PREVIEW: Iowa vs Indiana State (NCAA Tournament)

WHO: Indiana State Sycamores (43-15 overall; 24-3 MVC; regional 1-seed)
WHEN: 5:00 PM CT (Saturday, June 3, 2023)
WHERE: Bob Warn Field (Terre Haute, IN)
TV: none
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (John Leo and John Evans) | YouTube
MOBILE: www.espn.com/app
ONLINE: ESPN+ (Sam Ravech and Danan Hughes)
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @UIBaseball | @IowaonBTN
LINE: Iowa -1.5 (O/U: 10.5)

Indiana State went 42-15 during the regular season this year, including a torrid 24-3 mark in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Sycamores were hot to end the season, winning 12 of their final 13 games entering the NCAA Tournament. ISU's strong season earned the Sycamores a national seed and allowed them to host an NCAA regional for the first time in program history. Indiana State went 20-4 in the friendly confines of Bob Warn Field this season, evidence of a pretty potent home field advantage.

Given that Indiana State is nestled in the heart of Big Ten country, it's no surprise that the Sycamores played several Big Ten opponents this season. ISU went 5-3 against the Big Ten, which included a pair of extra-inning wins over Illinois and two wins over Purdue (as well as two losses to Michigan State). Indiana State also recorded a split with in-state rival Indiana, with ISU losing at Bloomington 15-5 but beating the Hoosiers 4-0 at Terre Haute.

Iowa and Indiana State have a few other common opponents as well. Both teams beat Quinnipiac in the season-opening Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, FL. Iowa suffered a midweek upset loss at Illinois State in late March, while the Sycamores swept the Cardinals in a three-game home series in early April. Iowa also won home and away against Bradley this year, while Indiana State swept Bradley in a three-game road series.

Of course, there aren't just common opponents to look at when comparing Indiana State and Iowa this season -- there's also their past encounter. Iowa and Indiana State started the season against one another (at the aforementioned Snowbird Baseball Classic), with Iowa coming away 6-2 winners in extra innings.

In that first encounter, Iowa got two runs in the second inning courtesy of a Sam Petersen solo home run and a RBI double by Sam Hjonar that scored Kyle Huckstorf. Iowa didn't score again until the 11th inning, when Huckstorf ended the game with a walk-off grand slam.

Huckstorf was the hitting star for Iowa in the game, going 2/5 with that aforementioned grand slam. Michael Seegers also went 2/4 in the game with a pair of singles. All told, Iowa recorded nine hits, with seven Iowa hitters recording at least one hit in the game.

Ty Langenberg got the start for Iowa and had a solid outing: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts. Jared Simpson and Will Christopherson combined to give Iowa six shutout innings in relief, allowing just one hit (and four walks) while striking out 10 batters.

Indiana State hitters were held to six hits, though they did pick up six walks and one hit batter as well. The Sycamores ended up leaving 11 men on base during the game. Luis Hernandez and Josue Urdaneta led ISU with two hits apiece. Their top hitter, Adam Pottinger, went 1/5 with two strikeouts, though his one hit was a triple.

Matt Jachec started on the mound for ISU and went five innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking none. Connor Fenlong pitched the remaining 5.2 innings of the game, which went well for the Sycamores -- right up until it didn't in the 11th inning.

ISU: ???
IOWA: ???

Neither team has announced a starting pitcher for today's game. We know that it won't be Marcus Morgan for Iowa (he started last night) and we know that Iowa probably won't see Jachec today (he started for Indiana State against Wright State yesterday).

Nor will Iowa see the winning pitcher for Indiana State yesterday: Zach Davidson, who replaced Jachec and threw four shutout innings, allowing four hits while striking out five and walking just one. Davidson has been one of ISU's best pitchers -- he hasn't allowed a run in his last 10 appearances, dating back to March 31. He's posted a 37:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the 21.1 innings of that streak. But after throwing 70 pitches yesterday, it doesn't seem like he would be available out of the bullpen today.

Iowa's options are Brody Brecht or Ty Langenberg. Langenberg, a junior right-handed pitcher, got the start against the Sycamores in the previous game and did well (allowing two runs in five innings). He also had lockdown stuff the last time he was on the mound for the Hawkeyes, in Iowa's 5-0 Big Ten Tournament semifinal win over Michigan.

But Brecht seems like the somewhat more likely starting option today. The sophomore right-hander has a flamethrower for an arm and if he's on, he could overpower the Sycamore lineup and put Iowa in prime position to win the regional.

Brecht went 5-2 this season with a 3.86 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 70 innings of work. He posted a team-high 101 strikeouts and held opponents to just 35 hits and a .148 opponent batting average. The question for Brecht is control, as always. He also led the team in walks (57) and wild pitches (14) and hit 9 batters. When he's been on this season, he's been unhittable. When he's struggled to find the strike zone, he's had some short and painful outings.

For the Sycamores, the starter is likely to be either Lane Miller or Connor Fenlong. Miller had nasty stuff this season, going 7-0 and leading the team in ERA (2.61) and WHIP (1.02). He allowed 46 hits in 58.2 innings (opponents hit .211 against him this season) and striking out 38 batters while walking 14. Fenlong went 9-2 this season while throwing a team-high 100 innings. He posted a 3.24 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP, allowing 81 hits and 27 walks, while striking out 62 batters.

Indiana State racked up 10 hits against Wright State on Friday, with every starter getting at least one hit. 3B Mike Sears led the team with a 2/3 performance, while LF Adam Pottinger went 1/3 with a solo home run and a sacrifice fly. Pottinger led Indiana State in average (.301) and on-base percentage (.449) and was second in slugging percentage (.532) and home runs (10). He's in the midst of a 34-game on-base streak as well.

SS Randal Diaz hit .295 this season and led the team in hits (69) and triples (3), while placing second in home runs (10). Sears led the team in home runs (19) and posted a .587 slugging percentage. DH Luis Hernandez hit .295 and led the team in doubles (17).

Iowa has only made the NCAA Regionals six times and the Hawkeyes have only advanced beyond the Regional stage once -- in 1972, their lone College World Series appearance. A win tonight would not win the Regional for Iowa, but it would put the Hawkeyes in a very strong position to advance. They would need just one more win to make it to next weekend's Super Regional and they would have two opportunities to get that win. Nothing is guaranteed, but it's always good to be in the strongest position possible, and a win over Indiana State would put Iowa firmly in command of this Regional.

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