Brody Brecht dominates on the mound, Hawkeyes sweep Rutgers
At the beginning of the week, Coach Rick Heller stood in front of his team and told them that it was time to fight. They had a 16-15 overall record and were sitting on the Big Ten Tournament bubble with a 6-6 mark in conference play. Hardly a season that matches the preseason expectations.
“Fight that kind of fight where you’re not afraid, that kind of fight, where you’re fighting for your life and when you’ve got a chip on your shoulder,” said Heller.
On Sunday afternoon, the Hawkeyes finished up a potentially season-changing sweep over Rutgers with a commanding 5-1 win. The crowd at Duane Banks Field was treated to dominating performance on the mound by Brody Brecht. It was the exact type of game that Iowa fans were expecting to see week in, and week out from their favorite team when the season began.
“There’s some thing I’ve got to clean up, but you’ve got to enjoy the good ones you have, so it definitely felt good to be out there and feel like myself against,” said Brecht. “Everyting was working for me. Fastball kind of tetered off a little bit late, but I thought Sean (McGrath) called a great game. Position players made a lot of plays for me, so I’ve got to give them a lot of credit too.”
The outing for Brody got off to a good start, striking out the side in the top of the first inning. Although the Rutgers offense ranks near the top of the Big Ten in every category, they mustered very little traffic on the bases.
Back-to-back walks in the fifth inning put the Scarlet Knights in a position to get on the board, but Brecht got Pete Ciuffreda swinging to end the inning. An infield single in the eighth inning from Jackson Natili drove in a run, but the Hawkeyes were already in command at that point. Brody completed a career-high 7.2 innings, allowing just one run on two hits, while he racked up 12 strikeouts to just three walks. He threw 72 of his 110 (65.5%) pitches for strikes.
“Only allowed one leadoff guy on in his eight innings and the difference that makes at the start of an inning is really important,” said Rick Heller. “Slider was really good today and once he established that he was going to throw it for strikes, then you see the chases come into effect.”
Over his last couple of starts, Brody struggled to consistently throw his best pitch, the slider, for strikes. Rick Heller said that working through outings without his best pitch hitting was a good learning experience.
“The good thing that happened during that time was that he really picked up the ability to throw his changeup, which is a split finger pitch. He had multiple games where he couldn’t hit with a slider, so he had to have his splitter hitting,” said Heller. “I thought having to go through that without his best pitch not there was going to make him a better pitcher down the road.”
At the plate, it was a tough go for the Hawkeyes. Christian Coppola retired the first seven batters he faced, with six strikeouts, but things unraveled quickly when he allowed a baserunner. Michael Seegers reached base after a hit by pitch and, all of the sudden, Coppola could not find the strike zone out of the stretch. He walked back-to-back hitters, before Sam Petersen put Iowa in front with a 5U fielder’s choice ground out. In the ensuing at-bat, Raider Tello drove a two-run triple off the right field wall to extend the Hawkeyes lead to 3-0.
“I don’t really try to do too much whether it’s a big moment or not a big moment. Just treat them all the same,” said Tello. “I want to be able to drive in a run if needed and today they go over heads, found holes. Sometimes they’ll do that, sometimes they won’t, but today they did.”
In the fifth inning, it was Raider Tello back up at the plate in an important spot. A couple of walks from Rutgers reliver Donovan Zsak set the table and Tello cleared it. He drove a two-run double into the left field corner to make it 5-0 Hawkeyes. With Brody Brecht sailing on the mound, it felt like the lead might as well have been 15-0.
“I’ve faced Brody in live sets and it’s not fun. Facing a lot of guys on our staff is not fun and when they’re throwing well, pitching well and pounding the strike zone, we can be one of the better teams in the country,” said Tello.
Iowa finished the game with just two hits, both coming off the bat of Raider Tello. Those hits were timely and the free bases drawn ahead of those hits were timely as well. Andy Nelson and Michael Seegers combined for four runs, three walks and a hit by pitch.
Coming into the weekend, the Hawkeyes were very much on the Big Ten Tournament bubble. Now, they sit in fifth place, with a three-game lead over 9th place in the standings. Comfortably in with four weeks to play. Raider Tello says that this series can turn the tides for their season.
“It’s a big deal, especially heading into a rivalry series with Nebraska. Helps the guys feel confident and if we keep it going, we can still be something very special. We still have everything ahead of us. We have have everything to play for and nothing to lose.”
Up Next, the Hawkeyes return to Duane Banks Field on Tuesday for a midweek matchup against the UW-Milwaukee Panthers. First pitch is set for 6:05pm CT on BTN+.
