Olympic Spotlight: UI Baseball Sweeps Huskers
The regular season for spring sports is rapidly winding down and the end of the school year approaches, but if the Hawkeyes are looking forward to summer vacation, they're certainly not letting it impact their performance. It was another banner week for the Hawkeyes, full of big wins and more records.
Olympic Spotlight: Iowa Baseball
It's crunch time for Hawkeye baseball. The UI baseball team has its eyes set on postseason play, but some tough midweek losses have decreased the margin for error. The Hawks didn't look to be feeling any of the pressure last weekend though, coming away with a massive three-game sweep of Nebraska. The Hawks bookended their weekend wins with a Wednesday victory last week over Bradley and a 16-0 win on Tuesday over Upper Iowa. Iowa improved to 30-10 overall and 7-5 in Big Ten action, two games back of league-leading Indiana.
Iowa's 6-1 Wednesday win over Bradley was a solid palette cleanser after Tuesday's stinging defeat to UIC. The Hawks held the Braves to just three hits and the offense was hot from the start, with Brennen Dorighi and Raider Tello mashing back-to-back home runs in the first inning. Iowa added three more run in the 5th off a two-RBI single from Tello and an RBI from Kyle Huckstorf, which was more than enough for the six Hawkeye pitchers who took the mound.
The series with Nebraska was an important one, both in the conference and for the Hawks' postseason hopes and it was evident from the jump Friday that Iowa was looking to take care of business. The Hawks won 11-6 on the back of a five-run 2nd inning and a five-run 7th. Keaton Anthony mashed at the plate, going 4-4 with a home run, a double, and four RBIs. On the mound, Brody Brecht battled some command issues and a tough zone to pitch 4+ innings.
Saturday's win was even more impressive for the Hawks, shutting out the Huskers 8-0. Marcus Morgan pitched a six-inning gem, striking out five while allowing just three hits. Iowa used a balanced attack at the plate for Iowa with Tello, Huckstorf, Dorighi, and Michael Seegers all racking up multi-hit games, while Ben Wilmes got the scoring started with a big two-run home run in the 3rd inning.
The Hawks had already clinched the series win heading into Sunday's series finale, but it was clear they were looking for more. Nebraska hit a leadoff home run, but that was the only run they would score all game and the Hawks had more than enough offensive firepower to overcome that early deficit, ultimately winning 6-1. Ty Lagenberg pitched seven innings and gave up just three hits and that one early run, while striking out nine Husker batters. At the plate, it was more of the same for Iowa with the team getting contributions from all parts of the lineup. Cade Moss drove in two with an RBI triple in the 2nd and Brennen Dorighi homered yet again as the Hawkeyes tallied ten hits on the day.
Finally, Iowa avoided the midweek woes that have plagued them at times this year, dominating Upper Iowa to the tune of a 16-0 win earlier today. It was a complete performance from the team, shutting out the Peacocks while keeping up their hot performance at the plate. The Hawks put up a 12 (!) spot in the first inning, capped off by a grand slam from Sam Petersen.
These were some very impressive all-around performances. The three starters are all capable of putting together quality performances and when the offense is clicking, it's proven to be extremely difficult to slow down. Iowa has run into issues this year when the offense stalls out or when the relievers have been forced to piece together games, but it's been an encouraging sign that the down games seem to be bumps in the road rather than trends.
Even more encouraging, these Hawks seem to thrive as the pressure starts to ramp up. They beat #1 LSU earlier in the season, and as they enter the final few weeks of the regular season, Iowa didn't settle for winning just two of three against a conference foe and fellow bubble team. They won all three games convincingly, which paid immediate dividends.
There's still more work to be done this season and little room for error, but this was a very successful weekend for the Hawkeyes. They'll travel east to take on Penn State (5-7 Big Ten, 23-13) in a three-game series next weekend.
