Ville d’Iowa, Iowa – Izaya Fullard stood at third base, pushed there by Brendan Sher’s brace.
Two runners, no one out, sixth inning, Iowa down two runs after once down six.
These innings are the subject of May and, for the Hawkeyes, it meant so much.
Then, just like that, the round was over.
Ben Wilmes, a swing at bat.
Brett McCleary, a strikeout looking.
Kyle Huckstorf, a strikeout looking.
There were three sets left, but really, it was a game over.
Iowa’s 10-6 loss to Purdue on Saturday at Duane Banks Field was one of those games a team needs to win in May if it wants to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
It was a bright, warm day – so unusual for this spring.
But everything is a little brighter and hotter in May, when the melting pot of the college baseball schedule begins to tighten.
The Hawkeyes (27-16 overall, 11-6 Big Ten) were expected to earn this victory. A series win over the Boilermakers (26-15, 7-8) would be nice — it would be Iowa’s third straight in the conference.
But after a Tuesday loss to Illinois State, a Boilermakers sweep would have looked much better.
Round six doomed those hopes.
Scroll to continue
“The sixth inning really killed us,” Iowa coach Rick Heller said. “It was huge. »
Huge, indeed.
Iowa was down 6-0 after 3½ innings, but a four-run fifth gave some life.
Fullard’s single, then Sher’s double, put the Hawkeyes in position to tie the game, maybe have another big inning like the one before to take the lead.
And then, nothing.
“Ah, that was huge,” said designated hitter Keaton Anthony, who homered a three-run homer to leave the field in the fifth inning. “We had a bunch of momentum heading into the sixth. A lot of guys were on their feet, the energy was high. Brendan had his double. And then three strikeouts. We know that was unacceptable. It’s not us. I felt a major momentum swing over there. »
The Hawkeyes’ pitch couldn’t regain that momentum. Brody Brecht struck out two to open the seventh inning, then Troy Viola’s fly ball was misplayed into a double. A wild pitch took Viola to third, and a second brought him home for a 7-4 lead over Purdue. Three points in the eighth from Chas Wheatley and Ben Beutel just added to the margin.
Iowa got two runs late in the eighth when Cade Moss’ double scored Sher and Wilmes. Then Huckstorf’s ground player in the middle was caught, then pushed back, by Purdue shortstop Evan Albrecht, but Albrecht threw first for Huckstorf to barely finish the inning. Huckstorf pulled his helmet to the ground in disgust, and the Hawkeyes’ best hope was realized.
They had been fighting from behind all day. Connor Schultz allowed three runs in 2⅔ innings, Dylan Nedved allowed three runs and five hits in 3⅔ innings, and the grade just seemed too steep.
“It didn’t start well,” Heller said. “We didn’t pitch well. We didn’t throw well enough to win. »
Such things happen in the magnification of May.
A win on Sunday would secure another win in the series, but the Hawkeyes are going to have to mount a winning streak over the remaining two weeks to give themselves the best playoff chance.
“It’s just what we do every day,” Heller said. “It’s no different.
“We will introduce ourselves tomorrow. We will be ready to play. »
