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Iowa Baseball rolls Pepperdine for their best start since 2015

On3 imageby:Kyle Huesmann•03/05/23•

HuesmannKyle

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Photo by Dennis Scheidt

Rick Heller has his team playing at a high level right now. They are doing what they need to do on the mound to win games and the offense is driving in runs at a high rate. The Hawkeyes used seven runs after the seventh inning to put away the Pepperdine Waves 10-1 and clinch a sweep of the weekend in Mobile.

“Really happy with how we played this weekend,” said head coach Rick Heller. “We played hard all three days. Third weekend in a row on the road, thought our guys showed perseverance and toughness. Quick turnaround today after an intense game last night and they handled it well.  

It was the pitching staff that set the tone for the game today. Brody Brecht got the start on the mound, with his four-game suspension in rearview mirror and was solid. Ryan Johnson hit a solo home run to centerfield to get the Waves up 1-0 in the first, but Brecht buckled down from then on. Brody went 4.0 innings, allowing just one run on three hits, while striking out six and walking three.

Zach Voelker came in out of the bullpen and was very good again. He retired 15 of 18 batters faced over the final 5.0 innings of the game. Voelker struck out just one Pepperdine hitter, but got eight groundballs and four fly balls. Zach has allowed just two runs over 14.2 innings this season out of the Hawkeye bullpen.

“Brody Brecht gave us a good start, which is what we were hoping for,” said Heller. “Zach Voelker came in and was really good out of the bullpen again and closed the game out. The pitching was outstanding today.”  

The Hawkeyes were able to cash in on some control issues from Pepperdine starter Nathan Diamond in the third inning. Back-to-back bases loaded walks put Iowa in front 2-1. After striking out 17 times on Saturday night, the Hawkeyes drew nine walks/hit by pitches to just two strikeouts this afteroon.

Michael Seegers hit his second home run of the weekend in the top of the fifth to make it 3-1. The Waves threatened to score in the bottom of the inning, with two runners on and just one out. Zach Voelker forced Greg Mehlhaff and Jack Goodman to hit ground balls, which allowed the Hawkeyes to keep their lead.

From there, the offense got to the Pepperdine bullpen and put the game away. Sam Hojnar ripped a three-run home run off reliever Jack Chester to make it 6-1 in the eighth. Later in the inning, with Nick Bonn on the mound, Cade Moss delivered a bunt single to bring in Sam Petersen. Iowa scored five runs in the inning to extend their lead to 8-1.

Just to be safe, the Hawkeyes added on in the top of the ninth. Chase Moseley led off the inning with a pinch-hit triple and was later driven in on a Sam Petersen sacrifice fly. Michael Seegers added an RBI single to his already jam packed statline for the weekend and Iowa rolled to a 10-1 victory.

“Offensively, they switched pitchers about 15 minutes before the game,” said Heller. “I thought our guys handled it well. Tight game for a while, we had some line drives that were caught in middle innings, some bad luck. I just thought it was a professional patient approach by our offense, just kept at it and kept at it, and finally broke through.”  

Eight Hawkeye hitters recorded a hit, while Michael Seegers led the way with four. Sam Hojnar led with three RBI’s. Once again, the bats came up big with four two-out RBI’s. They finished with weekend with 23 two-out RBI’s on the weekend.

PLAYER OF THE GAME- SS Michael Seegers (3rd) – 4 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Michael Seegers earned the sweep of the weekend player of the game awards for the Hawkeyes. Seegers recorded three singles and hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. For the weekend, Michael accumlated nine hits, six runs, two home runs and six RBI’s.

Up next for the Hawkeyes…

With the win, Iowa moves to 9-1 on the season, which is good for their best start since starting 9-1 in 2015. That season, the Hawkeyes would go on to finish 41-18 and appeared in the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the Springfield Regional final.

“Really proud of the guys to this point,” said Heller. “We still have a lot of things to clean up and work on, but we are making progress and are headed in the right direction. It makes it a lot more fun, and a lot easier to work on those things when you’re winning games.”

Up next, the Coe College Kohawks will come to Iowa City for a midweek game on Tuesday. A win would give the Hawkeyes their best start since 1940. First pitch is set for 4:05pm and will be streamed on BTN+.