The Iowa baseball team only earned one win this weekend and it was Iowa head coach Jack Dahm’s 500th career win.
Here are some highlights from the weekend.
Iowa 7, Western Illinois 3
Dahm won his 500th career game as a collegiate head coach as Jake Yacinich had three hits and Matt Dermody won his second game on the mound.
The Hawkeyes led the entire game after scoring three runs in the first inning thanks to two WIU errors. Jake Mangler started the rally with a two-out RBI single that drove in Yacinich and a throwing error plated Taylor Kaufman as well. Mangler then scored one batter later following another error.
Western Illinois (2-6) answered with two runs in the top of the second via Neil DeCook and Brent Turner RBI singles.
Sophomore Kris Goodman increased Iowa’s advantage to 4-2 in the fourth inning, grounding into fielder’s coach that allowed sophomore Anthony Torres to score.
Goodman kept his hit streak intact with his only hit of the game coming in the sixth inning. The hit that extended his hit streak to eight games scored sophomore Nick Day and then Goodman later scored on Yacinich’s single.
Dermody picked up the second win of his senior season. The Norwalk, Iowa, native tossed seven innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out three.
Sophomore Nick Hibbing entered the game in the eighth inning. Hibbing pitched two scoreless frames, striking out three, en route to his first save.
Arkansas-Little Rock 9, Iowa 3
Iowa surrendered six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning that helped guide Arkansas-Little Rock to the fairly easy win at Gary Hogan Field on Saturday.
It was the second game of a doubleheader for Iowa, both of which were played in cold weather. The Western Illinois win was played in 32 degree temperatures, while it only reached 38 degrees in the Arkansas-Little Rock game.
"It was a difficult day for us," said Dahm. "It was cold, and the first game got over so quick that we had to sit around for a couple hours. It's tough to stay focused that long and we didn't play clean baseball all day. Some of that had to do with the weather conditions, but we weren't very focused in the second ball game."
All three of Iowa's run were scored in the top of the seventh inning, making the score 8-3. The Hawkeyes opened the frame with back-to-back-to-back hits as sophomore Kaufman, senior Dan Sheppard, and Mangler all recorded singles.
Mangler's base knock scored Iowa's first run, plating Kaufman. Sheppard and Mangler would both later score off Arkansas-Little Rock mistakes. Sheppard crossed home after a wild pitch, while Mangler scored after a fielding error.
Blake Huffman collected the win for the Trojans, allowing three runs and striking out five in seven innings. Relievers Cameron Allen and Matt Brown each pitched a scoreless innings.
Freshman Calvin Mathews was saddled with the loss for the Hawkeyes. Mathews pitched one-third inning before handing the ball to Kaufman. Kaufman threw four innings, allowing six earned runs. He was relieved by sophomore Ryan Rumpf.
Rumpf tossed 1.2 innings in his first appearance this season, allowing two hits and zero runs. Sophomore Andrew Hedrick finished the contest on the mound, throwing the final two innings.
"Taylor came in and threw the ball tremendously," Dahm said. "I don't know if he got tired or what exactly happened, but he was very good."
Kaufman went 2-for-4 at the plate, recording his third multi-hit performance in the last five games.
Wichita State 5, Iowa 3
The Hawkeyes had an early 3-1 lead but could not hang on as the Shockers rallied for the win at Gary Hogan Field.
“We’re very close, but we need to come up with a better game plan offensively or we’re going to struggle and be in a lot of close games,” said UI head coach Jack Dahm.
The Hawkeyes (4-6) got off to a fast start, scoring three runs in the first two innings. Iowa scored two runs in its half of the first inning as junior Keith Brand singled through the right side to score Goodman and Yacinich.
Iowa put another run on the board in the second inning after a Yacinich single plated freshman Blake Hickman.
Three Wichita State pitchers held the Hawkeyes to zero runs and five hits over the next seven innings.
Starter Drew Palmer was responsible for allowing all of Iowa’s runs and took a no decision, pitching four innings. TJ McGreevy was credited with the win, allowing no earned runs and two hits over four innings. Brandon Peterson picked up his second save after tossing the ninth inning.
The final seven innings was difficult to swallow for Iowa after stranding six runners on base during that stretch. Iowa had a base runner on third with just one out in both the fifth and sixth innings but could not come through with a run.
“We had opportunities,” Dahm said. “It was a 5-3 game and if we hit a routine ground ball to second base twice it’s a tie game. We have to do a much better job with our offensive execution in order to be a team that is going to be successful.”
Freshman Josh Martsching was given the loss on the mound. Martsching threw three innings and allowed four runs in his first collegiate start. Seniors Ricky Sandquist and Andrew Hanse both pitched out of the bullpen.
Sandquist tossed four innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out four. Hanse pitched the final two innings, holding WSU to one hit and zero runs.
“Ricky and Andrew were electric and threw the ball extremely well,” said Dahm. “When you have guys like that coming out of the bullpen, all you have to do is chip away after Wichita State took the lead and the outcome could have been much different.”
Yacinich and sophomore Eric Toole both went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Hawkeyes. It was Yacinich’s second multi-hit game in three contests and his team-best fifth multi-hit performance of the season, while Toole extended his hitting streak to six games.
The Hawkeyes travel to Port Charlotte, Fla., next weekend to compete in the Snowbird Classic. Iowa will face Maine on Friday, Georgetown on Saturday, and West Virginia on Sunday. All three games will begin at 10 p.m.
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