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Hawkeyes comeback falls short in the season-opener against South Florida

On3 imageby:Kyle Huesmann•about 17 hours•

HuesmannKyle

Iowa Baseball fell in their season-opener against South Florida. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)
Iowa Baseball fell in their season-opener against South Florida. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)

There wasn’t a whole lot of easing into the 2025 season for Iowa and South Florida. A closely contested season-opener went in favor of the home side Bulls, with a seventh inning grand slam off the bat of Ryan Pruitt proving to be the difference in the 5-4 win. After winning their season-opener in each of the past three years, the Hawkeyes will start with an 0-1 record.

Things did not get off to the best start on the mound for junior left-hander Cade Obermueller. A one out walk issued to Marcus Brodil turned into a run, after a stolen base and an errant throw put him on third base. Lance Trippel drove in Brodil with an RBI fielder’s choice to make it 1-0 Bulls.

Obermueller settled in after his strenuous first inning and looked like the ace pitcher that the Hawkeyes think he can be this season. He rebounded after his 30-pitch first, completing 5.0 innings, allowing one run on one hit, including 10 strikeouts to just two walks. Cade threw 54 of his 88 (61.4%) pitches for strikes.

For South Florida, it was Ole Miss transfer lefty Corey Braun on the mound, and he looked dialed in over the first couple innings, retiring the first six batters he faced, including four strikeouts. The Iowa offense managed to scratch a run across in the third inning. With the bases loaded, and just one out, Gable Mitchell laid down a risky, but perfectly placed bunt at the first baseman to drive in a run.

Then, in the fifth inning, with Obermueller putting zeros on the board, Iowa took the lead. With two runners on base, Gable Mitchell drove an RBI single into right field to give the Hawkeyes a 2-1 lead. Heading into the bottom of the seventh, Rick Heller’s squad held a one-run lead.

Anthony Watts was the first arm out of the bullpen, and got into some trouble after tossing a 1-2-3 sixth inning. USF’s top hitter Rafael Betancourt led the inning off with a single, but Watts got a pop out and a strikeout, putting himself in a good position to get out of the frame unscathed. Facing a 3-2 count against #8 hitter Jacob Green, Watts put a fastball on the outside corner, but did not get the call. Pinch-hitter Jackson Mayo walked in the ensuing at-bat, loading the bases for Yavapai College transfer Ryan Pruitt and he delivered for the Bulls. Pruitt took the 1-2 offering from Watts and deposited it over the right field wall for a grand slam, putting USF in front 5-2.

The Hawkeyes mounted a rally in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. After Jaixen Frost drew a leadoff walk, but Miles Risley roped an RBI triple into the right field corner, drawing Iowa within 5-3. Ben Wilmes followed with an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 5-4, but USF reliever Brandon Keyster buckled down to record the final two outs of the game. He got Andy Nelson looking for strike three to close out a win for South Florida.

Offensively, Iowa finished with four runs on eight hits, led by Ben Wilmes and Jaixen Frost. The two combined for three hits and three walks, while Frost scored all three runs for the Hawkeyes in his first career start. Kirkwood CC transfer Miles Risley recorded two hits in his Iowa debut.

Pitching Stat Lines

IOWA: Cade Obermueller (5.0 INN, 1 R, 1 H, 10 K, 2 BB), Anthony Watts (2.0 INN, 4 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 3 BB), Brant Hogue (1.0 INN, 0 R, 0 H, 2 K)

SOUTH FLORIDA: Corey Braun (5.0 INN, 2 ER, 5 H, 6 K, 3 BB), Landen Yorek (2.1 INN, 0 R, 2 H, 2 K, 0 BB), Caleb Pundsack (0.2 INN, 1 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 1 BB), Brandon Keyster (1.0 INN, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 K)

Up Next: Game #2 of the series against South Florida on Saturday afternoon, will be a matchup between RHP Aaron Savary for the Hawkeyes and RHP James Hill for the Bulls. First pitch is set for 1:00pm CT on ESPN+.

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