Iowa Baseball Series Preview: vs Rutgers

WEEKEND SERIES: VS RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (23-13)

The Hawkeyes headed off to Columbus last week for their second road weekend in Big Ten play, but weren’t able to return with a series win. The Buckeyes took the opener 8-5 on Friday, but Iowa bounced with a 3-2 win on Saturday behind a 6.0 inning effort from Marcus Morgan on the mound. In Sunday’s rubber match, OSU put up five runs in the fifth to build an 8-1 lead and rolled to an 11-1 win in eight innings. The Hawkeyes enter this week one game clear of Penn State and Maryland who are tied currently tied for 8th place in the standings.

In some respects, the Rutgers baseball season has gone similar to the Iowa baseball season. The Scarlet Knights were picked fourth in the preseason poll, but find themselves tied for 10th place with five weeks to play. They are 20-7 in non-conference play with series wins over Old Dominion and Connecticut. However, in Big Ten play, Rutgers won just one of five against Michigan State an Purdue. This past weekend, they rebounded taking two of three from a ranked Nebraska team, but they still have their work cut out for them sitting at 3-6 in the standings.

Rutgers Last 10 Games (4-6)

March 30-31 at Michigan State: L 5-2, L 3-2 April 5-7 vs Purdue: L 5-3 (10), L 8-6, L 5-3 April 9 at Seton Hall: W 8-1 April 12-14 vs Nebraska: W 7-6 (11), L 16-1, W 6-4 April 16 vs Monmouth: W 19-4

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION

LHP Cade Obermueller (Friday) – Set to make his third Friday start of the season, Obermueller owns a 4.10 ERA over 31.2 innings, including 50 strikeouts to 45 free bases. Opponents have struggled to hit him when he does find the zone with a .176 batting average and just a .253 average on balls in play. Last time out against Ohio State, Obermueller allowed six runs on six hits over 4.0 innings, including six strikeouts to four free bases.

RHP Marcus Morgan (Saturday) – The Hawkeyes have been looking for a shutdown outing from Marcus Morgan since the first week of the season when he shutout Ball State through nearly six innings. On Saturday at Ohio State, Marcus allowed just one run on three hits over 6.0 innings, including six strikeouts to three walks. It was just the second time all season that a Hawkeye pitcher had completed six innings in a start. It would be a huge boost to the pitching staff it Marcus could get on a roll during the final stretch of the regular season.

TBA (Sunday) – Brody Brecht is questionable for Sunday’s start with an oblique strain. He tried to pitch through it on Sunday at Ohio State, but struggled, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks over 3.1 innings. Coach Rick Heller said he is hopeful that Brody will be able to start, but an official decision has not been made.

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS *PROJECTED* STARTING ROTATION

LHP Justin Sinibaldi (Friday) – One of the best Friday starters in the Big Ten, Justin Sinibaldi is third in the conference in ERA (2.67) and second in total innings pitched (60.2). He has completed 6.0 innings in seven of his nine starts, including a complete game shutout against UConn earlier in the year. Just 50 of his 182 outs recorded (27.5%) have come via the strikeout and yet opponents are batting just .269 against him, so he knows how to induce weak contact. Last time out against Nebraska, Sinibaldi allowed two runs on three hits over 7.0 innings, including three strikeouts to two walks. The Hawkeye offense will have a tough challenge on Friday night.

RHP Christian Coppola (TBA) – Making his 11th start of the season, Coppola has jumped around from Saturday to Sunday to midweek starter. However, he has been the Sunday starter each of the past two weekends. Coppola owns a 6.58 ERA over 39.2 innings, including 41 strikeouts to 37 free bases, so he does have some control issues. Opponents are batting .263 against him, including .318 on balls in play. Last time out against Nebraska, he allowed three runs on six hits over 3.0 innings, including three walks to two strikeouts.

TBA – At the time of the posting of this article, Rutgers had not announced their probable starters for the weekend. That makes predicting the Scarlet Knights #3 starter almost impossible. Freshman RHP Zack Konstantinovsky has made eight starts this season with a 5.29 ERA. He has racked up 37 strikeouts to eight walks over 34.0 innings, but is allowing 1.29 hits per inning.

