IOWA UPENDS WASHINGTON STATE 6-5

By George Stieren

FRISCO, Texas – Iowa overcame a shaky start to defeat Washington State on Sunday afternoon in the Frisco Classic at Riders Field.

After his team fell behind 3-0 after two innings, winning pitcher Ty Langenberg (2-0) supplied 5 2/3 innings of solid relief work, setting the stage for the Iowa offense to climb back in it, and eventually hang on for the win. The victory provided the Big 10 Conference representative with its only triumph this weekend in Frisco.

“I am extremely proud of our team,” said Iowa Head Coach Rick Heller. “It would have been easy to lay down the way things were going.”

Heller praised Langenberg’s effort saying, “It couldn’t have come at a better time; it showed a lot of guts.”

Hawkeyes’ third-place hitter Peyton Williams provided the most impressive highlight with a 422-foot home run to the grass berm beyond the centerfield fence in the bottom of the seventh inning. The bomb gave the Hawkeyes a lead they would not surrender.

The Cougars opened the scoring in the first half inning when designated hitter Bryce Mathews singled home leadoff hitter Kyle Russell with the game’s first tally. Russell began the contest with a walk before advancing to second on a wild pitch by Iowa starter Marcus Morgan.

Wild pitches bedeviled Morgan again a batter later when Mathews advanced to second on an errant toss home in advance of an RBI single by Justin Van De Brake to right field, scoring Mathews and making it 2-0. Washington State’s Morgan bounced back to induce a double play and a groundout to avoid further damage.

Van De Brake racked up three hits Sunday and seven total in his team’s three games in the Frisco Classic.

A lack of control haunted Morgan again the next inning when he uncorked another wild pitch, allowing Kodie Kolden to race home from third, upping the Cougars lead to 3-0. Kolden opened the second inning with a single.

Iowa remained quiet offensively until the sixth inning when it also took advantage of wildness by opposing pitchers. The Hawkeyes started the bottom of the sixth with two walks, the first to Sam Peterson at the hands of starter Cole McMillan. Reliever Cam Liss came on and issued a free pass to Williams, setting up designated hitter Keaton Anthony with a prime RBI opportunity. Anthony delivered with a double to left field, bringing in Petersen and making it a 3-1 game.

Williams came around to score on a Liss wild pitch. Liss was removed in favor of Kolby Kmetco, who promptly hit Kyle Huckstorf. Brendan Sher then doubled down the right field line, scoring Mulflur and Anthony, giving the Hawks their first lead at 4-3.

Washington State snapped back in the top of the seventh to tie the game at four apiece, thanks to ninth place hitter Hylan Hall’s home run that landed on the grass berm in left field after traveling 418 feet. The round tripper came off pitcher Tyler Hoeft.

Williams’ 7th-inning homer gave Iowa the lead 5-4. Later that same frame, Anthony singled to right field before Mulflur coaxed a walk to chase Hoeft, who was tagged with the loss. Hoeft was relieved by Connor Barison. The Hawks sent up pinch hitter Anthony Mangano, who sliced a single up the middle to bring Anthony around and make the score 6-4.

Van De Brake doubled to lead off the Cougars’ half of the eighth inning, his third hit of the afternoon and seventh of the tournament. He moved to third base on a wild pitch by Langenberg. Van De Brake came home to make it 6-5 on a sacrifice fly by Collin Montez.

The Cougars mounted a ninth-inning rally after Casey Day took the mound to start the inning. Jack Smith drew a four-pitch walk and was replaced by pinch runner Elijah Hainline. Will Cresswell bunted and was thrown out by catcher Brett McCleary at first base. Hainline was gunned down trying to advance to third base on a perfect throw from first to third.

The next hitter, Hall walked, and was left stranded as Day notched his first save of 2022.

The game took three hours and 17 minutes to complete.

Washington State Head Coach Brian Green and his team appreciate the Frisco Classic despite finishing with a 1-2 record at Riders Field. “It was an absolute honor to be here. It’s going to make us a better program moving into Pac-12 play next weekend.

TEXAS A&M TOPS IOWA 7-3, FUELED BY FIVE-RUN SIXTH INNING

By George Stieren

FRISCO, Texas – Texas A&M cracked a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning Saturday night at Riders Field to gain a 7-3 win over Iowa in the Frisco Classic.

For five and a half innings, it appeared the game would remain close for the duration. However, the Aggies broke out in the bottom of the sixth, scoring five times to put the game away in front of 7,712 fans largely consisting of Texas A&M faithful. The Aggies maximized a slew of opportunities, scoring five unearned runs – including three unearned in the pivotal sixth inning – to win their first contest of the weekend. The game saw five errors, four by Iowa.

It started with Texas A&M failing to score after an auspicious start, working Hawkeyes’ starter Cam Baumann for three first inning walks. Baumann exited the game after facing just four batters and recording one out, giving way to Dylan Nedved – normally his team’s closer. Nedved promptly induced a ground ball double play to douse the threat and end the inning. Nedved went on to throw 4.2 innings, striking out a career-high nine batters and giving up two unearned runs on three hits.

Those two runs came in the second inning when the Aggies’ Kole Kaler drove home Ryan Targac and Logan Britt with a single through the right side. Kaler reached on a two-base throwing error by the third baseman after Targac initiated matters with a one-out double to the right-center field gap.

