Iowa Baseball Preview: at Minnesota

WEEKEND SERIES: AT MINNESOTA (9-22)

The Iowa Baseball team is coming off of a pair of tough weekends to open Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes had a chance to win in all six games against Maryland and Indiana, but currently find themselves sitting at just a 2-4 record. Iowa picked up a 12-1 run-rule victory in seven innings on Wednesday over Milwaukee. Up next, they travel to Minneapolis for a series against Minnesota.

The Gophers come into the series with a 9-22 record, but has won six of their last ten games, including a series win over Ohio State. While they got off to a slow start, losing15 of their first 17 games, but their non-conference schedule was brutal. They have faced West Virginia (3), Houston (3), UC Santa Barbara (2), Gonzaga (2), Oregon State, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt so far this season. The Gophers defeated North Dakota State 11-9 on Tuesday.

“Minnesota is a dangerous team,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Their non-conference schedule was as tough as anybody, if not tougher than anybody in the conference, so they’re not going to be intimidated by us.”

THE NUMBERS

OFFENSE: IOWA: 8.1 runs (37th), 9.6 hits (113th), .291 AVG (80th) MINNESOTA: 4.1 runs (299th), 8.3 hits (253rd), .249 AVG (252nd)

PITCHING: IOWA: 4.8 runs (33rd), 7.1 hits (8th), 11.4 SO/9 (8th) MINNESOTA: 6.1 runs (124th), 8.9 hits (106th), 7.6 SO/9 (238th)

DEFENSE: IOWA: .975 fielding percentage (68th) MINNESOTA: .973 fielding percentage (94th)

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

FRIDAY #1- Soph RHP Brody Brecht vs Soph LHP Tucker Novotny

Brody Brecht has been impressive over the last month of play and last Friday against Indiana was more of the same. Brecht went a career-high 7.0 innings and allowed just one run on two hits, while striking out seven and walking four. Over his last five starts, he has struck out 44 and allowed just 17 hits. Brody has given Iowa a chance to win each time he has taken the mound.

Tucker Novotny will get his ninth series opening start of the season, but has an 0-4 record, despite having decent numbers. He has posted a 4.57 ERA over 41.1 innings, including 41 strikeouts to 17 walks. Novotny has gone 5.0+ innings in his last four outings. Last time out against Purdue, he went 6.0 innings and allowed two unearned runs on two hits. He struck out eight and walked just two. Don’t let the the 0-4 record fool you, he can give the Gophers a chance to win.

FRIDAY #2- Soph RHP Marcus Morgan vs rSoph RHP George Klassen

Marcus Morgan had improved his walks per inning from 1.37 last season to 0.73 over his first seven appearances this season. Despite that, 3+ walks in five of his first six outings was still a concern. However, this past week against Indiana, Marcus put together his best outing of his Iowa career. He held the Hoosiers scoreless over 5.0 innings, including seven strikeouts to just two walks. The Hawkeyes are in a much better spot when he can give the pitching staff a solid outing.

The Gophers version of Brody Brecht, Klassen can run his fastball up to 100 mph, but he has had trouble with control at times. Recently, he has gained more control, as he has issued ten walks over his last 22.0 innings. Klassen has a 4.70 ERA over 30.2 innings, including 29 strikeouts to 23 walks. He is allowing just 0.65 hits per inning. His best outing of the year was against Houston when he tossed 7.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts to two walks.

GAME #3 TBD- Jr RHP Ty Langenberg vs rSr RHP Richie Holetz

Ty Langenberg is still trying to get back to the version of himself that had him as a preseason pick to win Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. Four of his last five outings have been steps in the right direction, but he is still allowing a concerning 1.35 hits per inning. Last time out against Indiana, Ty went 5.1 scoreless innings. He worked around six hits and three walks to give the Hawkeyes a chance to win.

The Gophers will send Richie Holetz to the mound for the series finale, but he has statistically been the best pitcher on the team. He comes into the weekend with a 2.76 ERA over 42.1 innings, including 38 strikeouts to 17 walks. Holetz hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start this season. Last time out against Purdue, he went 6.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out seven and walked three.

