Road win against division leader? Check.
Q1 win? Check.
13 point rise in RPI ladder? Check.
Brody Brecht throwing his best game as an Iowa pitcher? Check.
Timely hitting? Check.
Solid defense? Check.
Talk about a much needed and all around solid win yesterday . . . certainly sets up the opportunity for Iowa to have a statement weekend.
Iowa climbed from #65 to #52 on the RPI ladder. Iowa would be in the upper 40s if Texas Tech hadn't spit the bit against flipping North Dakota State. Seriously?! Other B1G teams' RPI are now as follows: Indiana (20-10/5-2) is currently #30 RPI (down 2 from yesterday) and leads the B1G. Rutgers (15-14/1-3) is currently #44 RPI (down 6 from yesterday) and 2nd in B1G RPI ratings. Illinois (12-14/2-5) is currently #69 RPI (down 17 from yesterday) and 3rd in B1G RPI ratings. Michigan State (17-9/5-2) is currently #48 RPI (up 9 from yesterday) and checks in now in 3rd in B1G RPI. Iowa at #52 is 4th ahead of 5th place Maryland (18-11/3-1; 62 RPI - up 10), 6th place Illinois, 7th place Michigan (16-13/5-2; 79 RPI - down 8) and 8th place Nebraska (17-9-1/3-1; 81 RPI).
On the RPI "ladder," Iowa is 5 RPI points behind #51 Duke and 6 RPI points ahead of #53 Wofford. Iowa is 71 RPI points behind #41 Texas-San Antonio.
An Iowa win today would result in a gain of 73 RPI points. An Iowa loss would result in the loss of 12 RPI points.
I watched most of last night's game on BTN+ on replay early this morning; was relegated to listening to the game via "radio" while grilling on the deck and relishing Spring's victory over Winter. Notable comment by Iowa's broadcast team - Indiana skipped its normal Friday starter (Luke Sinnard) and he will pitch today. Sinnard's stat line: https://iuhoosiers.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-sinnard/17447
Sinnard is a transfer from WKU and was the pitcher of record in both of his starts against B1G opponents this year. Earned a win against Ohio State. Took a loss against PSU. He's started against both Auburn and Texas - earning wins in both games. In the post-game interview with Marty Sutherland (Go Cougars! for those that get the connection), he indicated that it was a surprise to Iowa's coaching staff that IU flipped the order of its starting pitching. They'd spent the majority of the week preparing for Sinnard. Sounds like he is definitely their #1 starter. Can't help but wonder if it was calculated to avoid a start against Brecht and because Iowa's #2 starter all year has been really inconsistent. Also . . . Sutherland noted that none of IU's top bullpen arms threw yesterday. Thus, today's game will feature IU's top starting pitcher and their top bullpen arms are available.
Fortunately, Iowa's bullpen is fresh as well. I'd anticipate a quick hook for Morgan if he struggles at all today. Probably going to be a lower scoring affair (famous last words) and I'm anticipating that Heller won't allow for Morgan to have one of his patented "blow up" innings. It would be great if today is the day that Morgan put it all together and gave a strong 5 inning start. Realistically, I'm hoping for 4 really good innings and then see what Voelker/Simpson can do from there.
Iowa had a lot of other games break its way yesterday and that can't be expected today but, damn, a win today will erase a lot of the RPI "pain" from last week's 1-3 effort.
Let's Go Hawks!!
Q1 win? Check.
13 point rise in RPI ladder? Check.
Brody Brecht throwing his best game as an Iowa pitcher? Check.
Timely hitting? Check.
Solid defense? Check.
Talk about a much needed and all around solid win yesterday . . . certainly sets up the opportunity for Iowa to have a statement weekend.
Iowa climbed from #65 to #52 on the RPI ladder. Iowa would be in the upper 40s if Texas Tech hadn't spit the bit against flipping North Dakota State. Seriously?! Other B1G teams' RPI are now as follows: Indiana (20-10/5-2) is currently #30 RPI (down 2 from yesterday) and leads the B1G. Rutgers (15-14/1-3) is currently #44 RPI (down 6 from yesterday) and 2nd in B1G RPI ratings. Illinois (12-14/2-5) is currently #69 RPI (down 17 from yesterday) and 3rd in B1G RPI ratings. Michigan State (17-9/5-2) is currently #48 RPI (up 9 from yesterday) and checks in now in 3rd in B1G RPI. Iowa at #52 is 4th ahead of 5th place Maryland (18-11/3-1; 62 RPI - up 10), 6th place Illinois, 7th place Michigan (16-13/5-2; 79 RPI - down 8) and 8th place Nebraska (17-9-1/3-1; 81 RPI).
On the RPI "ladder," Iowa is 5 RPI points behind #51 Duke and 6 RPI points ahead of #53 Wofford. Iowa is 71 RPI points behind #41 Texas-San Antonio.
An Iowa win today would result in a gain of 73 RPI points. An Iowa loss would result in the loss of 12 RPI points.
I watched most of last night's game on BTN+ on replay early this morning; was relegated to listening to the game via "radio" while grilling on the deck and relishing Spring's victory over Winter. Notable comment by Iowa's broadcast team - Indiana skipped its normal Friday starter (Luke Sinnard) and he will pitch today. Sinnard's stat line: https://iuhoosiers.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-sinnard/17447
Sinnard is a transfer from WKU and was the pitcher of record in both of his starts against B1G opponents this year. Earned a win against Ohio State. Took a loss against PSU. He's started against both Auburn and Texas - earning wins in both games. In the post-game interview with Marty Sutherland (Go Cougars! for those that get the connection), he indicated that it was a surprise to Iowa's coaching staff that IU flipped the order of its starting pitching. They'd spent the majority of the week preparing for Sinnard. Sounds like he is definitely their #1 starter. Can't help but wonder if it was calculated to avoid a start against Brecht and because Iowa's #2 starter all year has been really inconsistent. Also . . . Sutherland noted that none of IU's top bullpen arms threw yesterday. Thus, today's game will feature IU's top starting pitcher and their top bullpen arms are available.
Fortunately, Iowa's bullpen is fresh as well. I'd anticipate a quick hook for Morgan if he struggles at all today. Probably going to be a lower scoring affair (famous last words) and I'm anticipating that Heller won't allow for Morgan to have one of his patented "blow up" innings. It would be great if today is the day that Morgan put it all together and gave a strong 5 inning start. Realistically, I'm hoping for 4 really good innings and then see what Voelker/Simpson can do from there.
Iowa had a lot of other games break its way yesterday and that can't be expected today but, damn, a win today will erase a lot of the RPI "pain" from last week's 1-3 effort.
Let's Go Hawks!!
