game against CMU in the cold, he just did not have his best stuff. He allowed seven runs on four hits, while walking three in 3.0 innings.
The lefty Connor O’Halloran will be making his seventh start on the mound for the Wolverines. In 30.2 innings of work, he has posted a 4.11 ERA, while striking out 40 and walking just 12. Last Friday against Nebraska O’Halloran went just 4.0 innings and allowed six runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out seven.
Saturday Pitching Matchup – rSoph Adam Mazur vs Jr Cameron Weston
Adam Mazur drops out of the Friday starting role for the first time this season and he is still looking to cut down on some free bases. Over his last three starts, Mazur has walked 12 batters in 13.2 innings. His last start came against Central Michigan, and he went 5.0 innings, allowing just two earned runs on one hit, but four walks to five strikeouts allowed the Chippewas to score. When Mazur is pitching at his best, he gives the Hawkeyes a great chance to win.
Cameron Weston, a Second Team All-Big Ten selection from a year ago, will take the mound on Saturday for Michigan. Weston has posted a 4.33 ERA over 27.0 innings. In his last start against Nebraska he went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking three. He best performance of the season came against Maryland when he struck out nine in 5.0 innings and held the Terps to just one earned run.
Sunday Pitching Matchup – Soph Ty Langenberg vs Jr Noah Rennard or Jr Jacob Denner
Ty Langenberg has arguably been the most consistent starter for the Hawkeyes this season and will be making his fourth start on Sunday. In his first three starts, Langenberg has held opponents to just four runs in 14.0 innings pitched. Last week against CMU, Ty battled for 4.0 innings despite struggling with his slider and he allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out seven and walking just two.
The Wolverines will be choosing between two guys for their Sunday start, starting with Noah Rennard. Rennard started just two games this season, while he has come out of the bullpen in nine contests. He has posted a 2.93 ERA, while racking up 34 strikeouts to just seven walks in 27.2 innings of work. Rennard appeared in two games last weekend against Nebraska, including 3.1 scoreless innings on Sunday.
The other option for Michigan is lefthander Jacob Denner who has started six games for the Wolverines. He has posted a 5.93 ERA over 30.1 innings of work, including 32 strikeouts to 14 walks. The red flag against Denner is the 1.25 hits allowed per inning pitched. In his last start, Jacob went 5.2 innings against Nebraska, allowing one run on three hits, including seven strikeouts and four walks.
Breaking Down the Wolverines
As a team, the Wolverines are batting .281 and have a .384 team on-base percentage. That ranks #98 and #84 in the nation. They are in the top 50 in home runs with 34 and ten different players have hit one out of the park. OF Clark Elliott leads Michigan batting with a .355 average and .470 on-base percentage, including a team leading 33 hits to go along with 27 RBIs and four home runs.
1B Jimmy Obertop (.344, 31 H), INF Riley Bertram (.326, 29 H) and Michigan State transfer C Joe Stewart (.317, team leading 33 hits) round out the top hitters for average on the Wolverines, but we have yet to mention the top home run hitters in the lineup. 2B Ted Burton (.290) and OF Tito Flores (.268) lead the team with seven home runs each. Burton has a team high 31 RBIs and 59 total bases. INF Matt Frey is batting .278 on the season and has hit five home runs himself. Frey has impressive plate discipline, as he has drawn 21 walks in just 111 plate appearances, which boosts his on-base percentage up to .422.
Alex Fedje-Johnson (.115, 17 starts) and Jack Van Remortel (.286, 12 starts) are also candidates to see some time this weekend. In terms of strikeout potential, Burton and Obertop both strikeout at roughly a 30% clip, but they still are two of the most dangerous bats in the lineup. As a team, the Wolverines strikeout at a rate of 22.1%.
In the bullpen, the Wolverines statistically don’t have any arms that are having an outstanding year. However, whether it is Rennard or Denner on the mound Sunday for Michigan, expect the other to come in from the bullpen. Willie Weiss led the teams in saves and had a 2.63 ERA last season, but has posted a 7.36 ERA in nine appearances this season. Weiss has allowed 13 hits and walked 12 in just 14.2 innings of work.
Chase Allen is probably best arm so far, as he has racked up 26 strikeouts to just five walks in 26.2 innings this season and his 1.05 WHIP leads the team. He has allowed a team high four home runs. Angelo Smith (4.00 ERA, 7 games), Walker Cleveland (8.25 ERA, nine games) and Logan Wood (14.25 ERA) are other names that could see time this weekend.
It is important that the Hawkeyes get past the Wolverines starters as early as possible and force a struggling bullpen to throw important innings. Their 6.08 team ERA ranks #199 in the country, while their 1.70 team WHIP ranks #221.
Midweek at Bradley
The Braves are 7-12 on the season, with their best win coming against Pittsburgh. They got swept by a good Southeast Missouri State team and lost a weekend series against South Florida. They have a weekend series against Southern Illinois before they face off against Iowa.
As a team, the Braves are batting .304, with a .400 on-base percentage. 1B Connor O’Brien is the leading hitter for Bradley, hitting .434, with 33 hits, five home runs and 25 RBIs. INF Cal McGinnis (.346, .493 OBP), OF Carson Husmann (.329, 4 HR, 18 RBIs) and OF Ryan Vogel (.324) are other names to look for in the Bradley lineup.
The Braves pitching staff has struggled this season posting a 7.12 ERA and their 1.86 team WHIP is ranked #258 in the country. The Hawkeyes should have no issue scoring runs in this game.
Final Thoughts
Set the Over/Under for this stretch at 2.5. The Bradley midweek game can be penciled in as a win, while a series win vs a series loss will be the difference in the over or the under hitting. The Hawkeyes were projected to be in the Field of 64 by Baseball America, but that is under the assumption that Iowa can have a good year in Big Ten play. This weekend against Michigan can be a big momentum boost if they can go into Ann Arbor and walk out with a series win.
