Iowa Baseball Midweek Preview: Western Illinois Leathernecks

The Iowa Baseball team is back in Iowa City for a six-game homestand that kicks off on Tuesday evening with a midweek matchup against the visiting Western Illinois Leathernecks.

The Hawkeyes are coming off one of their biggest weekends of the season, taking down Michigan 6-5, 3-2, 7-4, for a road sweep over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Adding those three wins to the ledger, in conjunction with Oregon’s series win over UCLA, Iowa enters this week with a 2.5-game lead atop the Big Ten standings.

First pitch for Tuesday’s game between the Hawkeyes and Leathernecks is scheduled for 6:05pm CT on BTN+. It will be the 111th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Iowa leading the series 80-28-2, including a sweep in Iowa City last season.

Western Illinois Leathernecks (11-24, 5-10)

The visiting Leathernecks enter this weekend with an 11-24 overall record and a 5-10 mark in Ohio Valley play. After enduring a stretch where they lost 11 of 12 games, WIU has rebounded a bit, winning five of their last nine games. Sitting at #225 in the RPI, this is the highest the Leathernecks have been in the RPI after week 10 since they reached #224 back in 2021.

Iowa is one of just two Power 4 teams that Western Illinois will play this season, while the Leathernecks have just six total games against teams in the RPI top 150 on the schedule. WIU lost 11-4 at Illinois (RPI 97) back on March 11th, while they also fell at Southern Illinois (RPI 106) 6-3 on March 18th.

As a team, the Leathernecks have been able to hit for a solid average, ranking second in the Ohio Valley (.287), but have struggled in other areas. WIU ranks eighth in on-base percentage (.377), ninth in extra base hits (96), last in slugging percentage (.408) and last in runs scored (215). Three of 11 hitters that have started at least ten games this season are batting above .300 for WIU.

The pitching staff is where the Leathernecks has struggled, posting a 7.49 team ERA that ranks ninth in the Ohio Valley. Opponents are averaging 1.34 hits per inning and 4.12 extra base hits per nine innings. It’s not a staff that is going to tally many strikeouts, as they average just 5.88 strikeouts per nine innings. That’s last in OVC by a wide margin.

Leathernecks Players to Watch

1. 1B Liam Bushey – The top hitter for the Leathernecks, senior outfielder/first baseman Liam Bushey is putting together an All-OVC caliber season at the plate. In 33 starts, Bushey is slashing .393/.475/.504, with 53 hits, nine doubles, two home runs and 26 RBI’s. He’s second in the OVC in batting average and third in total hits. Bushey has tallied 13 multi-hit games and has an even walk+hbp-to-strikeout ratio, going down on strikes in just 14.0% of his 157 plate appearances.

2. OF Paul Osting – A transfer from Lincoln Trail College, outfielder Paul Osting has had a decent year as a starter for WIU. In 34 starts, Osting is slashing .286/.418/.381, with 36 hits, nine doubles, 17 RBI’s and a team-high 12 stolen bases. Although he is batting under .300, Osting as has really made up for its, reaching base 30 times via walk/hbp ranking fifth in the OVC in walks per game (0.74). Over his last nine games he is batting .424, with 14 hits and six doubles.

3. OF Tyler Large – A transfer from JUCO Howard College in Texas, outfielder Tyler Large is the only player to start all 35 games for the Leathernecks this season. His is slashing .271/.371/.429, with 38 hits, six doubles, four home runs and a team-high 28 RBI’s. Despite being the team leader in RBI’s, Large is a strikeout threat, owning a 23.2% strikeout rate over 164 plate appearances. He does have 10 RBI’s over his last six games, including seven walks to five strikeouts.

Iowa Hawkeyes (27-11, 17-4)

With four weeks remaining in Big Ten play and just nine games left for the Hawkeyes, they find themselves with a 2.5-game lead over UCLA in the standings. The race for the regular season title is still up for grabs, but Iowa goes into their home series with Indiana this week with a chance to take another step closer to a regular season title.

The sweep of Michigan gave Iowa an incredible boost in the RPI, catapulting them 36 spots up the ladder to #57, which is very much in NCAA at-large range. Still, there’s more opportunity ahead, as 12 of their 16 remaining games come against teams inside the RPI top 100.

Entering Tuesday’s game, junior infielder Gable Mitchell still has the team in lead in batting average (.351) and total hits (54), while he extended his on-base streak to 39 games. Meanwhile, catcher/designated hitter Reese Moore leads the way in extra base hits (21) and on-base percentage (.482). They Hawkeyes still lead the Big Ten in batting average (.310) and ERA (3.65), while they are tied for the top spot in on-base percentage (.422).

Final Thought

The Hawkeyes come into this game as a heavy favorite and it’s certainly a game that they don’t want to mess around with for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, this game is the final true RPI landmine on the schedule, so taking care of business is important, Secondly, it’s a double midweek with St Thomas coming to town on Wednesday, so keeping the pitching staff as fresh as possible for the leaders in the Summit League will be the goal. Iowa has won four consecutive games in this series via run-rule, including sweeping last season’s three-game series in run-rule fashion. Rick Heller and Co. wouldn’t mind extending that streak to five in a row tonight.