After dropping the first two games of the series, Iowa Baseball faced a must-win situation in the series finale on Saturday afternoon. Iowa suffered a 10-0 loss in seven innings in game one on Thursday and a 9-6 loss in game two on Friday.
No. 7 Oregon has been red-hot at the plate, torching Iowa pitchers for 19 runs in the first two games. Their pitching staff has also been solid, holding the Iowa bats in check.
On Saturday afternoon, the Hawkeyes' backs were up against the wall in an important series finale.
The Hawkeyes sent Reece Beuter to the mound to secure a win in the series finale. Beuter is coming off an elbow injury and could only give the Hawkeyes a few innings. Beuter has been solid for the Hawkeyes with a 6-0 record and a 3.13 ERA in 12 starts.
Beuter was able to pitch 2.2 innings, giving up one run (one earned) and walking two batters.
The Hawkeyes stayed close, taking a 1-1 tie into the fourth inning. In the fourth inning, it all fell apart for Iowa. Oregon scored seven runs in innings four through six, and Iowa did not respond.
The Hawkeyes added a run in the seventh and two in the eighth to cut the deficit to 9-4, but that is as close as they would get. Oregon boosted its lead with one run in the eighth and four in the ninth to secure a 13-4 victory and a series sweep.
The usually stable Hawkeye pitching staff was dinged up in this series. In the series finale, six Iowa pitchers were tagged for 13 runs (13 earned).
Iowa awaits their seed for the Big Ten Tournament that takes place from Tuesday, May 20, to Sunday May 25 in Omaha, Nebraska.