Iowa

Iowa baseball falls in Big Ten title quest with third-straight loss to Oregon

Published

8 months ago

May 17, 2025

Iowa baseball falls in Big Ten title quest with third-straight loss to Oregon

IOWA CITY — The Iowa baseball team closed out its regular season against Oregon with the Big Ten Conference championship at stake, its first taste of a season championship since 1990.

The Hawkeyes had dropped two of their first three games to the fifth-ranked Ducks in a three-game series. In Game 1, the Hawkeyes dropped a 10-0 shutout to the Ducks in seven innings on May 15. In Game 2, they lost 9-6 after they held a 6-2 lead through five innings on May 16.

Iowa had one final chance to be on the right side of history in Game 3. It was a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten title race between Iowa, Oregon and UCLA entering the regular-season finale on May 17.

Ultimately, the Hawkeyes had its 35-year drought extended with a 13-4 home loss to the Ducks. Iowa fell to 21-9 in Big Ten play while Oregon improved to 22-8.

The Ducks clinched at least a share of the Big Ten crown with a win over the Hawkeyes. UCLA plays later in the afternoon against Northwestern and a Bruins win would give them a piece of the conference title.

“(Oregon) was locked in and had been playing their best baseball of the year the last 12-15 games,” said Iowa coach Rick Heller. “We knew the challenge and we knew exactly how we had to attack but we just gave them too much to have any chance of beating a team that good.”

Leadoff hitter Reese Moore got on base after he was hit by a pitch. He beat the catcher to steal second before a wild pitch put him at third base. A groundout by Caleb Wulf plated the Iowa sophomore to give the Hawkeyes an early 1-0 lead in the opening frame.

With Iowa right-hander Reece Beuter on the mound, Oregon’s Carter Garate blasted a homer that traveled 453 feet and cleared the right-field wall. Beuter, who entered with a 6-0 record, allowed a walk on the ensuing at-bat before a lineout ended his afternoon.

Through 2 ⅔ innings, Beuter faced 11 batters and gave up just one hit and one home run over 42 pitches.

Reminiscent of their loss on May 16, Iowa’s pitching became an Achilles heel and put them in a bind. Senior lefty Ben DeTaeye, who replaced Beuter, allowed Oregon’s Drew Smith to walk to first base before a sacrifice bunt and ensuing groundout put the Ducks in scoring position. DeTaeye walked Chase Meggers before he yielded an RBI double to Ryan Cooney that gave Oregon a 2-1 advantage. An ensuing bunt by Garate drove in a run and increased Iowa’s deficit, 3-1.

After Oregon’s Dominic Hellman walked to first, Jacob Walsh hit a double that sliced down the left field line with no outs in the fifth inning. Iowa righty Daniel Wright stepped in to pitch, but the Ducks managed to load the bases and put another run on the board. The senior Hawkeye faced a bases-loaded jam after he allowed a walk before a groundout drove in another score and made it a 4-1 game.

An ensuing walk reloaded the bases, but a double play by Iowa’s infield limited the damage.

“Pretty much the entire bullpen just gave it up today and I think we had eight or nine walks. You have no shot at beating that team if you’re going to walk nine guys,” Heller said. “We felt like we were going to have to score some runs, and we could today, but we didn’t early. We hit some balls and didn’t get rewarded and then we did some dumb stuff that cost us on the bases.”

The Hawkeyes (32-20-1) couldn’t string together runs, and the Ducks made them pay at the plate. Cooney cranked a solo homer in the sixth inning which prompted a change to junior righty Anthony Watts. But that didn’t matter. The Ducks plated two more runs with a Walsh homer that sailed past the right-field wall. The blast extended the gap, 8-1.

All the while, Oregon right-hander Jason Reitz limited Iowa’s offense. The junior righty, who boasted a 4-0 mark entering Game 3, earned four strikeouts and gave up just one run through 5 ⅔ innings of work.

Iowa’s Andy Nelson managed to narrow the deficit, 8-2, in the seventh frame with his sixth home run of the season, but the Ducks countered with a Hellman homer in the eighth inning.

The Hawkeyes managed to plate a pair of runs after loading the bases in the eighth frame, but Oregon secured a four-run stretch in the ninth inning. Iowa went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners on base.

“It hurts that we weren’t able to get it done, especially at home for our fans who really came out and supported us and disappointed they didn’t get to see us celebrate a championship,” Heller said. “But for this team to be where they’re at is pretty impressive and the great thing is it’s not the end. It feels like it now but it’s not the end of the season.

“We have a chance to regroup and hopefully find ourselves and get back to who we are and go down to Omaha (Nebraska) and try to play good baseball again.”

Iowa’s attention will now shift to the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, which will begin on May 20.

Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.

