Skip to main content
iowa logo

Iowa Baseball stays hot, defeats Milwaukee 11-6 in midweek action

On3 imageby:Kyle Huesmann•04/08/25•

HuesmannKyle

Iowa outfielder Kellen Strohmeyer celebrates a home run against Milwaukee. (Photo by UI Athletics)
Iowa outfielder Kellen Strohmeyer celebrates a home run against Milwaukee. (Photo by UI Athletics)

After dropping the series finale in Evanston on Sunday, Iowa Baseball got back on track with an 11-6 midweek win over UW-Milwaukee on Tuesday evening at Duane Banks Field. With the win, Iowa moves to 21-10 on the season, while they have now won 18 of their last 22 games.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 9-0 lead, scoring in four of the first five innings, including home runs from Blake Guerin and Kellen Strohmeyer. However, the visiting Panthers were able to make a dent. They scored four runs in the eighth to draw within 11-6 but were unable to truly threaten.

“It was good to get back on track,” said Strohmeyer. “The Northwestern game didn’t go how we wanted it, but sometimes you can’t keep the win streak forever. We did a good job of not letting that deter us and just keep going.”

Players of the Game

  • OF Kellen Strohmeyer: Getting the start in left field, Strohmeyer led the way with three hits and a walk. His three-run home run in the fifth made it 9-0 Iowa.
  • SS Gable Mitchell: Mitchell reached base three times, scored a team-high three runs and tallied a pair of hits.
  • RHP Justin Hackett: Hackett tossed a scoreless fourth inning, striking out the side, including throwing 10 of his 17 pitches for strikes.

Hawkeye pitchers dominate Panthers hitters through five innings

Midweek games are always a bit of an unknown, when you’re sending a new pitcher to the mound almost every inning. However, Rick Heller got exactly what he was looking for through the first five innings of the game.

Freshman Jaron Bleeker got the start and ran into some trouble in the top of the first, loading the bases with one out, but got out of the early jam with a 6U-3 double play. He settled in and tossed a scoreless second inning, retiring the Panthers in order.

The next three pitchers to take the mound were impressive. Chas Wheatley, Justin Hackett and Ben DeTaeye combined for 3.0 hitless innings, including seven strikeouts to just one walk. They threw 28 of their 43 (65.1%) pitches for strikes.

“It’s important because we’re going to need them. We’ve found that out the last two Sundays. This past Sunday, it cost us and the Sunday before, we lived through it,” said Heller. “If I’m in that bullpen, I’m thinking, there’s some jobs to be had, and I’m going to jump up and grab it. That’s what we’re hoping for in these midweek games.”

Kellen Strohmeyer tallies three hits, blows the game open in the fifth inning

With the pitching staff shutting down the Panthers early in the game, the Hawkeyes were able to put runs on the board and build a comfortable lead.

Back-to-back singles from Gable Mitchell and Reese Moore set the table in the bottom of the first, with Miles Risley bringing in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly.

The same names were the ones inflicting damage to extend the lead. Gable Mitchell led off the third inning with a double and would later score on a Miles Risley RBI double. Then, leading 4-0 in the fourth, Mitchell came around to score for the third time of the game on a Reese Moore double.

Iowa used the long ball to put up a crooked number in the fifth inning. Blake Guerin jumped on a 1-0 pitch from reliever Keagon Kaufmann and launched a 424-foot solo home run onto Hawkins Drive. Later in the inning, with two runners on base, Kellen Strohmeyer won a 3-2 count battle, taking Kaufmann 374 feet off the scoreboard in left for an opposite field three-run home run to make it 9-0 Hawkeyes.

“It’s kind of a joke (with the team) that I don’t hit the ball backside very often…Kind of surprised me to see off-speed up (in the zone) but just felt good there and I felt confident all day. I feel like I’ve seen it well (at the plate).

Making just his second start of the season, Strohmeyer took full advantage of his opportunity. He reached base four times, including a team-high three hits batting at the bottom of the order. In limited action this season, Kellen is slashing .500/.625/.889, with nine hits, ten runs scored and three extra base hits.

“It’s just doing what I’m supposed to do, not making it bigger than it’s supposed to be,” said Strohmeyer. “I don’t need to press or try to do too much, just like Marty and Rick always say, do your 1/9th, so that was the biggest thing in my head.”

Panthers attempt to rally, with runs in the sixth and eighth inning

After delivering 5.0 nearly perfect innings, the Iowa pitching staff allowed Milwaukee to break through, adding a bit of undue stress to what was a dominant performance up until that point.

“It was really a tale of two games within one,” said Heller. “The first five innings, I thought, were outstanding, but the four innings really weren’t. They beat us 6-2 in the last four innings. We made some mistakes, and we didn’t pitch great at times, but it was what we needed. We needed to play and needed to get some guys out there.”

In the sixth, Milwaukee got on the board against Sam Hart, with a Charlie Marion RBI double and a Justin Hausser sac fly. The Hawkeyes answered with pair of runs in the seventh, but the Panthers made things interesting in the top of the eighth.

Ganon Archer faced just three batters, allowing a solo home run to Tate Schmidt, followed by a single and a hit by pitch. Rick Heller turned to Will Pearson, but he walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases. After a Justin Hausser sac fly, Pearson got a fly out and then a groundball that looked like it was going to get the Hawkeyes out of the inning. However, an error by Kooper Schulte extended the inning. Cade Polkowski drove an RBI single back up the middle in the ensuing at-bat, cutting the Iowa lead to 11-6, with two on and two outs.

Anthony Watts shuts the door, records the final four outs

The plan was to give Anthony Watts the midweek off, but the situation forced Rick Heller to go to the bullpen one more time in the eighth inning. With two on, two outs and the Panthers top hitter, Gabe Roessler, coming to the plate, Watts came on to try to silence the rally.

Anthony fell behind in the count 3-0, but battled back to 3-2 and got Roessler to ground out 4-3, ending the frame. Facing the best hitters in the Milwaukee lineup, Watts sailed through the ninth, striking out the side, including getting Charlie Marion swinging to end the game. He threw 14 of his 23 (60.9%) pitches for strikes.

Over his last five relief appearances, Anthony has a 1.75 ERA over 10.1 innings, including 14 strikeouts to just two walks and six hits allowed.

What’s next for Rick Heller and Co?

The Hawkeyes are set to host border rival Nebraska for a three-game series at Duane Banks Field this weekend. First pitch for the series opener on Friday is set for 6:00pm CT on BTN+.

You may also like