By Hawk Fanatic

Iowa senior Joey Nerat didn’t start in Tuesday’s game against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, but his bat still had a lot to do with how the game finished.

Nerat, who entered the game in the sixth inning, smacked a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give No. 8 seed Iowa a 10-6 lead.

The Hawkeyes would go on to win by that same 10-6 score in Omaha, Nebraska as sophomore Jaron Bleeker pitched the final five innings in relief for Iowa, allowing just one run, after replacing starter Maddux Frese in the fifth inning.

In addition to being Iowa’s first win over Illinois in the postseason, it was also Iowa’s biggest comeback win in the Big Ten Tournament since 2016 against Ohio State.

“I was just trying to do my one-ninth and just help the team out in any way,” Nerat said on the Big Ten Network post-game interview. “Trying just to score runs and get them all in.

“I saw a pitch and I just tried to capitalize on it and just do damage to it. Lucky enough, I was able to do that and just come through for the team.”

Iowa improved to 33-21 and will now face No. 12 seed Michigan State in the winners bracket on Wednesday. The Spartans advanced with an 8-4 victory over Purdue in the first game played on Tuesday.

Michigan State also won two of three games against Iowa in the regular season.

Nerat was asked by former Hawkeye Danan Hughes, who was part of the Big Ten Network broadcasting team, how tough it was to stay ready as a mid-game replacement in left field.

“These Hawkeyes are resilient,” said Nerat, who who transferred to Iowa from Dallas Baptist for his senior season. “We always stay ready. There’s one guy that can always pick up another dude.

“So we’re always ready for our moment and ready to go in. And that just goes back to our preparation.”

Illinois, which is the nine seed, jumped on Freese right away, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning.

Iowa then answered with three runs in the bottom of second on four hits.

Redshirt sophomore catcher Max Burt helped to spark the second-inning rally by smacking a two-run double.

After his rocky first inning, Frese settled down on the mound, allowing no runs in both the second and third innings.

The Hawkeyes scored one run in the third to even the score at 4-4 heading to to the top of the fourth.

The score wasn’t tied for long, though, as Illinois scored one run in the top of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead.

Iowa then put two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth, but they were left stranded as Gable Mitchell grounded out to end the inning.

Iowa head coach Rick Heller was interviewed by the Big Ten Network prior to the fifth inning, saying his hope was that Bleeker could go the rest of the way on the mound.

Heller’s hope was answered as Bleeker grew stronger as the game progressed, including striking out the side in the eighth inning.

“We’ve talked from day one that we don’t play the scoreboard we play the game,” Heller said. “We try and play the game one pitch at a time, the right way, there’s only one way to go about your business. If you do that it always gives you a chance to come back.”

Bleeker retired the first two batters he faced in the fifth before giving up a solo home run to freshman AJ Putty.

Bleeker then gave up a double and hit a batter, putting runners on first and second with two outs, and with Iowa trailing, 6-4.

He avoided any further damage in the fifth inning by recording the third out on a grounder to Mitchell near second base.

Bleeker was also the beneficiary of a nifty leaping catch by Iowa shortstop Kooper Schulte for the first out in the fifth inning.

Iowa cut the deficit to 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth by manufacturing a run on three straight singles.

Bleeker then retired three straight batters in the sixth, keeping the deficit at one run (6-5).

He also pitched a scoreless frame in the seventh, which ended with Putty being tagged out by Mitchell at second base. Putty had reached first base on an infield single, and he then tried to advance to second after Kooper Schulte’s throw to first base sailed past first baseman Caleb Wulf.

However, Putty hesitated briefly while Wulf ran to retrieve the ball. Wulf then turned and threw to Mitchell, who tagged Putty for the third out.

Mitchell appeared to trick Putty into thinking that a throw to second base wasn’t coming, and that apparently caused Putty to go into second base standing.

Iowa took its first lead of the game at 7-6 on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Burt with the bases loaded. It was Burt’s third RBI of the game.

Nerat then gave Iowa some cushion with his three-run blast that sailed over the fence in right field.

“We’re just ready to pick up one another,” Nerat said. “We love one another, and we play for one another. So we’ve got each other’s back. And that’s our job.”

Caleb Wulf led the Hawkeyes with three hits and three runs scored. Burt and Nerat each finished with three RBIs in the win.

Iowa has won at least one game in 10 of the last 11 Big Ten Tournaments and is 19-12 over the past nine tournament.

Heller is 21-17 in the conference tournament.

Iowa totaled 10 runs on 13 hits in the victory; its fourth straight game with at least 10 runs and 10 hits.

Editor’s note: hawkeyesports.com contributed to this article.