Iowa Baseball Midweek Preview: Bradley Braves

In the midst of an intensifying Big Ten regular season title face, the Iowa Baseball team will host the Bradley Braves in a midweek matchup on Wednesday night at Duane Banks Field.

The Hawkeyes are coming off of a series win over rival Nebraska this past weekend. Iowa won the first two games of the weekend but lost the series finale on Sunday. Still, through six weeks, Iowa is atop the Big Ten standings at 14-4, holding a half-game lead over UCLA.

In the latest Field of 64 projection by On3’s Jonathan Wagner, the Hawkeyes were listed as one of the ‘Last Four In’, heading to the Fayetteville Regional as a three seed. They had a crucial series coming up this weekend in Ann Arbor against Michigan who is listed in the ‘Next Four Out’ portion of the projection.

First pitch for Wednesday’s game between the Hawkeyes and Braves is scheduled for 6:02pm CT on BTN+. It will be the 95th all-time meeting between the two programs.

Bradley Braves (5-26, 1-11)

It’s been a tough season for Bradley, as they come into this week with a 5-26 overall record, but have won two of their last four games after an 11-game losing streak. Still, the Braves need to win eight of their remaining 20 games to avoid their fewest wins in a season in program history (13-37 last season).

Iowa is the second of three Power 4 teams that Bradley will face this season. The Braves opened the season with a three-game series at #8 Alabama, falling 10-6, 19-3, 11-4. The Hawkeyes won 13-3 back on April 1st when the two teams met in Peoria. Bradley will also face Illinois in a midweek home-and-home later this season.

As a team, the Braves are struggling at the plate, slashing .238/.344/.372, with each of those categories ranking last in the Missouri Valley. Just three players of ten players that have started at least 10 games have above a .250 batting average. They rank seventh in the MVC in strikeouts (280), ninth in hits (245) and ninth in extra base hits (81).

Their pitching staff is still struggling, posting a 9.70 team ERA, which ranks last in the MVC, while they are giving up 1.37 hits per inning. They’ve also given up a considerable amount of extra base hits, with opponents averaging 1.35 home runs and 4.29 extra base hits per game.

Braves Players to Watch

1. 1B Timmy O’Brien – The top home run threat in the Braves lineup, first baseman Timmy O’Brien is slashing .239/.341/.532, with 26 hits, two doubles, ten home runs and a team-high 23 RBI’s. He’s a massive strikeout threat, going down on strikes in 34.1% of his 126 plate appearances, but hit a pair of home runs in the first meeting this season.

2. DH Bobby Atkinson – A transfer from Coastal Carolina, designated hitter Bobby Atkinson is the top hitter in the Braves lineup. One of three to start all 31 games, Atkinson is slashing .307/.407/.535, with 35 hits, nine doubles, five home runs and 23 RBI’s. He has totaled eight multi-hit games, but was 0/4 with two strikeouts in the first meeting.

3. OF Mason Breidenbach – The top hitter in average for Bradley, outfielder Mason Breidenbach has started 29 of 31 games this season, but did not play in the first meeting against Iowa. Breidenbach is slashing .330/.446/.415, with 35 hits, nine doubles and 17 RBI’s. He has totaled 13 multi-hit games this season and also leads the team with a 17.8% walk+hbp rate.

Iowa Hawkeyes (23-11, 14-4)

With five weeks remaining in Big Ten play and just 12 games left for the Hawkeyes, they find themselves with a half-game lead over UCLA in the standings. The race for the regular season title is heating up, as Iowa will travel to Ann Arbor this weekend, while UCLA and Oregon will face off in Eugene.

They enter this week at #92 in the RPI, which is down 16 spots over the last week, despite going 3-1. However, 16 of their final 21 games come against the RPI Top 100, so there are opportunities ahead.

Entering Wednesday’s game, junior infielder Gable Mitchell still has the team lead in average (.364) and hits (51), while catcher/designated hitter Reese Moore leads the way in extra base hits (18) and on-base percentage (.497). The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in batting average (.310) and ERA (3.70), while they are second in on-base percentage (.427).

Final Thought

With Bradley sitting at #271 in the RPI and the way that the RPI system works, the Hawkeyes will lose points just for stepping onto the field for this game. While that seems a bit unfair, that’s a discussion for another time and it means that Iowa, 100%, has to take care of business tonight. The Braves pitching staff really struggled the last time these two teams met, giving up 15 free bases and averaging 26.0 pitches per inning. As long as the Hawkeye bats don’t go completely silent, they will be able to put up runs with a mix of hits and free bases.