Iowa Baseball Series Preview: Washington State

WEEKEND SERIES: VS WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (0-8)

With the Big Ten moving from a 24-game conference slate to a 30-game schedule, this coming weekend will be the final chance for the Hawkeyes to get everything in line before heading to Rutgers next weekend. The location this weekend is Cleburne, Texas and the opponent is the Washington State Cougars. A four-game series at La Moderna Field, home of the American Association Cleburne Railroaders. It will be the third all-time meeting between the two programs, with Iowa winning the last meeting back in 2022.

The Cougars are led by second-year head coach Nathan Choate, who spent four seasons at Loyola-Marymount prior to taking the job at Wazzu. He won the West Coast Conference regular season title in 2023 with the Lions, and was 21-32 last season with the Cougars. It’s been a rough start to the year for Washington State, as they are still looking for their first win of the season, sitting at 0-8, but four losses have come by 3 runs or less. They were swept by #4 Arkansas in a four-game opening weekend series, before going 0-3 at the Kleberg Bank Classic a week ago. The Cougars dropped a Monday midweek game at Texas A&M-Corpus Chrisiti.

As for the Hawkeyes, they enter this week on a two-game winning streak, after defeating Stetson and UMBC to close out their weekend at the Stetson Tournament in DeLand, Florida. They sit at 3-3 overall, which carries a much better feeling than the 1-3 record they had after Friday’s loss to Notre Dame in extra innings.

Washington State Last 8 Games (0-8)

Feb 14-17 at Arkansas: L 3-2 (10), L 14-2, L 5-2, L 12-2 Feb 21 vs Michigan State: L 9-2 Feb 22 vs UCLA: L 7-6 Feb 23-24: at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: L 8-6, L 8-2

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION

LHP Bryson Walker (Thursday) – The Houston transfer will get the ball to open the series on Thursday, but I wouldn’t expect this to be more than a 3-4 inning start and then turn it over to the bullpen for a makeshift midweek game. In his first outing of the season against South Florida, Walker allowed two runs on three hits over 1.0 inning. Rick Heller will be looking to get more out of Bryson in this start.

LHP Cade Obermueller (Friday) – Through two weeks, Cade Obermueller has pitched well enough to earn a pair of wins, but instead, he still sits at 0-0. In last Friday’s loss to Notre Dame, Obermueller allowed one run on four hits over 5.1 innings, including eight strikeouts to three walks. He wasn’t quite as sharp as he was in the season opener, throwing 59 of his 99 (59.6%) pitches for strikes. Obermueller has totaled 18 strikeouts in 10.1 innings and has a 1.07 WHIP.

RHP Aaron Savary (Saturday) – Similar to Obermueller, Aaron Savary wasn’t quite as sharp as his first start of the season, but it’s hard to argue with a 7-0 win over Stetson. Savary tossed 5.1 scoreless innings, holding the Hatters offense to just one hit, but did give up six walks to equal his six strikeouts. Despite only throwing 44 of his 84 (52.4%) pitches for strikes, Aaron was able to still be effective. Savary has totaled 16 strikeouts over 11.1 innings and has allowed just three hits.

RHP Reece Beuter (Sunday) – In Sunday’s shutout win over UMBC, Reece Beuter was absolutely phenomenal. He put up 7.0 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and one walk, while striking out five. Not only did Beuter throw 53 of his 72 (73.6%) pitches for strikes, but he also averaged just 10.3 pitches per inning. Effective and efficient. Reece has thrown 69.7% of his pitches for strikes through two starts and has given up just one walk over 11.0 innings.

WASHINGTON STATE PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION

LHP Jake Tedesco (Thursday) – A transfer from Dayton, lefthander Jake Tedesco will get the start to open the series for the Cougars. In two seasons with the Flyers, Tedesco appeared in 13 games, with two starts, posting a 5.88 ERA over 15.1 innings, including 15 strikeouts to 11 walks. He has appeared in two games this season, with neither going well. He has allowed six runs on six hits over 3.1 innings, while giving up five walks to five strikeouts. Tedesco has good fastball velocity, reaching up to 94 mph.

RHP Griffin Smith (Friday) – A JUCO All-American last season at Rock Valley CC in Illinois, righthander Griffin Smith is the Cougars ace to start the year. In 13 starts for the Golden Eagles, Smith went 11-0, with a 1.99 ERA over 77.0 innings, including 113 strikeouts to just 13 walks. He held opponents to just 0.68 hits per inning. In a pair of starts this year for Washington State, Smith has a 2.70 ERA over 10.0 innings, including six strikeouts to three walks. He tossed 5.0 scoreless innings against #4 Arkansas in the season opener. D1Baseball reports that his fastball is in the 90-92 range, while he also throws a changeup and a slider.

LHP Nick Lewis (Saturday) – A redshirt freshman from California, lefthander Nick Lewis was rated as the #21 LHP in the state in the class of ’23 by Perfect Game. After not appearing in a game as a freshman, Lewis pitched in the West Coast Summer League, posting a 0.39 ERA over 22.2 innings, including 15 strikeouts to just three walks. After a tough first start against Arkansas, Lewis bounced back against UCLA, allowing one run on four hits over 5.0 innings, including four strikeouts to one walk.

