Iowa Baseball Weekend Preview: Minnesota

WEEKEND SERIES: VS MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (10-10)

The Iowa Baseball team opened up their Big Ten slate last week with a trip to West Lafayette to face Purdue. Friday did not go according to plan, with the Hawkeyes falling 10-3. However, they bounced back, defeating the Boilermakers 4-3 and 9-6 to pick up a series win to kick off conference play. The Iowa offense racked up 13 runs on 29 hits over the last two days of the weekend.

The Gophers come into the weekend with a 9-10 record. Minnesota faced a tough slate with five combined games against #2 Oregon State, Northeastern and New Mexico in the first two weeks. This past weekend they traveled to San Francisco and took two out of three from the Dons.

Minnesota Last 10 Games (5-5)

March 7-9 at Gonzaga: L 7-3, W 8-5, L 5-3 March 13 vs St Olaf: W 5-1 March 15-17 at Elon: L 2-1 (10), L 6-5, W 9-7 (10) March 22-24 at San Francisco: L 6-4, W 12-10, W 12-6

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION

RHP Brody Brecht (Friday) – Through six starts this season, Brody Brecht has a 2.22 ERA, but free bases continue to keep him from going deep into games. He has given up 29 free bases over 28.1 innings and is averaging 20.6 pitches per inning. Last time out against Purdue, Brecht allowed six runs, three earned on seven hits over 5.0 innings. He walked three and struck out three, while four errors really hurt.

LHP Cade Obermueller (Saturday) – Arguably the most consistent starter for the Hawkeyes through six weeks, Cade Obermueller has a 2.89 ERA over 28.0 innings pitched. In four of his six starts, Cade has allowed two earned runs or less. He has given up 30 free bases, which has him averaging 18.9 pitches per inning. Last time out against Purdue, Obermueller allowed three runs on four hits over 5.0 innings, including four strikeouts and five free bases.

RHP Marcus Morgan (Sunday) – It has been a tough go for Marcus Morgan. Since his fantastic start against Ball State in the opening weekend, Marcus has allowed 22 runs over his last 18.0 innings (11.00 ERA). Over that stretch, he is allowing 0.93 hits and 1.23 free bases per inning. Last time out against Purdue, Morgan got through the first two innings on 19 pitches, but allowed three runs on two hits and six free bases over 4.2 innings.

MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION

LHP Tucker Novotny (Friday) – Last season, Tucker Novotny got the W against the Hawkeyes on Friday night. He allowed three runs on five hits over 6.0 innings, including eight strikeouts and four walks. The Gophers won the game 12-3. This season, through six starts, Novotny has posted a 5.79 ERA over 28.0 innings. He has racked up 33 strikeouts to 12 walks, but has allowed 28 hits. Last time out against San Francisco, Tucker allowed five runs on four hits over 5.1 innings, including ten strikeouts to two walks. He will be right around 90 with his fastball, while he will also use a breaking ball and a changeup.

RHP Will Semb (Saturday) – The former Iowa pitcher will make his seventh start of the season against his former team. Semb has posted a 6.91 ERA over 27.1 innings, including 37 strikeouts to 18 walks. His last four outings have been rough, as he has allowed 20 runs over his last 17.2 innings. Last time out against San Francisco, Semb last just 3.0 innings, allowing four runs on five hits, including five strikeouts to three walks. He will throw a mid 90’s fastball, with a good mid 80’s slider.

LHP Connor Wietgrefe (Sunday) – This will be the fifth lefthander the Hawkeyes will face in a six game span. Connor Wietgrefe has posted a respectable 4.09 ERA over a team-high 33.0 innings, including 29 strikeouts to just nine walks. Opponents are hitting an impressive .376 on balls in play and are averaging 1.15 hits per inning. Last time out against San Francisco, Wietgrefe allowed five runs on seven hits over 6.0 innings, including 13 strikeouts to just one walk. He will use a fastball in the low 90’s, as well as a slider.

The Key for Iowa Hitters – Keep the bats going – The Hawkeyes lineup from top to bottom has been putting together quality at-bats as of late. They’ve had good zone discipline and have attacked pitches in the zone. The three Minnesota starters have combined to allow 90 hits in 88.1 innings, while they are giving up just 3.97 walks per nine innings. If the Iowa hitters can stay locked in on attacking pitches in the zone, the stats show they could have some success.

