Big Ten Tournament Preview Day 3: Iowa vs. Michigan

Who Iowa (30-22, 10-14 B1G) vs. Michigan (28-23, 13-11 BIG)

What The Hawkeyes and Wolverines clash to decide who will move on to face Nebraska Saturday at 9am. Iowa managed to squeak by Minnesota yesterday afternoon by a 2-1 margin thanks in large part to strong pitching performances from Blake Hickman, Jared Mandel, and Tyler Radtke. Hickman lasted five innings and allowed one Gopher run before giving way to Mandel in the sixth. Mandel earned the win, throwing three innings of shutout baseball before Radtke shut the door. In the eighth, a single by Jake Yacinich moved Jake Mangler to third before Dan Potempa’s sacrifice fly to give the Hawkeyes the eventual game winner. Michigan managed only one hit in yesterday’s game against Indiana and has scored three runs all tournament.

When 7:30 PM CT

Where TD Ameritrade Park, Someplace in Middle America (Omaha), BTN on the guide

Pitchers Tyler Peyton (Iowa), 5-0, 4.75 ERA vs. Evan Hill (Michigan), 4-6, 3.43 ERA

Thoughts Evan Hill stymied Iowa hitters in March, allowing no runs on two hits while lasting 5.2 innings. Tyler Peyton, meanwhile, struggled against the Wolverines, lasting only 4.1 innings while allowing five runs. Peyton has been hampered by a sore lat muscle for the last month so expect him to be on a short leash. TD Ameritrade has been unkind to both Wolverine and Hawkeye hitters so don’t expect much in the run category for this evening’s game.

This thread will also serve as the game thread to discuss tonight's game.  The usual rules apply.