Iowa Baseball falls to Ohio State on Friday night
A season that started with so much promise for the Hawkeyes has turned into one that sees them slowing sliding towards the Big Ten Tournament bubble. Truly, an unforseen situation for Rick Heller’s squad. The struggles continued this evening, as Iowa fell to Ohio State 8-5 in the series opener at Bill Davis Stadium on Friday night.
The Buckeyes jumped out to an early lead off the bat of Nick Giamarusti. His two-run, wind aided home run to right field put OSU on top 2-0. Then in the third inning, a leadoff triple from Henry Kaczmar was followed by an RBI single from Matthew Graveline, who later scored on a double steal to make it four run deficit for the Hawkeyes.
OSU starter Landon Beidelschies retired nine of the first ten hitters he faced, but Raider Tello took him out to right field for solo home run in the fourth inning to cut into the Buckeyes lead. Then, in the fifth, a couple of free bases gave Iowa some traffic on the bases. An Andy Nelson RBI double, followed by an RBI groundout from Raider Tello slashed the deficit to just a single run. However, when the Hawkeyes needed to follow up a run scored with a clean inning, OSU was able to put runs back on the scoreboard.
Cade Obermueller, for the most part, pitched well. He threw 48 of his 79 (60.8%) pitches for strikes, while he gave us just two free bases through four innings. Unfortunately, his outing fell apart in the fifth, with a walk and hit by pitch to begin the inning. Aaron Savary came in out of the bullpen to finish out the frame, but not before a Mitchell Okuley infield single and a wild pitch made it 6-3 Buckeyes.
The best chance of the game for the Hawkeye offense came in the sixth inning. With Beidelschies nearing the end of his outing, Iowa loaded the bases with a single and a pair of free bases. Gable Mitchell was able to drive in a run with a sacrifice fly, but that was all. OSU head coach Bill Mosiello went to Blaine Wynk out of the bullpen and he got Michael Seegers to ground out to end the threat. It felt like a massive missed opportunity to flip the momentum.
Joseph Mershon put the finishing touches on the game in the late innings. He finished the game with a game-high four hits, including an RBI single in the sixth, and an RBI double in the eighth to make it 8-4 Ohio State. The Hawkeyes threatened in the ninth with back-to-back singles to begin the inning, however, Blaine Wynk closed things out. Andy Nelson drove in a run with a 6-4 fielder’s choice, but Raider Tello struck and Davis Cop grounded out to end the game.
Since Big Ten play began, Iowa is 1-3 on Friday night, with their lone win coming in walkoff fashion against Michigan last weekend. The loss drops the Hawkeyes into a tie for sixth in the Big Ten with a 5-5 record. They are just a half game clear of Indiana and Michigan State for eighth place.
Final Pitching Stat Lines
IOWA
Cade Obermueller: 4.0 INN, 6 R, 6 H, 6 K, 3 BB, 1 HBP Aaron Savary: 2.1 INN, 1 R, 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP Jack Young: 1.2 INN, 1 R, 2 H, 2 K
OHIO STATE
Landon Beidelschies: 5.2 INN, 4 R, 4 H, 7 K, 3 BB, 2 HBP Blaine Wynk: 3.1 INN, 1 R, 3 H, 4 K, 1 BB
Up Next, the Hawkeyes will look to force a series deciding game three on Saturday afternoon against the Buckeyes. Brody Brecht will take the mound for Iowa, while it will be Gavin Bruni for Ohio State. First pitch is set for 1:00pm CT on BTN+.
