Marcus Morgan dazzles on the mound, Hawkeyes defeat Ball State

Saturday was a sneak peek into how it could sometimes go for opponents against the Iowa pitching staff this season. Ball State came into the season fresh off of an NCAA Regionals appearance, picked second in the MAC preseason poll and they have the preseason MAC Player of the Year. That didn’t matter, as the 20th-ranked Hawkeyes earned a 5-0 shutout over the Cardinals.

Marcus Morgan took the ball for the start on the mound and he was masterful. He retired the first 12 Ball State batters he faced, including a span of five straight strikeouts in the second and third inning. Hunter Dobbins finally broke up the perfect game with a single in the fifth, but Marcus struck out the side to reach a career-high nine strikeouts. His final line stood at 5.2 innings, nine strikeouts, two walks, two hits and no runs allowed. He threw 58 of his 87 (66.7%) pitches for strikes.

In relief, Creighton transfer Anthony Watts was just as good. He entered the game in the sixth in, with a runner on base, but struck out Matthew Gonzalez to end the inning. Watts was nearly perfect from then on. He struck out a pair of Cardinals in the seventh and set down the side in the ninth via the strikeout to end the game. In his first appearance as a Hawkeye, Watts went 3.1 innings, with six strikeouts, one walk, no hits and no runs allowed. He threw 25 of his 34 (73.5%) pitches for strikes.

“The guys answered the bell with the short turnaround,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Marcus Morgan set the tone with a tremendous start. He took a perfect game into the fifth. Marcus was in total control today. Then in his first appearance as a Hawkeye, Anthony Watts was outstanding. He fanned six and didn’t allow a hit or run in his 3 1/3 innings to pick up the save.

Offensively, Iowa did what they needed to do to pick up a win. With two outs in the third inning, Ball State starter Logan Schulfer hit Sam Petersen with an 0-2 pitch to give the Hawkeyes life. Davis Cop fouled off numerous pitches before earning a walk in the ensuing at-bat, which set the table for Raider Tello. Tello delivered his third run scoring hit of the season, an RBI single, to put Iowa out in front 1-0.

In the fifth inning, Ball State helped Iowa extend their lead. Sam Petersen led off the inning with a walk and promptly stole second base, then, advanced to third on a passed ball. Davis Cop drove him in with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0. That’s when the help from the Cardinals began.

Blake Guerin skied a pop fly into shallow centerfield for what looked to be in the final out of the inning, but SS Dylan Grego and 2B Nick Hovosky collided, allowing the ball to hit the ground. Ben Wilmes reached via an infield hit in the next at-bat to put runners on the corners. After a passed ball scored Guerin, an errant throw from Dylan Grego on a Kyle Huckstorf infield single allowed Ben Wilmes to score. All of the sudden, the Iowa lead was 4-0. With the way the the Hawkeyes were pitching, it felt like an insurmountable deficit for Ball State.

Redshirt freshman Reese Moore led off the eighth inning with a pinch-hit double for his first career hit and got the wheels turning on adding insurance to the lead. Sam Petersen rifled a single through the left side to score Moore and make it 5-0. That ended up being the final score.

“We beat a good Ball State team today,” said Heller. “Their starter Logan Schulfer has great stuff. We were more competitive on offense today, up and down the lineup.  Sam Petersen and Raider Tello followed up last night’s performance with two hits apiece and an RBI each. I was happy for Reese Moore, recorded the pinch hit double in his first at bat as a Hawkeye today. We played great defense for the second day in a row and the energy from everyone was great to see.”

On the day, Ball State hitters were 2/27 (.074) at the plate, including 15 strikeouts. Iowa collected nine hits and seven free bases. For the second straight day, Sam Petersen and Raider Tello led the way, combining for four hits and two RBI’s. Petersen finished the game with three stolen bases.

Up Next, the Hawkeyes will wrap up their trip to Charleston with a matchup against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Sunday. First pitch is set for 9:00am CT and will be streamed on HiCast Sports Network.