In a game that was moved up a day to avoid potential rain on Wednesday, the Hawkeyes were able to outlast the Grand View Vikings on the strength of a seventh inning home run by Jake Adams.
Iowa fell into a hole in the second inning, spotting Grand View three early runs on RBI singles by Damon Nuss and Tyler Smith in Grant Judkins’ final inning of work. Judkins only went two innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk. He didn’t pitch too poorly, but he didn’t get things done when he needed to on this particular day.
The Hawkeye bats started to claw back in the third, however, as Robert Neustrom drove in three runs with a double and was chased home on an RBI single by Ben Norman. Austin Guzzo would also hit a solo home run in the fourth, his second of the year, to put Iowa up 5-3.
But the lead wouldn’t hold, as Grand View showed a lot of grit in this one. The Vikings were able to erase that lead in the seventh, taking advantage of an error to get a run across and driving in another run on a fielder’s choice to tie things up at five apiece.
That wouldn’t be the end of the scoring in the seventh, though, as the Hawkeyes were able to use some late game magic to put themselves ahead for good in the bottom of the inning. On an 0-1 pitch, Jake Adams got ahold of one deep to center that hit off the bottom of the light tower just beyond the wall and back into the field of play. After a little bit of confusion, the shot was deemed his ninth home run of the season, and the Hawkeyes went up 6-5.
That was all Zach Daniels would need to put this one away, as he improved his record to 5-1 on the year. Daniels pitched masterfully in relief, pitching 22⁄3 innings of hitless baseball with three strikeouts to close it out.
The Hawkeyes are now riding a three-game winning streak and have improved their record to 14-9 on the year.
Tuesday's Hawkeye highlights from a 6-5 win. Iowa hosts UNLV Fri/Sat/Sun at Banks Field. Come cheer on the Hawkeyes! https://t.co/JlExumTjq8
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) March 29, 2017
On Deck
Next up, the Hawkeyes will host UNLV for a three-game series at Duane Banks Field from March 31-April 2. All three games will be streamable on BTN Plus.
The Rebels are 10-17 on the year and haven’t played very well away from Las Vegas, as their 2-8 road record shows. They’ll bring an eight-game losing streak to Iowa City with them as well, as they’ve played a really tough stretch of games. Their current situation is similar to that of the Hawkeyes, as they’ve had some really good hitting, but have failed to find good pitching.
Will the good vibes continue in Iowa City? Here’s hoping this winning streak can extend over a struggling squad that Iowa’s found at the right time.
BONUS LINK:
When you’re playing good baseball, you’re feeling good.
Pitching changes don't usually make the highlights. Here was some of the dugout activity during one on Tuesday: https://t.co/tr441hR4cQ
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) March 29, 2017