Iowa Baseball Drops 2 of 3 in Texas
Texas A&M Corpus Christi Box Score
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Free bases plagued the Iowa baseball team as it fell, 8-7, to Wichita State in its third game and final game of the Kleberg Bank Classic on Saturday at Whataburger Field. The Hawkeyes downed Pepperdine, 3-1, on Friday before falling against Texas A&M Corpus Christi Saturday, 2-1.
Wichita State, which was out-hit by the Hawkeyes 8-6, scored eight runs against three different Hawkeye pitchers. The Shockers took their first lead in the sixth inning and held on for the win.
Wichita State’s Sawyre Thornhill broke the 6-6 stalemate in the bottom of the sixth inning on a fielders choice, giving the Shockers the 7-6 lead. Wichita State added an insurance run in the seventh inning.
The Hawkeyes closed the gap to 8-7 courtesy of a Peyton Williams RBI single in the eighth and Iowa had two runners on in the ninth, but an interference call in the ninth ended the game.
Williams led the team with a four-hit game, finishing 4-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Redshirt junior Brenden Sher added a solo home run to right field to lead off the fourth inning. It was the fourth blast of his career.
Three Iowa pitchers combined to throw eight innings, while allowing just six hits and striking out 11.
Iowa walked nine batters and committed two errors in the game and the Shockers capitalized on the free bases.
Max Puls’ RBI single in the 11th inning propelled Texas A&M Corpus Christi to a 2-1 victory over Iowa on Saturday at Whataburger Field.
The Islanders managed just five hits against six Hawkeye pitchers, but two of the hits came in the team’s final at-bat. Brendan Ryan singled to start the 11th against Iowa reliever Duncan Davitt and he stole second with one out to move into scoring position.
On a 1-2 count, Puls singled to right field to drive in the go-ahead run to send Texas A&M Corpus Christi to its fourth victory. Iowa falls to 4-1.
“Our pitching was outstanding; we had a lot of guys come into the game in rough situations and showed a lot of guts and toughness in bad conditions,” said head coach Rick Heller. “They did a great job, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get anything going offensively the entire night.
Redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings to lead Iowa to a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine Friday at Whataburger Field.
The win moved the Hawkeyes to 4-0 for the first time since 2018.
Mazur notched his second straight quality start to improve to 2-0 this season. The right-hander allowed just three hits over 7 2/3 innings, while tying a season high with nine strikeouts against two walks. Mazur, who retired 10 straight during the contest, has allowed one run on four hits over 13 2/3 innings with 18 strikeouts.
“I am happy with how we played,” said head coach Rick Heller. “Adam went out and gave us a great start, he filled up the strike zone, which is what you need to do on a cold, wind blowing in day.”
Senior Dylan Nedved got the final four outs en route to recording his second save in as many games.
OF NOTE…
– Williams four-hit game against the Shockers tied a career high and it was his second such game this season.
– Freshmen Marcus Morgan and Brody Brecht combined for 10 strikeouts against Wichita State, but the duo allowed seven runs (six earned) on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. The pair issued seven walks.
– Iowa’s pitching staff finished with 16 strikeouts Saturday, its second highest total of the season. The Hawkeyes have had 10 or more strikeouts in each of the team’s five games.
– Iowa had a 1-hitter in game one, a two-hitter in game two, a three-hitter in game three and a four-hitter today, in game four.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Tuesday, hosting Loras College at 4:05 p.m. (CT) in the home opener at Duane Banks Field. Tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com.