Iowa Baseball Preview: Western Michigan

WEEKEND SERIES: VS WESTERN MICHIGAN (5-13)

The Hawkeyes enter the last weekend of the non-conference season with a 16-3 record. They had a wacky schedule last week, as they traveled to Kansas City to face South Dakota State, before returning to Iowa City for a doubleheader on Sunday against the Jackrabbits. The Hawkeyes swept the series and picked up 12-1 midweek win over Grand View to extend their winning streak to six games.

Iowa finishes up non-conference play with a series against the Western Michigan Broncos at Duane Banks Field. The Broncos come into the weekend with an underwhelming 5-13 record. They were swept by #1 LSU in the opening series and are 2-4 through two weekends of MAC play. WMU lost to Michigan State in East Lansing 8-3 on Wednesday.

Iowa Baseball welcomes Western Michigan to Duane Banks Field for a three-game series this weekend. pic.twitter.com/V9Wdk7m2NO

— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) March 21, 2023

THE NUMBERS

OFFENSE: IOWA: 7.9 runs (59th), 9.8 hits (92nd), .294 AVG (73rd) WMU: 6.2 runs (172nd), 8.7 hits (193rd), .259 AVG (195th)

PITCHING: IOWA: 4.6 runs (31st), 6.9 hits (13th), 11.8 SO/9 (11th) WMU: 9.3 runs (278th), 10.7 hits (266th), 7.2 SO/9 (263rd)

DEFENSE: IOWA: 1.0 errors (87th), .973 fielding percentage (86th) WMU: 0.9 errors (60th), .978 fielding percentage (39th)

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

FRIDAY- Soph RHP Brody Brecht vs rJr RHP Brady Miller

To this point in the season, Brody Brecht has been the most consistent starter on the Iowa pitching staff. He owns a 2.74 ERA over 23.0 innings and averages 14.09 SO/9. Outside of his LSU start, Brody is averaging 4.13 BB/9, which figures out to 2.76 per every 6.0 inning start.

Brady Miller will be making his sixth Friday start of the season for the Broncos. Miller brings in a 6.84 ERA over 26.1 innings and is allowing 1.22 hits per inning pitched. He has done a good job limiting walks, as he has allowed just ten. Last time out against Eastern Michigan, Miller turned in his best performance of the season. He completed 7.0 scoreless innings, including seven strikeouts to two walks and just three hits.

SATURDAY- rSr LHP Jared Simpson vs Fr RHP DJ Thompson

Jared Simpson has been pitching very well out of the bullpen for the Hawkeyes and is getting rewarded with a start in place of Marcus Morgan. Simpson has allowed eight runs on 11 hits over 19.2 innings this season, but six of those runs came in a tough outing at Texas Tech. An outing that Rick Heller and his staff feel was just a blip on the radar. Last time out against SDSU, Jared went 4.0 scoreless innings and struck out ten of 14 batters he faced.

True freshman DJ Thompson will be making his first start of the season, but has made seven appearances out of the bullpen for the Broncos. It hasn’t gone great, as opponents are hitting .304 off of him, including 1.24 hits per inning. Last time out against Michigan State, Thompson threw 1.2 scoreless innings and registered three strikeouts.

SUNDAY- Jr RHP Ty Langenberg vs TBD

Sometimes a change of scenery is all that is needed to change the performance of a player. That is what Coach Heller is hoping for, as they move Ty Langenberg to the Sunday starting spot. After struggling in his four starts of the season, Ty moved to the bullpen for his last two appearances. The results against St Thomas and South Dakota State were promising. He tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, including seven strikeouts and allowed just three hits. His strike rate has risen to 68.4% over the last two games.

The Broncos did not name a starter for Sunday, but LHP Dane Armbrustmacher (6.37 ERA) and RHP Ethan Houghtaling (16.20 ERA) are the most likely to throw. They have combined for nine starts, but have not had much success. Opponents have racked up 42 runs on 51 hits over 41.1 innings against the two pitchers.

BRONCOS PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. OF Will Morrison- The top hitter on the team so far this season, Will Morrison made a big turn after batting .226 a year ago. He is batting .400 through 18 games this season and leads the Broncos with 28 hits. When he gets a hit, he normally gets a couple. In nine of 12 games where he has registered a hit, he has multiple, including two four hit games.

2. 1B Cade Sullivan- Sullivan slugged ten home runs and 26 extra base hits last year en route to Second Team All-MAC honors. Through 17 starts, he has seen his batting average drop from .315 to .264, but his still a dangerous bat. Cade leads the team with six home runs and 19 RBI’s. He is not a big threat to walk, as his walk rate is just 4.9%.

3. 3B Gavin Doyle- Fifth year senior Gavin Doyle is known for getting on base. He batted .343 last year, but bumped it up to a team-leading .459 on-base percentage because he was able to draw 37 walks. So far this season, Doyle is batting just .242, but has a .405 on-base percentage, thanks to drawing a team-leading 15 walks.

4. OF Dylan Nevar- The 2022 MAC Freshman of the Year has had a “sophomore slump” start to his 2023 campaign, but showed enough last year to warrant being on this list. Nevar batted .325 in 53 starts last season, including 20 doubles, 11 home runs and 49 RBI’s. So far this year, he is batting just .235, but is second on the team with 13 RBI’s.

5. RHP Jake Gernon- On a struggling pitching staff, Jake Gernon is a bright spot. He has appeared in eight games and has posted a 2.35 ERA over 7.2 innings. He generally needs contact to get outs, as just three of his 23 recorded outs have come via the strikeout.

MIDWEEK GAME (MARCH 28)- AT ILLINOIS STATE (6-9)

The Redbirds won their first two series of the season against Austin Peay and Arkansas State, but have won just two of their last nine games. They went 0-2 against Nebraska and were outscored 20-3, while Minnesota recently beat them 10-3. Illinois State faces Belmont at home this weekend.

Redbirds Players to Watch

1. 3B Greg Nichols- Greg Nichols has gotten off to a good start at the plate, as he is batting .297 with three doubles and four home runs. He is third on the team with 11 RBI’s and tied for first with 33 total bases. Nichols has registered a hit in 11 of his 15 games.

2. OF Daniel Pacella- The true freshman out of Mundelein, Illinois has been swinging a dangerous bat in the Redbirds lineup so far this season. He is batting .263, but six of his 15 hits have gone over the fence for home runs. Pacella leads the team with 15 RBI’s and has five multi-hit games.

FINAL THOUGHT

Set the over/under for this weekend at 2.5 wins. The Broncos pitching staff has struggled mightly so far, as opponents have scored 8+ runs in 11 of 18 games. The Iowa lineup is balanced throughout and does not offer many breaks for a struggling staff. As long as the Hawkeyes pitching staff limits free bases and doesn’t give WMU extra opportunities, this weekend has sweep written all over it.

First pitch on Friday at Duane Banks Field is set for 4:05pm. All three games this weekend will be streamed on BTN+.