Play-by-play recap: Washington 4 Iowa 3

Just as anticipated, the series opener between Iowa and Washington was a low scoring affair. The Huskies got a walk off bunt single from Blake Wilson in the bottom of the ninth to grab a 4-3 win in a series opener that spilled over into Saturday morning (central time).

The Hawkeyes will almost certainly feel like they gifted Washington the win, with the Huskies scoring their four runs on just three hits. Iowa took the lead in the second inning on an Andy Nelson solo home run and extended it to 2-0 in the fifth on a Gable Mitchell sac fly. However, for the first time all season, Cade Obermueller had a blow-up inning, giving up five free bases in the bottom of the fifth, including a pair of bases loaded hit by pitches.

Iowa took the lead back in the sixth on a Kooper Schulte RBI double, but Washington tied it in the seventh, after a leadoff walk got to third on a two-base wild pitch. Blake Wilson tied the game with a sac fly and then won it in the ninth.

Hawkeye pitchers struck out 15 Husky hitters, but gave up eight free bases, while the offense was shut down by Washington reliever Josh Emanuels who tossed the final 3.2 innings.

With the loss, the Hawkeyes fall to 31-14 on the season and 20-5 in Big Ten play. UCLA defeated USC in their series opener, so now, the lead atop the Big Ten standings is now just 1.5 games. Iowa will look to take the final two games of the series to avoid their first series loss in conference play.

Here is a play-by-play breakdown of how the Hawkeyes game went against the Huskies…

TOP 1 – Iowa 0 Washington 0

***RHP Max Banks pitching for Washington***

Ben Wilmes F-6 (I), Gable Mitchell 3U (II), Reese Moore BB, Miles Risley 1B, Daniel Rogers 4-3 (III)

0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 left on base

BOTTOM 1 – Iowa 0 Washington 0

***LHP Cade Obermueller pitching for Iowa***

Casen Taggart 6-3 (I), AJ Guerrero F-9 (II), Sam DeCarlo ꓘ (III)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

TOP 2 – Iowa 0 Washington 0

Blake Guerin 6-3 (I), Andy Nelson HR (1-0), Kooper Schulte K (II), Ben Swails 5-3 (III)

1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on base

BOTTOM 2 – Iowa 1 Washington 0

Jackson Hotchkiss 1B, Hotchkiss picked off (I), Malakhi Knight ꓘ (II), Colton Bower K (III)

0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on base

TOP 3 – Iowa 1 Washington 0

Wilmes 1-3 (I), Mitchell 1B, Moore 3-6 FC (II), Risley 6-3 (III)

0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on base

BOTTOM 3 – Iowa 1 Washington 0

Trevor Kole ꓘ (I), Blake Wilson F-4 (I), Cooper Whitton K (III)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

TOP 4 – Iowa 1 Washington 0

Rogers F-8 (I), Blake Guerin 6-3 (II), Nelson ꓘ (III)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

BOTTOM 4 – Iowa 1 Washington 0

Taggart ꓘ (I), Guerrero ꓘ (II), DeCarlo 1B, DeCarlo picked off (III)

0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on base

TOP 5 – Iowa 1 Washington 0

Schulte F-3 (I), Swails BB, Wilmes 1B, Mitchell F-7 SAC (2-0), Moore BB, Risley HBP, Rogers F-7 (III)

1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 left on base

BOTTOM 5 – Iowa 2 Washington 0

Hotchkiss BB, Knight HBP, Bower BB, Kole K (I), Wilson K (II), Whitton HBP (2-1), Taggart HBP (2-2)

***RHP Anthony Watts pitching for Iowa***

Guerrero F-8 (III)

2 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on base

TOP 6 – Iowa 2 Washington 2

Blake Guerin 2B, Nelson ꓘ (I), Schulte 2B (3-2)

***RHP Josh Emanuels pitching for Washington***

Swails K (II), Wilmes F-9 (III)

1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base

BOTTOM 6 – Iowa 3 Washington 2

DeCarlo 6-3 (I), Hotchkiss F-9 (II), Knight K (III)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

TOP 7 – Iowa 3 Washington 2

Mitchell K (I), Moore 3-1 (II), Risley F-4 (III)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

BOTTOM 7 – Iowa 3 Washington 2

Bower BB, Kole K (I), Wilson F-8 SAC (3-3) (II), Whitton ꓘ (III)

1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

TOP 8 – Iowa 3 Washington 3

Rogers 1B, Blake Guerin 6-4-3 DP (II), Nelson ꓘ (III)

0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on base

BOTTOM 8 – Iowa 3 Washington 3

Taggart 5-3 (I), Guerrero K (II), DeCarlo K (III)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

TOP 9 – Iowa 3 Washington 3

Schulte ꓘ (I), Jackson Beaman K (II), Wilmes ꓘ (III)

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base

BOTTOM 9 – Iowa 3 Washington 3

Hotchkiss K (I), Knight BB/SB

***LHP Brant Hogue pitching for Iowa***

Bower IBB, Kole F-9 (II), Wilson 1B (4-3)

1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors

FINAL SCORE – WASHINGTON 4 IOWA 3

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	F	H	E
Iowa	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	0
Washington	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	4	3	0

Pitching Stat Lines

IOWA: Cade Obermueller (4.2 INN, 2 R, 2 H, 9 K, 2 BB), Anthony Watts (3.2 INN, 2 R, 0 H, 6 K, 2 BB), Brant Hogue (0.1 INN, 1 H, 1 BB)

WASHINGTON: Max Banks (5.1 INN, 3 R, 6 H, 3 K, 3 BB), Josh Emanuels (3.2 INN, 0 R, 1 H, 6 K, 0 BB)