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Hawkeyes blast Minnesota in the series finale

On3 imageby:Kyle Huesmann•04/15/23•

HuesmannKyle

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Photo by Dennis Scheidt

Splitting the doubleheader on Friday afternoon, set up a big contest today between the Hawkeyes and Gophers. For Minnesota, a win could have vaulted them to fifth in the Big Ten standings, while a win for Iowa would help them avoid an NCAA resume crippling series loss.

Rain forced first pitch to get delayed by 150 minutes, but when the game was finally played, the Iowa offense picked up right where they left off yesterday evening in game two. They scored in six different innings and defeated the Golden Gophers 18-4.

After a three up, three down first inning, the Hawkeyes got on the board with a flurry of runs in the second inning. Sam Hojnar got things started with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to make it 1-0. A perfectly executed double steal and a safety squeeze made it 3-0. Hellerball.

Later in the inning, Ben Wilmes flared an RBI single into right field. It hopped over the head of the right fielder Kris Hokenson, which allowed Wilmes to advance to third. Keaton Anthony followed with his 18th double of the season to make it 5-0 Hawkeyes.

While the final score did not indicate it, the Gophers fought back early against Iowa starter Ty Langenberg. Back-to-back two outs hits got Minnesota on the board. The second hit, a two-run home run, from Riley Swenson cut the Iowa lead to 5-2.

The Hawkeyes manufactured a run in the third inning on a squeeze bunt from Michael Seegers to drive in Brennen Dorighi to make it 6-2. Minnesota answered back in the fourth inning. After back-to-back walks issued by Langenberg and a passed ball, Riley Swenson delivered his second big hit of the game. His two-run single cut the lead to 6-4. However, that was it for the Gophers in the scoring department.

Ty Langenberg went 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits, while striking out five and walking five. Jack Whitlock came in out of the bullpen and was great over 2.2 innings. He retired eight of the nine batters he faced with a pair of strikeouts.

Meanwhile, it was the Iowa offense that got going to put the game away quickly. Sam Hojnar lashed an RBI double off the wall in left field to make it 7-4 Hawkeyes in the fifth inning, but it was the sixth and seventh innings that blew it open.

Ben Wilmes led off the sixth with a solo home run to left field. His first home run in a Hawkeye uniform. Later in the inning with two runners on, Kyle Huckstorf delivered a triple into the right field corner. Michael Seegers followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 11-4 Iowa.

The seventh inning was ugly for the Minnesota pitching staff. They walked five batters and hit another, while Iowa put up five runs in the inning with no RBI hits. Kyle Huckstorf and Sam Hojnar each had sacrifice flies that drove in runs to extend the lead.

Then in the eighth, Keaton Anthony made is 17-4 with a sacrifice fly. It gave the Hawkeyes seven sacrifices for the game, which tied an NCAA record for most in a single game. Minneapolis area native Blake Guerin added an RBI double in his return home to make it 18-4.

Will Christophersen and Jared Simpson each tossed 1-2-3 innings out of the bullpen to finish off the Hawkeyes series clinching victory. The three bullpen arms combined for five strikeouts to zero walks and allowed one hit over 4.2 innings.

At the plate, five hitters finished with two hits, while Kyle Huckstorf and Sam Hojnar led with three RBI’s each. Three other batters finished with two RBI’s. Ben Wilmes and Brayden Frazier each scored three runs, while six other batters scored two runs. The Hawkeyes were 8/21 (.381) with runners on base and were an outstanding 25/36 (.694) in advancement situations.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: LF Ben Wilmes- 2 H, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HR

Up next for the Hawkeyes…

With the win, Iowa moves to 25-9 on the season and 4-5 in Big Ten play. They currently sit at #55 in the RPI, which is not far out of the target area of Top 50. Up next is a pair of midweek games for the Hawkeyes, before a big home series against Nebraska. On Tuesday, Iowa will travel on the road to face Illinois-Chicago at 6:00pm on ESPN+. The Hawkeyes will return to Duane Banks Field on Wednesday to face the Bradley Braves at 6:05pm on BTN+.

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