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Iowa Baseball drops heartbreaker to Northwestern

On3 imageby:Kyle Huesmann•04/06/25•

HuesmannKyle

Iowa Baseball fell to Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)
Iowa Baseball fell to Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)

After winning the first two games of the weekend to extend their Big Ten winning streak to 10 for the first time since 2007, Iowa Baseball fell short in the series finale, losing 5-4 to Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. The Hawkeyes rallied to tie the game in the top of the ninth, but a Ryan Kucherak walk off single won it for the Wildcats.

“Tough loss today,” said head coach Rick Heller. “We had 13 hits, and when you have 13 hits, you have to score more than four runs. We had opportunities and didn’t get the hit.”

With the loss, the Hawkeyes fall to 20-10 overall and 12-3 in Big Ten play. They are still in sole possession of first place in the conference standings, with UCLA at 10-2.

Players of the Game

  • 1B Blake Guerin: Guerin finished the day with a team-high three hits, including a game-tying double with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.
  • RHP Tyler Guerin: The other Guerin brother, Tyler, tossed 2.0 scoreless inning out of the bullpen, recording a pair of strikeouts. He threw 16 of his 25 (64.0%) pitches for strikes.

Wildcats tally four consecutive hits in the third inning, knock Reece Beuter out early

The Iowa starting rotation has been very good this season and had yet to run into a true “blow up” start that forced the coaching staff to go the bullpen in the early innings. They had not had a single weekend start go less than 3.1 innings, but Reece Beuter was only able to complete 2.0 innings on Sunday.

Reece ran into some trouble in the first inning, issuing back-to-back one out walks, but followed that up with consecutive strikeouts of Trent Liolios and Ryan Kucherak to end the inning. He responded with a 14-pitch, 1-2-3 inning the second, including a strikeout, which seemingly stabilized his outing. Things went south quickly in the third inning and forced Heller to go to the bullpen.

Bennett Markinson and Preston Knott set the table with singles, while Owen McElfatrick and Jackson Freeman did the damage, with back-to-back doubles to give Northwestern a 3-0 lead. Beuter was forced to 59 pitches and allowed six of the 12 batters he faced to reach base, including four straight hits that knocked him out of the game.

“We didn’t get the start we wanted out of Beuter and had to go to the pen earlier than we would’ve liked,” Heller said. “Up until the end, those guys did a pretty good job.”

Matthew Kouser gives Northwestern a solid start

The Wildcats do not have an incredibly deep bullpen and while their top arm, Blake MacMillan, was available, they needed freshman Matthew Kouser to provide a good start and give some length.

Similar to the first half of game two of the series, the Hawkeyes were able to put traffic on the bases, but were unable to get the big hit to two to put runs on the board. Iowa hitters were just 1/13 with runners on base with Kouser on the mound and managed to score just one run.

The fourth inning was the Hawkeyes best chance to put up a crooked number after a Blake Guerin single and Andy Nelson double put two in scoring position with just one out. Kouser was able to retire Kooper Schulte (6-3) and Ben Wilmes (F-9) to limit Iowa to just one run on the Schulte groundout.

Kouser allowed one run on five hits over 5.0 innings, including three strikeouts to two walks. Getting through five innings gave MacMillan a chance to come in and potentially finish the game.

Hawkeyes strike back, tie the game in the sixth inning

Northwestern went to the ‘pen in the sixth inning, turning to Blake MacMillan. The inning did not get off to a promising start, with the ‘Cats left-hander retiring Blake Guerin and Ben Swails.

With two outs in the inning, Jackson Beaman put together a good at-bat, working an 8-pitch walk to extend the inning. The walk proved to be game-changing, as Kooper Schulte followed, slapping an RBI triple into the right field corner, cutting the Wildcats lead to 3-2. In the ensuing at-bat, Ben Wilmes slapping the 1-2 pitch from MacMillan past first baseman Trent Liolios for a game-tying RBI single.

Tyler Guerin came in out of the bullpen and recorded consecutive 1-2-3 innings after the Hawkeyes tied it, keeping the game knotted 3-3, going into the late innings.

Trent Liolios clutch eighth inning home run puts Iowa on the ropes

The Big Ten’s home run leader, Trent Liolios, had been held in check the entire series, with Iowa pitchers limiting him to just one hit in nine at-bats, including five strikeouts. However, Liolios managed to come through in the eighth inning to put the ‘Cats on the brink of a win in the series finale.

He came to the plate four his fourth at-bat of the game, still looking for his first hit of the day. He struck out in the 1st and 3rd and grounded out in the fifth. Liolios golfed a 2-1 pitch from Ben DeTaeye that was low and out of the zone, over the wall in right field for a solo home run to give Northwestern a 4-3 lead.

It was his 14th home run of the season, which puts him back into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

Blake Guerin keeps the Hawkeyes alive in the top of the ninth

Trailing by a single run in the top of the ninth, Iowa had their backs up against the wall and just three outs to work with. However, it didn’t feel like the Hawkeyes were out of it, with an offense that has consistently produced from top to bottom this season.

Miles Risley got the rally started with a one out single, but Daniel Rogers flew out to centerfield, bringing Blake Guerin to the plate with tying run still standing on first base. The first pitch Guerin saw from Northwestern reliever Blake MacMillan was a pitch he liked. He drove a 111-mph laser into left-center, and it ricocheted off the glove of left fielder Preston Knott who made a diving attempt to make the catch. Risley scored from first base to tie the game 4-4.

Ryan Kucherak walks it off for Northwestern

Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Rick Heller stuck with reliever Ben DeTaeye who needed just one pitch to retire Jack Counsell in the bottom of the eighth inning. DeTaeye got Bennett Markinson to bounce into a 6-3 groundout, but got into trouble after that. He hit leadoff hitter Preston Knott with a 2-2 pitch and then walked Owen McElfatrick on five pitches.

Heller went back to the bullpen, calling on Chas Wheatley with two on and just one out, with the hope that Wheatley could induce a double play groundball. He got Jackson Freeman to put a ball on the ground, but the high bouncer was not double play worthy, forcing 2B Gable Mitchell to throw to first for the second out. After an intentional walk of Trent Liolios, Ryan Kucherak, who was just 1/11 on the weekend, drove 1-1 offering from Wheatley into the left-center gap for a walk off winner.

“You give up two free bases in the bottom of the ninth, you’re setting yourself up to lose. Unfortunately, that’s what happened today,” said Heller. “You just have to tip your hat and move on.”

What’s next for Rick Heller and Co?

The Hawkeyes will host the Milwaukee Panthers for a midweek game on Tuesday at Duane Banks Field. First pitch is set for 4:02pm CT on BTN+.

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