IOWA CITY, Iowa — The USA National Team, represented by the University of Iowa baseball team, posted a 10-2 victory over the Quad City Cardinals on Thursday night exhibition game at Duane Banks Field. The contest was the team’s final tune-up leading into the World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan.
The Hawkeyes scored 10 runs on 10 hits and five pitchers limited the Cardinals to three hits. Iowa’s five pitchers finished the contest with 13 strikeouts.
Iowa jumped out to a 3-0 lead in their first at-bat, getting an RBI single from Ben Norman and a two-run double from Brett McCleary. The Cardinals cut the deficit to 3-2 in the fourth, but the Hawkeyes scored the game’s final seven runs.
Iowa scored two runs in the fifth, three in the sixth, and two in the seventh. Sophomore Grant Judkins had an RBI in the fifth, two of Iowa’s three sixth-inning runs scored on a Tyler Cropley sacrifice fly in the sixth, and sophomore Justin Jenkins had a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
HEAD COACH RICK HELLER SAYS…
“We played hard tonight, we had good energy. Other than the fourth inning, the pitchers did a great job. Brady Schanuel had his best start of the year; his first three innings were good. Then he had trouble with his command in the fourth.”
“Offensively we were missing some guys; we’re facing some uncontrollable with illness. We were missing four starters out of the lineup. The guys responded well, they battled and had good at-bats. It was a good trial run before we head out.”
HAWKEYE OF THE GAME
Junior starter Brady Schanuel was solid in four innings of work in his final start before the World University Games. The right-hander struck out four batters in the second inning and finished with seven strikeouts in the game.
NOTABLE
– Redshirt junior Nick Allgeyer made his first game appearance since 2016. The southpaw struck out the side in his lone inning of work. He missed the 2017 season rehabbing following Tommy John surgery.
– Three Hawkeyes posted multi-hit games. Judkins reached base in all four of his plate appearances, finishing 2-for-2 with a run scored, a hit by pitch, and walk. Freshman Brett McCleary was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while sophomore Lorenzo Elion was 2-for-4.
– Sophomore Kyle Crowl scored three of Iowa’s 10 runs.
– Two pitchers — Allgeyer and redshirt freshman Kole Kampen — had clean appearances, striking out four of the six batters they faced without allowing a hit or issuing a walk.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes depart for Chicago on Aug. 15 before catching a midnight flight Aug. 16 for Taipei, Taiwan. Iowa opens play against Mexico on Aug. 20 at 5:30 a.m. (CT).
