The Iowa baseball team regrouped after losing to Illinois State on Tuesday with a three-game sweep against Minnesota in Minneapolis this past weekend. The Hawkeyes outscored the Gophers, 26-7, in the first two contests before holding onto the final game of the series at 7-6. So Iowa’s 10-2 Big Ten record is suddenly tied for first place with UCLA after what seemed like a spotty start to the season. Here are a couple of takeaways from this weekend.
Cade Obermueller continues to shine
After a string of bad starts to open the Big Ten season, Hawkeye hurler Cade Obermueller put it all together against Ohio State last weekend — going six innings, allowing zero runs, and fanning nine batters. He continued this dominance with one of his best performances of the season thus far against Minnesota. In game two of the weekend series, the ball was handed to Obermueller with the opportunity to help the Hawkeyes clinch their fourth straight series win of the season. Obermueller again went six innings of scoreless baseball but this time around struck out a season-high 11 batters while giving up just two hits. That’s another strong start for Obermueller, who has now worked his way into becoming one of the better pitchers in the Big Ten. His 2.95 earned run average is good for second-best behind Michigan State’s Joseph Dzierwa. Reese Moore and Gable Mitchell power the offense
Since the team’s four-game series against Washington State, the offense has hit a complete 180-degree turn in terms of production, averaging over 10 runs per game with many Hawkeye players posting impressive statistics. Two players that have led the charge in this recent scoring outburst have been shortstop Gable Mitchell and designated hitter Reese Moore. The two and three hitters did similar damage this weekend to the Gopher pitching staff. Mitchell ended the weekend going 7-15 at the plate and tallying four runs batted in. Moore, on the other hand, batted in six runs with two home runs and six hits. The duo entered the year with high expectations after impressive campaigns the year prior and have been catalysts in the success of the Iowa offense. They now lead the team in batting average with Moore hitting .385 and Mitchell .380. Anthony Watts throws another clean outing
Pitcher Anthony Watts had expectations to be in the mix for a spot in the starting rotation entering this season. But after Iowa’s head coach Rick Heller decided to give the nod to Reece Beuter over him, Watts looked to carve himself a role as a middle reliever. Though he has had a handful of tough outings against the likes of Illinois State and Michigan State, Watts has shown the capability of getting out of high-leverage situations. This latest appearance wasn’t very high-leverage, but Watts strung together another couple of scoreless innings after coming in to relieve Obermueller. Watts faced seven batters in two innings of work, striking out five and allowing zero hits. Watts has been useful this season thus far. As a relief pitcher with the capability to take up a handful of innings during any appearance, his success and consistency will define how far this team can go in the Big Ten schedule. Up next
Iowa will continue its road trip to Peoria, Illinois, to take on the Bradley Braves this Tuesday, April 1. The first pitch will start at 6:00 p.m. at Dozier Field. Coverage will be provided by the Hawkeye Radio Network.
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