Iowa baseball defeats Purdue 15-9 in Des Moines to complete series sweep
Iowa finishes 15-15 in Big Ten play
By Hawk Fanatic
DES MOINES, Iowa – An up-and-down Big Ten season for the Iowa baseball team ended on the upside as the Hawkeyes defeated Purdue 15-9 on Saturday to complete a three-game sweep at Principal Park in Des Moines.
Iowa finished 15-15 in Big Ten play and improved to 32-21 overall, while the Boilermakers closed the regular season at 18-12 and 35-18.
The Hawkeyes now have some much-needed momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska where as the No. 8 seed they will face nine-seed Illinois at approximately 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Iowa almost certainly would have to win the Big Ten Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time under head coach Rick Heller.
Iowa only made the NCAA Tournament three times prior to Heller’s arrival in 2014.
This also marks the 11th time in 14 seasons under Heller that Iowa has won at least 30 games.
Iowa combined for 39 runs in the series on 52 hits, which is the most hits in a series under Heller.
Senior centerfielder Miles Risley helped to lead the Iowa offense with two home runs, including a grand slam in the second inning that gave Iowa a 6-1 lead.
The Johnston, Iowa native also had a solo blast in the sixth inning, giving Iowa a 10-4 lead, and he finished with four hits.
Iowa continued to pour it on in the eighth inning as Tiffin native Ben Swails smacked a mammoth two-run homer that sailed well beyond the left-field fence, giving the Hawkeyes a 13-6 lead.
It was Swails’ fourth hit of the game.
Iowa finished with 19 hits overall.
Senior Logan Runde also provided a spark on the mound, pitching five innings in relief and earning praise from Heller.
“Logan Runde came in and gave us a big five innings,” Heller said. “He is exactly what we needed, somebody to slow the game down and give us some real innings. The double plays were big for us this weekend, which were great to see. On the bats, the guys were disciplined and patient and hit when they got them. That has been the peaks and valleys of our offense this year.”
Iowa swept Purdue just one week after being swept at Nebraska.
Editor’s note: hawkeyesports.com contributed to the report.
