Iowa's Kyle Huckstorf (9) fist-bumps coach Mitchell Boe (8) during a game against Indiana at the Big Ten Tournament on May 25, 2023 at Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. (Mark Kuhlmann/BigTen.org)
Hawkeyes Rally to Down Indiana
A season of resilience added another piece to its story Thursday for Iowa Baseball. The third-seeded Hawkeyes rallied late for a 9-4 victory against No. 2 Indiana. The Hoosiers led 4-1 after six innings.
Kyle Huckstorf brought three teammates home with a one-out double during a four-run Iowa seventh inning. Sam Petersen delivered a three-run homer in the top of the eighth, sending the Hawkeyes to Saturday as one of the two unbeaten teams there.
"I was really pleased with how the guys executed our plan,” Iowa coach Rick Heller said. “(IU SP Luke) Sinnard is a tough pitcher with a full arsenal, and we started pressing early on against him, but Marty was able to get the guys dialed back in to have quality at bats."
Iowa seemed safely into the NCAA Tournament before the conference championship began. Winning its first two games this week has helped seeding.
Will Christophersen (4-1) picked up Thursday's victory with 2 1/3 brilliant innings of relief pitching. He struck out six, including one to end the sixth inning, when two Indiana runners were on base.
Brody Brecht started on the mound for the Hawkeyes (41-13). The sophomore right-hander yielded three runs on four hits and three walks in 4 2/3 frames. He punched out five.
"Brody gave us enough to be able to help us protect our bullpen,” Heller said. “We were planning on saving Will for the eighth and the ninth, but we felt like that was a big leverage situation in the game and decided to go with him then, and we are glad that we did."
Reliever Jack Whitlock, a standout in Tuesday's win against Michigan, pitched the final inning against Indiana (41-17). He authored a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout.
Everyone in Iowa's starting lineup recorded at least one hit against the Hoosiers. Petersen and Huckstorf combined for four base knocks, six RBIs and a pair of runs.
The Hawkeyes stranded 12 runners, while Indiana left eight men on base. Iowa held an 11-5 advantage in hits and played clean defense, while the Hoosiers committed four errors.
"After seeing Sinnard for six innings we knew getting into the bullpen anything was going to look a little better,” said Heller. “It was a rough day to score at the ballpark with the wind really blowing in hard. Petersen's ball getting out, that was a big boy home run."
Next up for Iowa at 9 a.m. Saturday will be the winner of Friday's Indiana-Michigan game. Pitcher Ty Langenberg is expected to get the start for the Hawkeyes. No word on if they'll have the services of four players suspended while being investigated for allegedly breaking NCAA gambling rules.
OF NOTE
- Iowa moves to 41-13 on the season.
- The Hawkeyes 41 wins are tied for second most in program history.
- This will be the Hawkeyes third Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance in the last six seasons.
- Kyle Huckstof has 17 career RBIs in seven games against Indiana.
- The Hawkeyes are 25-1 when scoring 9+ runs this season.
- Every starter recorded a hit in today's game.