OMAHA — The two squads tend to gravitate toward each other this time of year, always ready to match the postseason spotlight with nine innings (or more) of intense baseball action. Iowa and Michigan have now linked up six times in the last five Big Ten Tournaments, including three games in the opening round.
Wednesday's showdown added to the thrilling precedent.
A low-scoring affair buoyed by Brody Brecht's elite arsenal gave way to eventful late action, as the No. 5 seed Hawkeyes clung to the last little bit of life in this seesawing season. That desperation only went so far, though. Iowa watched Michigan celebrate a 3-2 walk-off win in 10 innings at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mitch Voit's bases-loaded walk was the final blow after Iowa reliever Jack Young loaded them with nobody down.
The Hawkeyes (31-22) now must fight through the losers' bracket, beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday in an elimination game against No. 1 seed Illinois. A path opened up for the Hawkeyes after No. 8 seed Penn State pulled an Illini stunner to start the day, but Iowa couldn't take advantage of the bracket break.
"Losing the first game of the tournament is always tough," Iowa right-fielder Ben Wilmes said. "When your pitchers come out and give a hell of a performance like Brody and Jack — they keep the other team to three runs — it's hard to lose that way."
The Hawkeyes looked ready to land a crucial extra-inning blow in the top of the 10th, stringing together a two-out single from Raider Tello and an ensuing double via Davis Cop that had Tello sprinting home to grab the lead. But Michigan executed a perfect relay throw after a bobble in left field to nail Iowa's third baseman at the plate.
A maize-and-blue celebration erupted soon after.
"With two outs, (third-base coach Mitchell Boe) had to send him," Iowa coach Rick Heller said. "I'll have to go back and watch it. I don't know if Raider slowed down, assuming he wouldn't score. That might've caused him to be out. But (Tello) had to go, especially when he bobbled it. Opportunities were so few and far between for us. To get another two-out hit, the odds of that happening were way less than Michigan executing a perfect tandem relay and tag at the plate.
"You take your chances. It didn't work out."
In what will likely be his final collegiate appearance, Brecht emptied the tank over 7 1/3 effectively grueling frames on 113 pitches. There were baserunners in abundance even as Michigan struggled to connect, courtesy of four hit batsmen, two walks but just four sporadic hits. Ten strikeouts rescued Brecht from multiple jams that nearly turned dominance into disaster.
Michigan's sixth-inning traffic, though, proved too much in a particularly painful way. Brecht spiked a two-out slider with the bases loaded in the sixth, resulting in a costly wild pitch that scooted away from catcher Cade Moss down the first-base line. Michigan's Stephen Hrustich scored easily from third to tie the game, but then came Collin Priest right behind him as Brecht whiffed on Moss' flip while covering home. The ball rolled toward a now-jubilant Michigan dugout.
Lead gone, just like that. The Hawkeyes dugout sat stunned, feeling another unraveling taking shape.
"I just yanked it a little too much and got away," Brecht said. "Moss made a good throw. I didn't really see it, didn't catch the ball. Definitely wish I could have it back, but can't change it now."
Iowa, to its credit, rebounded immediately to ease some pain. Wilmes whacked an RBI double to left that plated left-fielder Will Mulflur for a 2-2 tie in the seventh. Wilmes — who also scored on Michael Seegers' RBI double in the second — eventually reached third base with one down, resulting in Iowa opting for a Moss safety squeeze as it hunted a 3-2 advantage.
Moss got the bunt down, but not far enough for Wilmes to feel confident leaving. The Hawkeyes ultimately stranded two in scoring position in what was a string of pivotal situations Iowa didn't execute. Iowa ended the day 2-for-14 with runners on and 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
"We couldn't get it going offensively," Heller said. "Anything that we did do happened late. We couldn't get lead-off guys, to try to make things happen and put some pressure on them. We had a couple opportunities to execute, and we didn't get that done either. It cost us, and it cost us big."
In a season full of tough moments, Iowa's series loss to Michigan in late March may have been the most painful. The Hawkeyes walked off the Wolverines in the opener at Duane Banks Field, only to suffer a doubleheader sweep the ensuing day as the wind swirled.
A chance to get even arrived Wednesday.
The Hawkeyes couldn't pounce on it.
"Just wasn't our day," Heller said.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register andHawkCentral.com. Email him atmsouthard@gannett.comor follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
