It was a pitcher’s duel at Duane Banks Field this afternoon and the Iowa Hawkeyes were able to battle back from an early deficit to pick up the 2-1 victory over Minnesota.
“The story today was how well we pitched,” said Coach Rick Heller. “Connor Schultz gave us a great start. Ben Buetel was really good out of the ‘pen and it was great to see Duncan Davitt come in and close it out…Great game. Great win.”
Connor Schultz took the mound for his first weekend start since February and gave Iowa a solid 4.2 innings to kick off the game. Schultz allowed one run on four hits, while he struck out five and walked two. A Chase Stanke solo home run in the second inning gave Minnesota the 1-0 lead, but the Iowa pitching staff shut down the Gophers from then on and it started with Schultz.
“That is exactly what we were looking for (out of Connor)…He did a great job,” said Heller.
The Gophers starter JP Massey was good through the first four innings for Minnesota. He allowed just two hits, while issuing a couple of walks, but kept Iowa off the scoreboard. A scary moment came in the fourth inning when Sam Petersen took a 90-mph fastball from Massey off of the helmet. He stayed in the game after his bloody nose was cleaned up, but nonetheless a very scary moment.
In the fifth inning, the Hawkeyes got to the Gophers starter. With two outs, Izaya Fullard delivered an RBI single to score Michael Seegers and tie the game at 1, while Ben Tallman followed with an RBI single to make it 2-1 Hawkeyes.
“Got ahead in the count and was looking for a fastball that I could handle. Hit it up the middle was my approach and I got it done,” said Ben Tallman.
The NIACC transfer has worked his way into the starting lineup as of late and has collected eight hits over his last four games.
“I’ve definitely come on a little bit. Just working with Marty (Sutherland) and all those guys, they’ve done a great job of developing me,” said Tallman. “I feel the best I’ve felt at the plate for quite some time. Hopefully I can keep it rolling.”
Ben Beutel and Duncan Davitt came on from the bullpen to nail down the final 13 outs and did an excellent job. Beutel went 2.1 innings allowing just one hit, while striking out four. Meanwhile, Davitt got the games last six outs, including three strikeouts. On the day, the Iowa pitching staff struck out 12 and walked just three, which is a great sign given last week’s struggles against Illinois.
“It’s very important. Yesterday, Mazur started us off, went eight solid innings and then passed the torch to Connor. I thought he had a really good outing,” said Ben Beutel. “It’s very important for the pitching staff to get back on a roll because we’ve been struggling a little bit, as of late, but I think we’re back on the right track.”
The six hits for the Hawkeyes came from three guys, as Michael Seegers, Izaya Fullard and Ben Tallman all had two hits, while Will Mulflur had a pair of walks.
“Dropped two big ones to Illinois last weekend, so getting hot and trying to go into Rutgers with a sweep this weekend would be huge for us,” said Tallman. “The game tomorrow is a big one for sure.”
With the win the Hawkeyes move to 19-12 on the season and currently sits at #73 in the RPI standings, which is up a couple of spots from the beginning of the weekend. Iowa will be looking for their second sweep of Minnesota in as many seasons and Coach Rick Heller will send Ty Langenberg to the mound tomorrow. Aidan Maldonado will get the ball and the start for the Gophers. The game is at 1:05pm and will be streamed on BTN+.
