Assistant coach Marty Sutherland alerted outfielder Kellen Strohmeyer around the seventh inning that he needed to stay ready for a potential pinch-hit appearance. The redshirt freshman from Dubuque had not seen an at-bat in 20 Big Ten games and was just 2 for 16 (.125) on the year. However, as the game extended into extra innings, the odds of an appearance for Strohmeyer slowly increased.
“Marty came up to me and told me to start thinking about it, so for a few innings there, a few at-bats, I was ready,” said Kellen. “That’s kind of been the year for me. Just sitting around a lot, but you’ve got to stay focused. You never know when stuff like that happen…What was it? 13th inning, that’s when I officially went in there.”
Kyle Huckstorf pinch-hit ran for starting left fielder Will Mulflur in the 12th inning, but due to a hand injury, he had to come out of the game when it continued on to the 13th. Enter Kellen Strohmeyer. He played left field for the top of the 13th and in the bottom of the innng, Kellen found himself at the plate for his first career at-bat in Big Ten play after a Michael Seegers two-out double. Northwestern reliever Justin Doyle delivered a fastball in a 1-1 count and Strohmeyer punched it to left field. Seegers rounded third and just barely beat the tag at the plate, scoring the winning run. An unlikely, but worthy hero.
Welcome to the Stroh-Show.
“Michael did a great job getting a double and getting to second base, so I knew it wouldn’t take much, just get something through the infield and he’s going to score,” said Strohmeyer. “Just trusting in all the work we do all weekend in batting practice…Just prepare for situations like that. They don’t come a lot and you always have to take advantage of them.”
Four hours and 13 minutes earlier, the series finale between the Iowa and Northwestern got underway. The Hawkeyes struck first with a run in the first two innings off of starter Kyle Potthoff. Davis Cop drove an RBI double into the right-center gap in the first inning, while an RBI single from Andy Nelson in the second inning made it 2-0. Potthoff ended up having a respectable start, allowing two runs on seven hits over 5.0 innings.
On the mound for Iowa, Marcus Morgan got the start and he was solid through 4.0 innings, striking out seven and working around three walks. In the fourth, a couple of singles and a walk loaded the bases for the ‘Cats with just one out. After 4.1 innings, the outing for Morgan came to a close and Rick Heller went with Ben DeTaeye out of the bullpen. Bennett Markinson drew a bases loaded walk to get Northwestern, but DeTaeye got back-to-back fly outs to limit the damage.
Although he came into the weekend with a 2.89 ERA, Ben DeTaeye did not have his best stuff. An RBI sac bunt from Drewbie Pinkston tied the game in the top of the sixth, while an RBI single from Preston Knott gave the ‘Cats a 3-2 lead. The Hawkeye offense was quick to respond.
With two on and two outs, Andy Nelson drove an RBI single to left field to tie the game. Raider Tello followed with a two-run single into the left-center. Back-to-back two out hits gave the Hawkeyes a 5-3 lead. However, just as quickly as they answered the first Northwestern rally, they had another one coming.
Singles from Bennett Markinson and Jackson Freeman put the ‘Cats in a threatening position with nobody out. Rick Heller went to the bullpen and brought Ganon Archer into a tough spot. He was able to strikeout Trent Liolios, but Griffin Arnone turned on an inside fastball and cut the Iowa lead to 5-4 with an RBI double. In the ensuing at-bat, Vince Bianchina tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center field. The 5-5 score then held for the next two hours.
Credit the bullpen arms for never giving in. Both sides had some wobbly moments, but they kept putting up zeros. In fact, they put up 12 straight scoreless half innings. For Northwestern, it was Garrett Shearer. He was simply incredible for the Wildcats, allowing just one run on four hits over 5.1 innings, including seven strikeouts to four walks. Shearer allowed the pair of hits that gave Iowa the 5-3 lead in the sixth inning, but then shutout down the Hawkeye bats. He threw a career-high 114 pitches, including 71 (62.3%) for strikes.
“He pitched extremely well, but we still had opportunities and we didn’t execute well,” said Rick Heller. “We couldn’t get a bunt down to save our life, hit into a double play when we didn’t bunt. It was just one of those days offensively that it wasn’t going well.”
Luckily for the Hawkeyes, the bullpen that owned a 6.92 ERA coming into the day was able to keep the Northwestern bats silent. Jack Young threw a career-high 3.1 no-hit innings, including four strikeouts to two walks. Aaron Savary followed, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Finally, it was Chas Wheatley throwing a scoreless top of the 13th. While the offense struggled to cash in on some opportunities to win the game, the pitching staff was able to make sure they kept getting that next chance.
“Jack Young was outstanding today. He went longer than he has all year. Really proud of Jack, he went out and battled,” said Heller. “Then, Savary coming back after Friday night’s outing and giving us a couple of innings and finding a way to get some miles for us. Then, Chas Wheatley in his the first big time leverage situation of his career and he really handled it well.”
With the win, the Hawkeyes move to 13-8 in Big Ten play and have nearly locked up a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. They hold a 3.5 game lead over Ohio State, with the Buckeyes needing a 5-1 or 6-0 finish, plus Iowa getting swept by Illinois.
“To have this kind of weekend and get a sweep. Get a win on senior day and wins in front of a big crowd all three days. To do it without the guys we were missing, it says a lot about the makeup and character of the guys on this team,” said Heller. “Put ourselves in a really good position to make the conference tournament and not have to do anything crazy next weekend.”
Up Next, the Hawkeyes will travel to Champaign for a three-game series against the Illinois Fighting Illini. First pitch for the series opener on Friday is set for 6:00pm CT on BTN+.
The post Welcome to the Stroh-Show: Hawkeyes walk off Northwestern in 13 innings appeared first on On3.