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Iowa

Penn State earns commitment from Iowa State leading wide receiver via transfer

Published

11 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Penn State earns commitment from Iowa State leading wide receiver via transfer

Penn State landed Iowa State’s pair of quarterbacks earlier Sunday, including starter Rocco Becht, in a splash move. Now, the Cyclones’ leading receiver is coming with them.

Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen committed to Penn State via the transfer portal, becoming the seventh Cyclone to join the Nittany Lions this weekend. He announced the move on social media.

Eskildsen recorded 30 receptions, 526 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore in 2025. He also appeared in all 13 games as a freshman but made just two catches for 17 yards.

The 6-1, 200-pound wideout is from Frisco, Texas, and is a three-star in the 247Sports transfer rankings (No. 118 overall, No. 30 WR). He was a three-star out of high school as well, where he had more than 1,5000 career receiving yards.

Becht’s top man from 2026 is now in place. He’ll also be able to throw to standout Penn State freshman Koby Howard and quick youngster Tyseer Denmark, who have confirmed their returns thus far.

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Iowa State picks up commitment from Arkansas State QB Jaylen Raynor

Published

23 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Iowa State picks up commitment from Arkansas State QB Jaylen Raynor

Iowa State football has picked up a commitment from Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Jan. 3.

Raynor has one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot, 202-pounder from Kernersville, North Carolina, passed for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He was intercepted 11 times.

Raynor also rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.

He passed for 8,694 yards and 52 touchdowns in three seasons at Arkansas State.

“The (Iowa State) coaching staff is known for winning,” Raynor told Thamel. “The head coach is a known winner and done it on multiple levels.”

Raynor will join Arkansas State offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf in Ames. Heckendorf was named Cyclones quarterbacks coach this week.

Raynor completed 19 of 33 passes for 222 yards in a 24-16 loss to Iowa State on Sept. 13, 2025.

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Seven Iowa High School Wrestlers Off To Dominant Starts This Season – FloWrestling

Published

1 week ago

December 29, 2025

Press Room

Seven Iowa High School Wrestlers Off To Dominant Starts This Season – FloWrestling

The first month of the Iowa high school wrestling season has been filled with scintillating individual performances. Here’s a look at seven standouts who have been racking up bonus points in December.

Drew Anderson (Riverside)

The Class 1A state runner-up last year at 132 is up to 144 this season and he’s 14-0 with 11 technical falls, a pair of pins and a forfeit win. Anderson, a junior in his second season at the school, already owns the Riverside school record for technical falls with 28. Anderson is on pace to more than double the previous Riverside tech record of 23.

Urijah Courter (West Marshall)

Courter won the 2A title last season at 113 after placing third as a freshman at 106. He’s up to 120 this season. Courter is 14-0 this season with 10 pins and two technical falls. His ledger also includes a 6-5 win against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Simon Bettis in a rematch of last season’s state title bout.

Cooper Hinz (Jesup)

Entering the holiday break, Michigan commit and two-time state medalist Cooper Hinz is 22-0 with 21 wins via pin, technical fall or forfeit. His other victory was a 4-1 overtime decision against returning state placewinner Cain Rodgers of North Fayette Valley. More impressively, all of Hinz’s pins and technical falls have all come in the first period.

Lincoln Jipp (Bettendorf)

Jipp placed fifth at 138, third at 165 and second at 175 in Class 3A during his first three seasons. Now he’s up to 215 — 77 pounds more than where he started his career as a freshman. The North Carolina recruit pinned his way through the prestigious Dan Gable Donnybrook. He’s 16-0 with 10 pins, four technical falls and a forfeit.

Mason Koehler (Glenwood)

The returning 2A champ at 215 is 20-0 with 18 pins and a major decision. His only two matches that went the distance came at the Council Bluffs Classic, where he defeated Nebraska standout Ryan Boehle of Grand Island 14-4 and Minnesota hammer Joe Kruse of Totino-Grace 9-2. The rest of Koehler’s matches this season ended in first-period pins. He has already registered a six-second pin and another in nine seconds this season.

Jaxon Miller (Carlisle)

Miller is a three-time state medalist, a two-time finalist and returning state champ in Class 3A. He placed fourth as a freshman at 145 before making trips to the finals at 157 and 165. He’s 16-0 this season with 13 first-period pins, two technical falls and a forfeit.

Keaton Moeller (Starmont)

Moeller placed third in 1A as a freshman at 145 before winning a state title at 150 as a sophomore. He missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in football. Now he’s back as a senior at 190 and Moeller hasn’t missed a beat. He’s 13-0 with five pins, six technical falls and a pair of forfeits. He has yet to wrestle a full period this season.

Iowa High School Premium Rankings

Check out the Iowa High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents and overall historical performance patterns. The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining their season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.

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