RHP Jake Marshall (5.62 ERA) and RHP Ben Gorski (4.05 ERA) have combined for 21 bullpen appearance, but have both started a game this season. Marshall this past weekend against Nebraska, allowing five runs, four earned on four hits over 3.0 innings. Then there is RHP Jordan Falco. He has made six starts, predominantly as a midweek starter, but has a 2.93 ERA over 27.2 innings, so you can’t rule him out of a weekend start.

TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

1. SS Josh Kuroda-Grauer – The frontrunner for Big Ten Player of the Year, Kuroda-Grauer leads the conference in batting average at .455 and is second in on-base percentage (.506), while he has 40 runs scored. He is the Big Ten leader in hits with 71, including16 doubles, four home runs and 39 RBI’s. Kuroda-Grauer has 22 multi-hit games and is batting .667 (20/30) over the last seven games. On the basepaths (where he is a lot of the time), he has stolen 19 bases, which is second in the conference. Josh Kuroda-Grauer is the toughest out in the Big Ten.

2. 3B Tony Santa Maria – From the top pure hitter in the lineup to the top power hitter in the lineup, Tony Santa Maria is a middle of the order bat for the Scarlet Knights. He is batting .351, including nine doubles, ten home runs and 40 RBI’s. On top of that he is a patient hitter, totaling a team-high 33 walks/hit by pitches to post a .464 on-base percentage, which has helped him get to 43 runs scored (2nd in Big Ten). Santa Maria has 18 multi-hit games, including five in the last eight. He’s also a threat to steal with nine stolen bases on the season.

3. OF Trevor Cohen – After starting all 56 games as a freshman last season, Trevor Cohen has been a mainstay near the top of the Rutgers batting order this season. He is batting .359, with a .439 on-base percentage, including 36 runs scored, 56 hits, seven doubles and 20 RBI’s. Cohen has drawn a team-high 21 walks and has an impressively low 8.7% strikeout rate. You’ll start to sense a theme with stolen bases. Cohen has nine of them and Rutgers leads the Big Ten with 68 stolen bases this season.

4. 1B Ty Doucette – A true freshman from Nova Scotia, Ty Doucette has made an impact right away for the Scarlet Knights. He has started 26 of 36 games, with a .351 batting average, including six doubles, six home runs and 30 RBI’s. Doucette has ten multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games. He may not start all three games this weekend, but averaging 1.27 hits and 1.15 RBI’s per start is well worth keeping any eye on.

5. 2B Cameron Love – The leadoff hitter in the Rutgers lineup, Cameron Love is batting .355, with a .423 on-base percentage, including 12 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 22 RBI’s. Love has 16 multi-hit games, including four in the last five, while he is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak.

6. Donovan Zsak – A redshirt freshman on the Rutgers pitching staff, Donovan Zsak has appeared in 14 games out of the bullpen, with a 4.02 ERA over 15.2 innings. Opponents are batting .214 against him and just .257 on balls in play. Zsak has put up scoreless outings in 11 of his 14 appearances, including eight strikeouts to two walks over his last four.

MIDWEEK: VS MILWAUKEE (7-25)

It has been a rough year in the Brew City for the Milwaukee Panthers. They currently have a 7-25 overall record, including a 2-18 mark against teams with an above .500 record. The Hawkeyes have won six in a row in the series dating back to 2016. The Panthers will host Wright State for a three-game series this weekend.

TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THE PANTHERS

1. OF Carson Hansen – One of the bright spots on a Milwaukee offense that ranks 253rd in the country in batting average, Carson Hansen has been a dangerous hitter all season. Hansen is batting .267, with a .346 on-base percentage, including 27 runs scored, 12 doubles, seven home runs and 28 RBI’s. He has totaled seven multi-hit games, including a five-hit night back on 3/16 at Wright State.

2. DH Justin Hausser – While Carson Hansen is the most powerful bat in the Panthers lineup, designated hitter Justin Hausser is the teams best contact hitter. He leads the team with a .331 average, including a team-high 43 hits, 12 doubles and two home runs. Hausser has racked up 13 multi-hit games and is batting .469 (23/49) over the last 11 games.

FINAL THOUGHT

This is the biggest series of the season for the Hawkeyes. Iowa will not be favored in two of their three remaining series to after this week and sitting at 6-6 in Big Ten play, they are far from a Big Ten Tournament lock. Taking two of three from Rutgers would put them in a decent position, but a series loss would really put them into a bind going into their final nine Big Ten games. This weekend won’t decide the fate of the Hawkeyes season, but their path to Omaha will be pretty clear come Monday.