The Hawkeyes’ Peyton Williams cut the Texas A&M lead in half in the top of the third inning with a booming RBI double into the left-center gap, bringing in Ben Tallman, who singled to start the inning. Tallman led Iowa with three hits and two runs scored. The score remained 2-1 until the top of the fifth when Iowa’s Kyle Huckstorf tied it at 2-2 with a groundball to the shortstop, getting Andy Nelson in from third base. Nelson began the inning with an infield single.

The game’s turning point came with the Aggies putting up a crooked number in the sixth inning, erupting for five runs to make it 7-2 and give them a lead they never relinquished.

The first run in the sixth inning came via Troy Claunch’s RBI single, plating Brett Minnich from second base. Minnich walked to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher on a pickoff attempt.

The fourth run scored thanks to a Logan Britt RBI single to the right side allowing Claunch to cross the plate. The fifth run came on a wild pitch allowing Targac to add to the tally. Jack Moss added a two-run RBI single to left field that plated Dylan Rock and Kaler.

Interestingly, the big sixth inning came after a stretch where five Texas A&M hitters struck out swinging in the fourth and fifth innings. Iowa’s Michael Seegers singled to right field in the top of the seventh inning, scoring Ben Tallman, making it 7-3.

Head Coach Rick Heller acknowledged the mistakes his Hawkeyes squad made. “There (were) just too many free bases and Brodie (Brecht) didn’t have command when he came in. And too many free bases and errors, which was disappointing because it felt like had we played clean baseball, it’s a game you can possibly win 4-2 or 3-2.”

Conversely, Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle summed up the Aggies’ effort succinctly. “Pitching, defense, timely hitting – when you get all three you win, and that’s what we did today.”

Claunch paced the seven-hit attack for Texas A&M by going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Defensively, the catcher shepherded starter Dallas Micah through five innings where he gave up two earned runs. Micah turned the mound over to winning pitcher Jacob Palisch (1-1) who tossed two shutout innings while weathering three hits. Palisch’s effort was matched by Chris Cortez, who also tossed two scoreless frames and did not allow a hit.

Claunch noted the Texas A&M fans at the ballpark. “It’s awesome to have all of the fans here and kind of support us, backing us up, and it definitely plays into it.”

Iowa will face Washington State on Sunday at noon CT, while Texas A&M will meet Wichita State at 6 p.m.

SHOCKERS SUBDUE COUGARS IN 8-2 WIN SATURDAY AFTERNOON

By George Stieren

FRISCO, Texas – Wichita State looked sharp Saturday afternoon, turning in a solid all-round game to earn an 8-2 decision over Washington State on Saturday afternoon at Riders Field in the Frisco Classic.

The Shockers showcased a steady attack with stellar efforts both from the mound and the plate.

Wichita State starter Payton Tolle (2-0) secured the win after scattering six hits over seven innings, allowing just one run by way of a solo homer. The left-hander's outing was on par with others this season – his third-straight start of at least six innings granting one run or fewer. The Shockers bullpen kept the door shut for the final two with LJ McDonough striking out five in two innings, conceding only a solo homer.

Meanwhile, the offense scored in four different innings, cashing in on three Cougars’ defensive miscues. Winning manager Eric Wedge was effusive in praising Tolle. “Fantastic,” said Wedge. “He’s been our most consistent starter this year.” Wedge was equally pleased with the offense, calling it his team’s most balanced game this season. “We talk about doing it one through nine, and not just relying on this guy or that guy. It was nice to see some guys come through today.”

“Credit to (Wichita State),” said Washington State Head Coach Eric Green. “I think the story of the game was free bases on our side.”

Wazzu’s McKabe Cottrell (1-2) went 3 ½ innings in the losing effort, allowing four runs – three of them earned.

Wichita State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when chuck Ingram and Jordan Rogers raced home on Ross Cadena’ two-RBI single to left field. Ingram and Rogers each worked walks to begin the inning.

The Shockers added on in the fourth inning, also courtesy of Cadena and Ingram. Cadena walked with the bases loaded to bring home Ingram from third base, making it 3-0. Ingram walked to lead off the inning. The next batter, Andrew Stewart hit into a fielder’s choice to bring home the fourth run of the game in the form of Rogers, who singled earlier in the frame.

Collin Montez answered for the Cougs the next half inning with a towering 397-foot solo home run that cleared the Riders Field lazy river waterway beyond the rightfield fence.

The Shockers tacked on a run in the in the sixth inning to make it 5-1. With two outs, Washington State catcher Jake Meyer committed a throwing error while trying to pick off Wichita State runner Couper Cornblum at third base, permitting Cornblum to jog home when the throw sailed high. Cornblum’s trip around the bases began with an infield single before he stole second, and then took third on a throwing error while stealing.

The Cougars struck again in the bottom the eighth inning with another solo home run, courtesy of Justin Van De Brake’s 399-foot solo blast to left field.

Wichita State again capitalized on Washington State miscues in the ninth inning, adding three more runs to pad its lead. Cadena came across with the sixth run when Xavier Casserilla was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Cadena walked to lead off the inning, moved up to second base when Garrett Kocis was hit by a pitch, and advanced to third after Sawyre Thornhill was plunked by an errant pitch. Chuck Ingraham made it 8-2, stroking a single to left bringing in Thornhill and Will Stark.

Cadena paced the winning side, recording three of his squad’s seven RBIs Saturday.

Game time was three hours and 20 minutes.

Washington State will return to the field Sunday at noon when they take on Iowa. The Shockers, whose roster includes 14 student-athletes with Texas ties, will square off against Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Sunday in the final game of the 2022 Frisco Classic.