It was all going according to script. The Iowa Hawkeyes were off to the regional championship and one win away from the Super Regionals.
Keyed by sophomore starter Brody Brecht’s gem, Iowa had rallied back from an early deficit promptly and then plated a pair in the sixth to move within a win away from the postseason’s next round.
Instead, it all went haywire for Iowa (43-15, 15-8 Big Ten) in the eighth. For Indiana State (44-15, 24-3 Missouri Valley Conference), it was shades of its regional opener.
Trailing 4-2 heading into the eighth, Iowa turned to redshirt senior reliever Jared Simpson. Simpson managed just one out. He hit ISU’s Randal Diaz to begin the eighth. After a brief recovery to strike out Indiana State’s Josue Urdaneta, the Sycamores used a high infield single from Luis Hernandez and Adam Pottinger to load the bases.
Indiana State’s Mike Sears drew an RBI walk and suddenly the Sycamores were back within one. That’s when Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller turned to the hero from last night, redshirt junior reliever Luke Llewellyn.
The Urbandale, Iowa, native did inch Iowa within one out of escaping this potentially season-altering jam when he sat Parker Stinson down swinging. But, Miguel Rivera and Grant Magill delivered back-to-back doubles to put Indiana State in front for good and to bust it wide open, 7-4.
That was the final margin as the Hawkeyes sink to the loser’s bracket where a rematch against North Carolina awaits tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. CT.
Hawkeye Twitter reacted with disdain as Iowa wasted a seven-inning, two-run, eight strikeout performance from Brecht.