Despite a home-crowd advantage from Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa baseball (32-16, 21-6 Big Ten) dropped the series opener vs. No. 11-ranked Oregon State (36-12) by a score of 9-6 on Friday night.
Cade Obermueller got the start on the mound for the Hawkeyes, where he gave up three runs (two unearned) on three hits and an error while striking out five in a short 3 1/3 innings outing.
“Cade’s errors I think got him going fast and took him out of his game. He wasn’t as sharp after that,” said head coach Rick Heller. “That one inning, it put us in a pinch because he was getting close to 36, 37 pitches, maybe even 40. It felt like we needed to take him out, but it’s Friday night, so you don’t want to take him out. But you also have to make sure he’s rested for next Thursday. Having to go to the bullpen against them that early was not in the plans.”
Sam Hart came in relief of Obermueller in the third inning, where he surrendered three earned runs on three hits in his 2/3 innings of work.
Following Hart, Justin Hackett served as the long reliever. Hackett pitched nearly flawlessly for the next three innings, giving up zero runs on zero hits while striking out seven and walking one.
.@JustinHackett18 is DEALING
He has 7 Ks through three innings of work
M7 | #10 Oregon State 6, Iowa 4#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/hE9yvUCjFA
Anthony Watts entered the game in the eighth, where he would be given the loss as he was held responsible for Oregon State’s final three runs (two unearned). In an attempt to keep the game within reach, Chas Wheatley pitched in the ninth, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out three.
As a whole, the Iowa pitching staff combined for 15 strikeouts and seven free bases.
Regarding the offense, the Beavers roared out to a commanding 6-0 lead after scoring two unearned runs in the third and tacking on four more in the fourth. Iowa would respond at the bottom of the fourth frame with three runs, with Caleb Wulf singling in one run and Miles Risley driving in two to cut the Hawkeyes’ deficit in half.
In the next inning, the Hawkeyes would inch one run closer as Reese Moore’s single allowed Ben Wilmes to score from second base, making the score 6-4.
The Hawkeyes would tie the game at six in the seventh inning when Gable Mitchell belted a two-run home run well over the right-field wall, which put the raucous Hawkeye crowd into a frenzy.
GABLE. MITCHELL.
TIE BALLGAME!!!#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/CxRDYlpMiE
Unfortunately, Oregon State would immediately reclaim the lead in the top of the eighth inning as the Beavers scored three runs on a single and an error.
While the Hawkeyes tried to fight back into the game, Oregon State’s late-game surge was too much for Iowa to overcome.
“Our offense, I was really proud of those guys,” said Heller. “The way Oregon State scored their runs early on a Friday night, a lot of teams would have went away and probably ended up in a 10-run rule or something, but we fought back.”
While the Hawkeyes were able to fight back into the game, the costly errors by the pinching staff ultimately proved to be the difference maker Friday night.
“Tonight was the pitcher errors. You’re not going to overcome three pitcher errors and give up six runs against Oregon State. We eliminate those, we probably win 6-4,” said Heller. “You’re just not going to win if that happens against anybody.”
Final | #10 Oregon State 9, Iowa 6#Hawkeyes
Regarding the Big Ten regular-season title race, the Hawkeyes now lead the conference by just two games as UCLA’s ninth-inning rally pushed them past Illinois by a score of 10-9. It is worth noting that Iowa’s “magic number” for a regular-season crown remains at three, with the Hawkeyes’ opportunity to clinch coming next week from Duane Banks Field vs. No. 7 Oregon.
Iowa will look to even the three-game series against the Beavers today with Aaron Savary set to take the mound for Game 2 at 3:35 p.m. CT from Principal Park. Savary is 7-0 on the season and boasts a 3.36 ERA.
Once again, the entire series will be broadcast through Big Ten Plus (subscription required) and available on the Hawkeyes Radio Network alongside play-by-play voice John Leo and color analyst John Evans.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews.
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa baseball drops series opener vs. No. 11-ranked Oregon State
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