GOLDEN GOPHERS PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. OF Brett Bateman- If you’ve paid attention to Big Ten baseball over the last few years, you know the name Brett Bateman. He has started 99 games over the last three seasons. This year, he leads Minnesota with a .349 average and a .452 on-base percentage. He’s not an extra base hit threat, but he does have 13 multi-hit games this year. Bateman is 11/18 (.611) over his last four games.

2. OF Boston Merila- Merila is batting .321, with a .425 on-base percentage, including a team-leading 11 hit by pitches. He is second on the team with 34 hits and has eight doubles. Merila is just 3/14 in his career against Iowa.

3. SS Ike Mezzenga- Mezzenga is batting .292 this season with a team-high ten doubles, 18 runs and 49 total bases. He is third on the team with 33 hits and second in RBI’s with 15. He has a hit in 22 of 31 games, including nine multi-hit games.

4. 1B Weber Neels- The true freshman from Cottage Grove, MN has appeared in 28 games with 18 starts. When he gets a chance to hit, he can really swing it. Neels has four doubles and five home runs. Overall, he is batting just .230, but he is still dangerous.

5. LHP Noah Rooney- Rooney is the best arm out of the Gophers bullpen. He has posted a 3.24 ERA over 25.0 innings, but is very much a pitch to contact hitter. Just 20% of his outs come via the strikeout. Despite that, he has been able to get outs as of late. Rooney has allowed just three runs over his last 21.0 innings (1.29 ERA).

MIDWEEK (April 18)- AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO (14-14)

The Flames enter the weekend with a 14-14 record, including a 3-0 record against Big Ten teams. They defeated Northwestern 24-20 in crazy slugfest on Tuesday night.

UIC went just 1-8 against Alabama, Southern Illinois and Indiana State, the top three teams that they have gotten to face this year.

FLAMES PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. 3B Charlie Szykowny- Szykowny was a DIII All-American at Wisconsin-Stout and has stepped right in as a good hitter at the DI level. He leads the Flames with a .333 average, including a team-leading 36 hits, eight home runs and 25 RBI’s. He has 12 multi-hit games and has reached base in 24 of 27 games.

2. OF Carson Roberts- College of DuPage transfer Carson Roberts is third on the team with a .318 average and is second with a .460 on-base percentage. He has been hot as of late, with ten hits and nine RBI’s over his last five games.

3. DH/OF Cole Conn- Conn is batting just .211 this season, but has a .390 on-base percentage thanks to 28 walks/hit by pitches. He leads the team with eight doubles and ten stolen bases. Pitchers will have to be around the zone against Conn because he is not afraid to take a walk.

MIDWEEK (April 19)- VS BRADLEY (11-17)

The Hawkeyes just played Bradley back on April 5th in Peoria and defeated them 9-6. They got swept last weekend against Missouri State, but won their midweek game against SIU-Edwardsville. The Braves are 1-4 against Big Ten teams this season, including a series loss at Michigan.

BRAVES PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. OF Ryan Vogel- Vogel is the best hitter the Iowa pitchers will face this week. He is hitting .405 for the Braves with a .477 on-base percentage. He leads the team with 45 hits, ten doubles and 14 stolen bases. Vogel is such a tough out because of his 10.2% strikeout rate. He has 15 multi-hit games this season.

2. 1B Connor O’Brien- O’Brien is the top power bat in the Braves lineup. He leads the team with ten home runs, 32 RBI’s and a .609 slugging percentage. The Hawkeyes held him to 0/5 in their first matchup, but he has a hit in 21 of 28 games.

3. C Logan Delgado- Delgado is batting .373 with a team-leading .488 on-base percentage. He has started just 20 of 28 games, but is third on the team with eight doubles and 25 hits. Delgado has a hit in 14 of his last 16 games, including six multi-hit games.

FINAL THOUGHT

Set the over/under for the week at 4.5 wins. The Hawkeyes really need to take care of business over this set of five games. The good news is that Iowa is 6-0 against Minnesota over the last two season. The bad news is that a back-to-back midweek games is not an easy task. The biggest keys are simple ones. The pitching staff has to limit free bases, while the hitters have to take advantage of runners in scoring position. A 5-0 week would give the Hawkeyes some big momentum going into a huge home series against Nebraska next weekend.

First pitch of the Friday doubleheader is set for 3:00pm at Siebert Field. The series finale has not yet been determined. All three games will be streamed on BTN+.