First pitch - 4:05 p.m. Weather forecast calls for cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s.
Current RPI Ranking: #34 - Iowa is 4 points behind #33 University of Texas-San Antonio and 4 points ahead of #35 Florida Gulf Coast University.
RPI Metrics: An Iowa win will result in a loss of 9 RPI points. An Iowa loss will result in the loss of 194 RPI points.
RPI anomaly of the day . . . if SDSU beats winless Northern Colorado, Iowa will gain 41.9 RPI points. If #1 LSU beats #3 Arkansas, Iowa will gain 1.4 points.
Interesting fact. Iowa debuted in Baseball America's Top 25 teams this week. It is the first time that Iowa has been ranked in BA's Top 25 since 2015.
Both Iowa and WMU have posted their weekend starting pitching. Iowa's rotation will be Brecht (Fri); Simpson (Sat) and Langenberg (Sun). I'm not sure if Simpson's start is a reward for his excellent pitching against SDSU and some "mixed" results for Morgan or whether there is something else going on with Morgan (i.e. some type of injury). Heller will probably address that issue in today's pre-game interview.
WMU will start Brady Miller today. Here's his webpage on the WMU baseball site: https://wmubroncos.com/sports/baseball/roster/brady-miller/12618
Miller has been WMU's designated "Friday" starter all year. He's pitched against LSU, Northern Kentucky, North Carolina A&T, Ball State and Eastern Michigan. His last outing against Eastern Michigan (10-7 on the year) was solid. 7 IP - 3H/2BB - 0R - 7Ks. That written, his other efforts weren't so noteworthy.
LSU - 5 IP - 4H/3BB - 5R - 3Ks.
Northern Kentucky - 3.1 IP - 6H/2BB - 5R - 2Ks.
NC A&T - 6 IP - 9H/0BB - 3R (2ER) - 5Ks.
Ball State - 5 IP - 10H/3BB - 8R - 6Ks.
That's a lot of baserunners on a per inning average. Really good chance for Iowa's bats to make some noise early in the game and get Brecht a lead.
As to the latter point, another step in Brecht's journey to establish himself as a dominant top-of-the-rotation pitcher. It's the last tune-up before B1G play and, barring unforeseen circumstances, he'll take the mound a week from today against pre-season B1G favorite Maryland. Suffice it to write, it would be outstanding if he closes out non-conference play with an outing filled with consistent strikes, getting ahead of hitters, minimal walks and weak contact. I'd like nothing more than for Brecht to get "locked in" right before conference play begins.
If Iowa brings its B or B+ games this weekend, very good chance that Iowa can keep the winning streak alive.
As has been posted my many others both this year and past, RPI is not kind to B1G teams. Even if Iowa goes 2-1 in this series, they will likely fall to the upper 50s/low 60s in the RPI standings with very few opportunities to make up ground against B1G teams going forward. "Very little margin for error" is a massive understatement. That written, I like what Iowa brings to the mound on weekends and I'm cautiously optimistic that Iowa's winning streak will be intact before the Hawks head to Normal to play ISU on Tuesday.
For more information, see the tweet below and the link embedded in the tweet.
Current RPI Ranking: #34 - Iowa is 4 points behind #33 University of Texas-San Antonio and 4 points ahead of #35 Florida Gulf Coast University.
RPI Metrics: An Iowa win will result in a loss of 9 RPI points. An Iowa loss will result in the loss of 194 RPI points.
RPI anomaly of the day . . . if SDSU beats winless Northern Colorado, Iowa will gain 41.9 RPI points. If #1 LSU beats #3 Arkansas, Iowa will gain 1.4 points.
Interesting fact. Iowa debuted in Baseball America's Top 25 teams this week. It is the first time that Iowa has been ranked in BA's Top 25 since 2015.
Both Iowa and WMU have posted their weekend starting pitching. Iowa's rotation will be Brecht (Fri); Simpson (Sat) and Langenberg (Sun). I'm not sure if Simpson's start is a reward for his excellent pitching against SDSU and some "mixed" results for Morgan or whether there is something else going on with Morgan (i.e. some type of injury). Heller will probably address that issue in today's pre-game interview.
WMU will start Brady Miller today. Here's his webpage on the WMU baseball site: https://wmubroncos.com/sports/baseball/roster/brady-miller/12618
Miller has been WMU's designated "Friday" starter all year. He's pitched against LSU, Northern Kentucky, North Carolina A&T, Ball State and Eastern Michigan. His last outing against Eastern Michigan (10-7 on the year) was solid. 7 IP - 3H/2BB - 0R - 7Ks. That written, his other efforts weren't so noteworthy.
LSU - 5 IP - 4H/3BB - 5R - 3Ks.
Northern Kentucky - 3.1 IP - 6H/2BB - 5R - 2Ks.
NC A&T - 6 IP - 9H/0BB - 3R (2ER) - 5Ks.
Ball State - 5 IP - 10H/3BB - 8R - 6Ks.
That's a lot of baserunners on a per inning average. Really good chance for Iowa's bats to make some noise early in the game and get Brecht a lead.
As to the latter point, another step in Brecht's journey to establish himself as a dominant top-of-the-rotation pitcher. It's the last tune-up before B1G play and, barring unforeseen circumstances, he'll take the mound a week from today against pre-season B1G favorite Maryland. Suffice it to write, it would be outstanding if he closes out non-conference play with an outing filled with consistent strikes, getting ahead of hitters, minimal walks and weak contact. I'd like nothing more than for Brecht to get "locked in" right before conference play begins.
If Iowa brings its B or B+ games this weekend, very good chance that Iowa can keep the winning streak alive.
As has been posted my many others both this year and past, RPI is not kind to B1G teams. Even if Iowa goes 2-1 in this series, they will likely fall to the upper 50s/low 60s in the RPI standings with very few opportunities to make up ground against B1G teams going forward. "Very little margin for error" is a massive understatement. That written, I like what Iowa brings to the mound on weekends and I'm cautiously optimistic that Iowa's winning streak will be intact before the Hawks head to Normal to play ISU on Tuesday.
For more information, see the tweet below and the link embedded in the tweet.
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