GOLDEN GOPHERS PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. DH Ike Mezzenga – There isn’t a true star player in this Minnesota lineup, although they have several solid bats, but we will start with designated hitter Ike Mezzenga. He totaled 13 doubles, four home runs and a team-high 30 RBI’s last year. This season, Mezzenga is batting .309 with a .402 on-base percentage, including three doubles and five home runs. After a slow start, Ike has racked up 17 hits over his last 11 games.

2. 1B Weber Neels – An All-Big Ten Freshman Team selection last season, Weber Neels hit seven home runs last season. This season, Neels leads the team in both batting average (.338) and on-base percentage (.461), including five doubles, two home runs and a team-high 17 RBI’s. He has racked up seven multi-hit games and is currently on a nine game hitting streak.

3. 3B Jake Perry – A low .200’s hitter last season, Jake Perry has made a big jump in the hitting department this season. He is batting .322, including a team-high 29 hits, seven doubles, one triple and three home runs. Perry is going to swing the bat, as he has just an 8.1% walk rate, but he does have ten multi-hit games.

4. 2B Brady Counsell – The son of Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell, Brady Counsell knows baseball. He batted just .248 last season with 14 doubles and four home runs, but has bumped his average up to .287 this season, with a .382 on-base percentage. Counsell has six doubles and is tied for the team lead with five home runs. On the basepaths, Brady is the only big threat for the Gophers. He has stolen eight bases on nine attempts.

5. OF Kris Hokenson – As a freshman last season, Kris Hokenson batted just .239 as a part-time starter, but like many others on the team, he has made a sizeable jump this year. Hokenson is batting .311, with a .432 on-base percentage, including four doubles, four home runs and a team-high 17 home runs.

6. RHP Seth Clausen – The most electric arm in the Minnesota bullpen, Seth Clausen sports a mid 90’s fastball and a really good slider. Control has been his issue up until this season. Clausen has appeared in nine games, posting a 2.31 ERA over 11.2 innings. He has racked up 17 strikeouts to four walks, however, when opponents make contact, it normally goes for a hit, with a .429 average on balls in play.

MIDWEEK: AT BRADLEY (8-14)

The staple of the Hawkeyes midweek schedule, Bradley comes into the week with a 7-14, but they have won five of their last eight games. They have taken two of three in each of the past two weekends against Butler and Illinois State. The Braves had their midweek game against Lindwood canceled and will travel to Valparaiso for a three-game series this weekend.

BRAVES PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. CF Ryan Vogel – The Braves outfielder is one of the toughest hitters the Hawkeyes will face in their remaining midweek games. A two-time All-MVC selection, Ryan Vogel has racked up 25 doubles and 11 home runs over the last two years, while he finished with a .459 on-base percentage last season. This season, Vogel is batting just .263 with three home runs and 15 RBI’s. However, he has still been able to find a way to reach base at an elite level totaling 21 walks/hit by pitches to give him a .416 on-base percentage.

2. C Logan Delgado – A Second Team All-MVC selection last season, Logan Delgado batted .326, with a .451 on-base percentage, including 15 doubles and 27 RBI’s. This season, Delgado has a .338 batting average, with a .415 on-base percentage, including seven doubles and two home runs. Over the last eight games, he has 14 hits and five multi-hit games.

3. RF Tyrese Johnson – A transfer from Central Arizona College, Tyrese Johnson has been a big addition to the Braves lineup. Johnson is batting .301 with a team-high .440 on-base percentage, including four doubles and 11 stolen bases. He has five multi-hit games and has totaled 16 hits over the last 13 games.

FINAL THOUGHT

Set for over/under at 3.5 wins for this week. The Hawkeyes got off to a good start in Big Ten play with a series win last week against Purdue, but it needs to continue this week. Iowa has had recent success against Minnesota, however this is a capable team that wants play hard for HC John Anderson who is in his last season. The way the season has played out to this point, the Hawkeyes would love a 4-0 weekend, but 3-1 is a must with tougher weekends still to come.