Hawkeye Whiparound
It was another banner weekend for Iowa track and field, who this week competed at the Michael Johnson Invitational. Tionna Tobias was the standout performer on Friday, finishing 2nd in the long jump with a personal best 6.25m leap that ranks 4th-best in school history. On Saturday, Paige Magee took center stage, breaking her own school record in the women's 100m hurdles. Magee improved her school record by two-hundredths of a second, finishing in 13.15s. Tionna Tobias earned her second top-10 mark of the weekend, running the 7th-fastest 100m hurdles in school history at 13.51.
Jenoah Mckiver made his return to competition as well, winning the men's 400m race in 45.33s. Mckiver has perhaps the highest ceiling of any Hawkeye runner, which is saying a lot given the performances we've seen from other Iowa runners so far this year. Seeing him back in action and seemingly in form is a fantastic development as the postseason draws near. The Hawks ran one other top-10 time on the weekend when the women's 4x400 team of Ali Dorn, Paige Magee, Audrey Biermann, and Chloe Larsen finished in 3:35.53. Their time ranks 6th all-time at Iowa.
The #13 Hawks were limited to only one competition after the Musco Invite was canceled, but they still managed to break a school record and come away with an event win in a packed field. Tobias earning top-10 marks in both track and field events is another stunning show of athleticism and emblematic of this team. They're strong across the board and wherever you look, they're putting up impressive results. In fact, Iowa is now ranked #1 in the Midwest region. They'll be back in action next weekend at the fabled Drake Relays.
Iowa softball picked up a 7-1 Wednesday win over Western Illinois but was swept in a three-game weekend series against Minnesota (30-16 overall, 11-6 Big Ten). Iowa fell to 28-20 overall and 8-9 in Big Ten action.
Breanna Vasquez put together an incredible start in Wednesday's game, taking a perfect game into the 5th inning before the Leathernecks finally reached base. At the plate, the Hawks were led by Sammy Diaz, who went 3-4 with three RBI.
Unfortunately, the Hawks weren't able to carry any of that momentum into the weekend. Minnesota shut out Iowa in the first two games of the series, winning 6-0 and 3-0. The Hawkeyes kept the score closer in the third and final game, and took the game into extra innings, but the Gophers ultimately prevailed, scoring the winning run in the 9th to come away 2-1 winners.
Jalen Adams pitched well in the 3rd game of the series, shutting out the Gophers in her 6+ innings of work. Brylee Klosterman came through with the clutch hit to give the Hawks a brief 1-0 lead in the 7th. It was a difficult weekend for the Hawks, but they'll have a quick chance to get back on the winning track with a game against rival Iowa State (18-27 overall) on Wednesday before welcoming Rutgers (30-20 overall, 7-10 Big Ten) to Iowa City for a three-game set.
Iowa tennis split a pair of matches over the weekend, falling 4-0 to Northwestern before bouncing back to upset Illinois with a 4-1 victory. The Hawks struggled to get anything going against the Wildcats, but flushed the bad loss quickly, kicking off the match against Illinois by winning the doubles point. Iowa followed up with wins in singles from Samantha Mannix (court 1), Daianne Hayashida (court 3), and Vipasha Mehra (court 5).
Mannix clinched the match win with an intense three-set victory, upsetting the #81 player in the country. The Hawks have put together a quietly strong conference resume and will now look to turn that into postseason success. They'll be the #6 seed when the tournament kicks off on April 27 and will face Indiana in their first match.
Iowa rowing took part in the Lake Wheeler Invitational last week and came away with a several wins against some top competition. On Friday, the Hawks' Varsity III Eight boat won their race, besting Navy by more than two seconds. Iowa carried the momentum into Saturday where they won three more races, 1V8, 1V4, and 2V4. The Hawks competed with some of the best teams in the country, including #8 Penn, #9 Syracuse, and #14 Duke, and more than held their own. It was an good showing for a team that has looked strong early in the year. The #19 Hawkeyes will next compete at the Pac 12 duel event on April 29th.
Iowa women's golf competed in the Big Ten Championships last weekend, where they finished 11th. Shannyn Vogler paced the Hawkeyes, tying for 34th at +15. Two other Hawks also finished in the top 40, Paula Miranda (+16) and Jordan Amelon. The Big Ten Championships wrap up the season for the women's golf team, who will take the summer off before returning for the fall slate.