TBA (Sunday) – The Cougars have not announced a starter for the Sunday series finale, but Central Arizona CC transfer righthander Luke Meyers has gotten a start in each of the first two weekends. He has a 4.50 ERA over 10.0 innings, including seven strikeouts to three walks.

COUGARS PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. OF Max Hartman – The lone returner starter from last season’s Washington State team, outfielder Max Hartman was a preseason All-Mountain West selection by the coaches. A year ago, Hartman started 48 games, slashing .286/.375/.391, totaling 55 hits, 11 doubles, three home runs and finished with a team-high 41 RBI’s. He also tied for the team lead with 29 walks+hbp and stole ten bases. So far this season, Hartman is batting .321, with a team-high nine hits, but he has struck out ten times.

2. 1B Ryan Skjonsby – A transfer from Cypress College in California, first baseman Ryan Skjonsby earned Second Team All-Orange Empire honors last season for the Chargers. He batted .349, with 11 doubles, a team-high nine home runs and 51 RBI’s. So far this year, Skjonsby is batting .250, totaling seven hits, four doubles and three RBI’s.

3. OF Logan Johnstone – A former transfer from Gonzaga, outfielder Logan Johnstone appeared in 27 games, with 15 starts for Washington State last season. He slashed .250/.354/.368 in his limited action, totaling 17 hits, three doubles, one home run and ten RBI’s. Johnstone did post a low 11.4% strikeout rate in 79 plate appearances. So far this season, he is batting just .190 in 21 at-bats, but has reached base six times via walk+hbp for a .357 on-base percentage.

4. DH/3B Ricco Longo – A transfer from Spokane Falls CC, infielder Ricco Longo was a Second Team All-NWAC selection for the Sasquatch. Longo batted .280, with 56 hits, 14 doubles, three home runs, 36 RBI’s and 17 stolen bases. Through eight games at Washington State, Longo is batting .200, with a .375 on-base percentage.

5. LHP Troy Shepard – Another transfer from Spokane Falls CC, lefthander Troy Shepard is name to know on a Wazzu pitching staff that has struggled to begin the year. As a redshirt sophomore at SFCC last season, Shepard posted a 2.30 ERA over 82.0 innings, including 109 strikeouts to 27 walks, earning NWAC All-Tournament honors. In two appearances this season, Shepard has a 4.26 ERA over 6.1 innings, including four strikeouts to one walk. D1Baseball reports that he can throw three pitches for strikes, with his fastball in the 87-89 mph range.

MIDWEEK: VS ST THOMAS (2-2)

On Tuesday, the Hawkeyes will come back to Iowa City for their home opener at Duane Banks Field against St Thomas. It will be the sixth all-time meeting between the Hawkeyes and Tommies, with Iowa leading the series 4-1. St Thomas currently owns a 2-2 record, splitting a four-game weekend with New Mexico State to open the year. They will be down in Texas for a four-game series with Tarleton State this weekend.

TOMMIES PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. 3B Matthew Maulik – For a brief moment, the Tommies best hitter was a transfer portal target for the Hawkeyes, but Matthew Maulik opted to return to St Thomas for his sophomore season. Last season, as a true freshman, Maulik earned Second Team All-Summit League honors, slashing .343/.412/.547, with 62 hits, six doubles, nine home runs and 44 RBI’s. So far this season, through four games, Maulik is batting .588, with ten hits and seven runs scored.

2. OF Brigs Richartz – A First Team All-Summit League selection a year ago, Brigs Richartz slashed .343/.407/.536, with 62 hits, 13 doubles, six home runs and 34 RBI’s. He led the Tommies with 21 extra base hits, but had the lowest walk rate of any starter at just 7.6%. Richartz struggled during the opening weekend at NMSU, totaling just three hits in 18 plate appearances.

3. C Max Moris – A First Team All-Summit League selection a year ago, Max Moris slashed .329/.408/.474, totaling 57 hits, nine doubles, four home runs and 33 RBI’s. Throughout his career with the Tommies, Moris has been a tough guy to strikeout, with a 14.7% career strikeout rate, but his doesn’t walk much either, owning an 8.7% walk rate. So far this season, Moris is batting .389, with seven hits and five RBI’s.

FINAL THOUGHT

Set the over/under for the week at 3.5 wins. Washington State is probably a bit better than their 0-8 record indicates, as they’ve played a pretty tough schedule and lost a couple of close ones. Friday starter Griffin Smith with be a tough matchup and Nick Lewis on Saturday won’t be easy either. That being said, I like Iowa to take two out of three on the weekend, with Thursday effectively being a midweek game for both sides. If the Hawkeyes can grab the opener, they will have the inside track at taking three of four. As for St Thomas, they have a couple of dangerous bats, led by Matthew Maulik, but that’s a game that Iowa needs to win. Overall, a 4-1 week would feel good, while a 3-2 week would feel like they missed an opportunity somewhere along the line.