clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

IOWA SWEEPS INDIANA, FANS FEEL UNITED

Iowa jumps to a 3-0 start in Big Ten play in emphatic fashion, busting out the brooms on two-time defending conference champion Indiana.

By Hellerball
@UIBaseball

Indiana arrived at Duane Banks Field last Friday ranked No. 19 by D1Baseball.com, and victorious in 13 of its last 14. It left with three straight convincing losses; matching in one weekend its loss total from conference play in 2014. Iowa swept the Hoosiers 2-0, 5-1, and 10-6, putting Iowa on the precipice of being ranked itself, and garnering some national props, even before the sweep was complete. Around here, that means...

Tyler Peyton starred for Iowa in game one. The junior righty tossed a five-hit complete-game shutout, walking none and striking out five. Peyton also drove in all the support he needed in the first inning, with an RBI groundout that brought home Eric Toole. Toole led off the game for Iowa with a double, and moved to third with one out on a sac bunt by Jake Mangler. The Hawkeyes added an insurance run in the eighth, as Nick Day scored on one of three Indiana errors in the 2-0 Iowa win.

Blake Hickman turned in a quality-plus start as well in game two, giving up just three hits and one run in eight innings. Iowa again jumped out to an immediate 1-0 lead, and Toole again was the catalyst, leading off with a single, and coming home on a sac fly by Dan Potempa, following a Mangler single and a Peyton walk. The Hawkeyes opened the floodgates with a four-run seventh, sparked by a Jimmy Frankos leadoff single immediately preceding a two-run homer by Nick Roscetti. Ryan Erickson finished Indiana with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Game three started shaky for Iowa, as Calvin Mathews staked the Hoosiers a 2-0 first-inning lead, and needed a Mangler-Roscetti-Peyton 4-6-3 double play to leave it at that. But Iowa got to Hoosier starter Scott Effross in a big way in the bottom of the first. Toole, Mangler, and Peyton singled in succession to lead things off for Iowa. Effross plunked DH Sean Moore to bring in Toole. Joel Booker then gave Iowa a 3-2 lead with nobody out, driving a two-run double into the right field corner. Kris Goodman made the first out, but brought home Moore with a sac fly. Roscetti walked, loading the bases for Nick Day, who singled to bring home Booker and chase Effross. Toole came up again and notched an RBI groundout to the right side to cap a six-run first for the Hawks. Toole and Peyton added RBI singles in the thrird, after Indiana had closed to 6-3. Now up 8-3, Iowa turned it over to the bullpen. Nick Hibbing threw three scoreless before combining with Erickson to surrender a three-run eighth, which brought Indiana within 8-6. Iowa added on again in the bottom of the eighth, though, with two two-out RBI hits, a single from Peyton, and a double from freshman Austin Guzzo. Nick Allgeyer stranded two Indiana baserunners in a scoreless ninth to close out a 10-6 win. @UIBaseball shared some highlights:

With that, Randy Johnson's Mullet and I will be commencing a rankings watch. Iowa was already receiving votes in a couple of polls. I think this sweep, and the dominant fashion in which it was achieved, may put a number next to Iowa's name. Crazy, huh?

I may have given a quick recap of what lies ahead for the Hoosiers, a competitor in the B1G pennant race [!], but I'm still MANCOTTING. Iowa gets Grandview at home tomorrow night, travels to Western Illinois on Wednesday, and returns to B1G action on the road at Purdue on Friday. So a busy week for the team, but at least we can kick back and enjoy this one!