After securing a fourth consecutive Big Ten series win with a 9-1 rubber game victory over Purdue, Iowa (28-16, 12-6 Big Ten) hits the road for East Lansing, Mich., for a three-game series against Michigan State.
With the Hawkeyes sitting at No. 64 in the RPI and tied for third in the Big Ten standings with a 12-6 mark in league play, Iowa needs to play well in this three-game series against the Spartans in order to enhance its case for an at-large bid into an NCAA Regional.
In Iowa’s series-clinching win over the Boilermakers, sophomore Ty Langenberg registered a career-long seven innings start where he surrendered just one run and struck out seven.
“We gave a mature, professional effort today. After a tough day yesterday, we came out with a lot of energy. We were really dialed in against a good team and we needed a good start. Ty Langenberg delivered with that; he was solid today,” Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller said after capturing the series over Purdue.
After recording 12 strikeouts in the Mother’s Day win, Iowa ran its strikeout total to 507 to set a single-season program record. Redshirt freshman Keaton Anthony hit his 10th home run of the season and finished with a pair of RBIs. Sophomore Cade Moss added two RBIs as well.
Meanwhile, Michigan State (22-25, 6-12 Big Ten) was swept by Penn State. A pair of games originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday were postponed. The Spartans played a Sunday doubleheader, losing both against Penn State by scores of, 15-3, and, 10-4. Then, Michigan State dropped the Monday contest against the Nittany Lions, 10-9, in 11 innings.
The Spartans split their midweek games at Notre Dame and at Western Michigan, losing to the Fighting Irish, 15-6, before topping the Broncos, 3-1.
Here’s how to watch, listen and stream the Hawkeyes’ series against Michigan State.