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Iowa

Iowa Baseball falls to Rutgers 5-4 in the series opener

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann03/07/25HuesmannKyle
The Iowa Baseball team huddles during a game against Loras College. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)
The Iowa Baseball team huddles during a game against Loras College. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)

The Iowa Baseball team continues to find themselves locked in close games going into the late innings but have just been unable to consistently make the necessary plays to win them. On Friday afternoon, the Hawkeyes dropped their Big Ten opener at Rutgers 5-4, falling to 0-4 in games decided by two runs or less.

After totaling 25 runs on 27 hits over the last two games, the Iowa offense sputtered, putting up just four hits in the series opener. Ben Wilmes’ fourth inning grand slam was the only at-bat that drove in runs for the Hawkeyes.

With the loss, the Hawkeyes fall to 5-7 on the season and must win the final two games of the series to avoid their third losing weekend of the year. Last season, Iowa went won seven of their 14 weekends.

Players of the Game

  • OF Ben Wilmes: On a day where the Hawkeye offense only managed four hits, Wilmes had two of them. He singled in the first and delivered a grand slam to give Iowa the lead in the fourth inning.
  • RHP Daniel Wright: In relief, the Houston transfer tossed 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and throwing just 19 total pitches to get seven outs.

Hawkeyes miss an early opportunity to score, Rutgers does not

Facing redshirt freshman starter Justin Shadek, who had struggled in his first three appearances, it felt like a day where the Iowa bats could drive in some runs early to put the Rutgers pitching staff in a tough position for the rest of the series.

Iowa put some traffic on the bases in the top of the first, but Caleb Wulf struck out with two runners on base, while Miles Risley grounded out with the bases loaded to end the inning. Meanwhile Rutgers plated two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a Cade Obermueller throwing error and tacked on another run on a Trevor Cohen RBI single in the second inning.

The missed opportunity to start the game, plus the subsequent runs scored by the Scarlet Knights put the Hawkeyes in chase mode early in the day.

Ben Wilmes’ grand slam gives Iowa the lead in the fourth inning

After a less-than-ideal start, Ben Wilmes came through in a big spot with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. Andy Nelson (F-6) and Kooper Schulte (K) were unable to come through with the bases full of Hawkeyes, but Wilmes saved the day. He took a 2-2 offering from Justin Shadek and deposited it well over the wall in left field for a 412-foot grand slam to put Iowa on top 4-3.

With two more hits, Wilmes improved his average to .367 and is tied for the team-lead in hits with Gable Mitchell (18). He is also tied for the team-lead in extra base hits with six of them.

Cade Obermueller was solid, but the Scarlet Knights bats did enough against him

Outside of an errant throw on a bunt back to him in the first inning, Cade Obermueller was pretty solid in his start. Obermueller allowed five runs, four earned on six hits over 5.2 innings, including two strikeouts to two walks. He threw 64 of his 97 (66.0%) pitches for strikes. It wasn’t a perfect start, but he was able to give the Hawkeyes a chance.

Unlike the Iowa offense, Rutgers was drove in runs in clutch situations against him. They totaled four hits with two outs, including a solo home run from Peyton Bonds that tied the game in the fifth and an RBI single from Pablo Santos that gave Rutgers the lead in the sixth. Obermueller allowed six hits, but outside of the home run, none of them were hit particularly hard. Scarlet Knights hitters laid down a couple of bunts and executed in important situations.

Through four starts, Obermueller has a 3.27 ERA over 22.0 innings, including 27 strikeouts to nine walks and 19 hits allowed. His strike thrown rate is way up, throwing 173 of his 269 (64.3%) pitches for strikes.

Daniel Wright delivers another solid outing out of the bullpen

Another scoreless outing for the Houston transfer, Daniel Wright is trending towards being an arm that the coaching staff can rely on out of the bullpen. Wright tossed 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and walking one. He totaled seven outs on just 19 pitches and put a pair of zeros on the board to give the Hawkeye bats a chance to tie or take the lead.

In four relief appearances, Wright has a 0.00 ERA over 6.0 innings, including four strikeouts to just one walk and two hits allowed.

Hawkeyes can’t convert on chances to tie or take the lead in the seventh and ninth inning

Once again, in the late innings, the Hawkeyes had a chance at the plate to make something happen, but they just weren’t able to find the big hit they needed. With two outs in the seventh, Iowa loaded the bases, but Jackson Beaman was called out on strikes to end the inning. Then, in the ninth, with the tying run on second base and the go-ahead run on first, Blake Guerin popped out (F-3) and Caleb Wulf flew out (F-8) to end the game.

On the day, the Hawkeyes struck out nine times and recorded just four hits. They were 2/11 (.182) with two outs and 1/11 (.091) with runners on base. On the other side, Rutgers finished 4/12 (.333) with two outs and 4/13 (.308) with runners on base.

What’s next for Rick Heller and Co?

Iowa will look to bounce back and even the series on Saturday with Aaron Savary taking the mound for the start. First pitch at Bainton Field is set for 1:00pm CT on BTN+.

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