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Hawkeyes break through late, defeat Northwestern 7-1 and move to 12-2 in Big Ten play

On3 imageby:Kyle Huesmann•04/05/25•

HuesmannKyle

Iowa pitcher Aaron Savary delivers a pitch against Michigan State. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)
Iowa pitcher Aaron Savary delivers a pitch against Michigan State. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)

Another day, another Big Ten win. The Iowa Baseball team extended their conference winning streak to ten games, defeating Northwestern 7-1 on Saturday afternoon in Evanston. It’s the first time they’ve put together a double-digit Big Ten winning streak since 2007.

Through five innings, starting pitchers Aaron Savary and Sam Hliboki had the game looking like it was going to be a low-scoring pitcher’s duel. The Wildcats turned to their bullpen in the sixth inning and the Hawkeye bats came through with three runs on three hits to take the lead. They tacked on to the lead with home runs in the seventh and ninth to secure the series win, setting up a potential sweep on Sunday.

“Really well-played game today,” said head coach Rick Heller. “In all areas really. It started on the mound where Savary was fantastic. He gave us a great start.”

“Really proud of the guys. We got another series, a series on the road. I thought we played really well today. We were locked in and ready to go, we will need to be like that tomorrow.”

With the win, Iowa moves to 20-9 overall and 12-2 in Big Ten play. They’ve now won 17 of their last 20 games since starting the season with a 3-6 record.

Players of the Game

  • RHP Aaron Savary: After consecutive rocky starts, Savary allowed one run on three hits over 6.0 innings, including seven strikeouts to two walks.
  • 2B Kooper Schulte: A late entry into the lineup, Schulte led the way with three hits, including a pair of doubles. He reached base in all four at-bats.
  • C Daniel Rogers: Rogers finished the day with just one hit but drew three walks and scored a pair of runs.

Hawkeyes strike in the first inning, but held mostly quiet against Sam Hliboki

The Hawkeyes wasted no time getting on the board against Vanderbilt transfer Sam Hliboki. Ben Wilmes opened the game with a leadoff double, then advanced to third on a Gable Mitchell fly out and scored on a Reese Moore RBI groundout. Despite jumping out in front in the first inning, Iowa hitters were held in check by the ‘Cats ace.

Hliboki allowed one run over 5.0 innings, retiring 15 of the 22 batters he faced, including four strikeouts. The Hawkeyes tallied three hits and reached base seven times against Hliboki, but were 0/13 with runners on base. Gable Mitchell flew out with two on and one out in the fifth, while Miles Risley popped out to second base with bases loaded and two outs. Missed opportunities kept the game tied 1-1 going into the sixth inning.

Iowa breaks through with a three-spot in the sixth inning

With Sam Hliboki at the end of his day, Northwestern head coach Ben Greenspan opted to go to Wake Forest transfer Crawford Wade. One of the possible options to be the Sunday starter, it was the clear the Wildcats coaching staff was looking to try to grab the win going to Wade out of the bullpen.

Instead, the Hawkeyes finally broke through with a new arm on the mound. Daniel Rogers led off with a single and advanced to second on a Caleb Wulf sacrifice bunt. However, Wade was able to strikeout Jaixen Frost, pushing Iowa to 0/14 with runners on base.

Andy Nelson was the one to come through with the clutch at-bat, scorching a 104-mph ground ball off of third baseman Owen McElfatrick, with the ball caroming into left field, allowing Rogers to score. Kooper Schulte followed with an RBI double, while Ben Wilmes added a slashing RBI single to beat the shift. Although Nelson’s went down as an E5, it was essentially three straight hits to turn the game in the Hawkeyes favor.

“Kooper Schulte had a really big game,” said Heller. “Stepping in last second when Ben Swails wasn’t able to go. He clutched up big for us.”

Aaron Savary bounces back with a strong start

It had been a rough couple of weeks for Savary, allowing nine runs on nine hits over his last two starts, but the junior from Dubuque rebounded with a strong start on Saturday.

Aaron held the ‘Cats hitless through 3.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits over 6.0 innings, including seven strikeouts to two walks. He threw 55 of his 92 (59.8%) pitches for strikes. Although his strike thrown rate was probably a bit lower than he’d like, Savary was still pretty efficient, averaging 15.3 pitches per inning.

After walking the leadoff hitter, Preston Knott, in the first inning, Aaron retired the next 11 batters he faced into the fourth inning. The Wildcats tied the game with two outs in the fourth, with Ryan Kucherak delivering an RBI single after a Trent Liolios double. Savary limited the damage and got Bennett Markinson to pop out to end the inning.

In six of his eight starts this season, Savary has completed 5.0+ innings with two runs or fewer allowed, including three starts that have gone 6.0 innings or longer.

Long ball provides some cushion to the Hawkeyes lead

Leading 4-1 heading into the seventh inning, the Hawkeyes felt like they had control of the game with Anthony Watts on the mound. Still, the addition of a few insurance runs could make the lead a bit more comfortable.

Miles Risley opened the seventh inning with a blast, taking the 1-1 offering from Crawford Wade and sending it 353 feet over the wall in left field for a solo home run. His fourth home run of the season made it 5-1 Iowa. Then, in the top of the ninth, Blake Guerin, a defensive replacement at first base, came to the plate after Daniel Rogers reached base with a two out walk. Guerin made the two out free base hurt, launching a 397-foot, two-run home run to straightaway centerfield. Blake’s sixth home run of the season extended Iowa’s lead to 7-1 with just three outs left to get.

Anthony Watts closes the game out, records the final nine outs

With Cade Obermueller tossing the 7.0 inning shutout on Friday, Rick Heller was able to save Anthony Watts and bring him in to close things out in game two of the series. Watts did his job, recording the final nine outs of the game, which gives Iowa nearly a full arsenal of arms for the series finale.

Watts retired eight of the ten batters he faced without a single strikeout. He allowed two hits, but got four fly outs and four groundouts, including a 5-4-3 double play in the seventh inning. Anthony threw 21 of his 34 (61.8%) pitches for strikes.

Over his last five appearances, Watts has allowed just two runs on six hits over 9.0 innings, including ten strikeouts to two walks.

What’s next for Rick Heller and Co?

The Hawkeyes will go for their third consecutive sweep in conference play on Sunday. It will be right-hander Reece Beuter on the mound for Iowa, while Northwestern has yet to name a starter. First pitch is set for 1:00pm CT on BTN+.

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