| Northwestern (10-24) vs. No. 14 Iowa (24-10) | |
| Date | Time | Friday, April 17 | 6:05 p.m. Saturday, April 18 | 2 p.m. Sunday, April 19 | 1 p.m. |
| Location | Duane Banks Field | Iowa City, Iowa |
| Media | Live Stats: Watch: BTN Plus Listen: HawkeyeSports.com |
| Social | @NUCatsBaseball | @NU_SportsLIVE |
| Notes | Northwestern | Iowa | B1G |
SCOUTING IOWA
· The Hawkeyes are tied with Illinois for first place in the Big Ten standings with an overall record of 24-10 and a league mark of 8-1. Iowa's only conference loss came in the series opener against Maryland.
· Iowa enters the weekend after splitting a pair of midweek games. The Hawkeyes dropped their midweek opener to Bradley before picking up a win against Cornell.
· Iowa has won six of its last games, including a series sweep of Purdue that saw the Hawkeyes outscore their Big Ten opponent 23-7.
· Iowa has held its opponents to hitting just .223, while posting a team batting average of .268.
· Peyton Taylor leads the team in batting average and on-base percentage with marks of .351 and .421, respectively.
· As a team, Iowa ranks 24th in the country in ERA and ninth in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (7.43). Defensively, the Hawkeyes sit 12th in the country in fielding percentage.
LAST TIME OUT vs. IOWA
Jack Quigley made a strong spot-start and kept the Wildcats in the game for six innings, but the bats failed to come alive as Iowa built on their morning success and took the second game of the doubleheader, 5-0.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Sr. RHP Brandon Magallones (3-2, 6.84 ERA) vs. Jr. RHP Tyler Peyton (4-3, 2.82 ERA)
Saturday: Jr. LHP Matt Portland (1-4, 3.57 ERA) vs. Jr. RHP Blake Hickman (5-1, 2.91 ERA)
Sunday: TBD for Northwestern vs. Jr. RHP Calvin Mathews (3-0, 1.32 ERA)
NEXT UP FOR THE WILDCATS
Northwestern will return home to Rocky Miller Park for the first time this spring to host Milwuakee and UIC for a pair of midweek games. NU will then welcome Big Ten foe Ohio State for a three-game set, beginning April 24.
WRECK `EM RUCHIM
Fifth-year senior Kyle Ruchim leads the Wildcats with a .357 batting average and has hit five of NU's 11 home runs for a season best. The outfielder also leads the squad in RBI (21), runs (22) and slugging percentage (.597) to sit second in the Big Ten. This season, the senior tallied his 100th-career run against Ball State on March 6 and his 200th-career hit at Chicago State (March 31). Ruchim has reached based in 21-consecutive games, for the longest Northwestern run since Trevor Stevens reach based in 28- straight games in 2011, and owns nine-game hitting streak.
ROAD WARRIORS
Northwestern has not had a home game yet this season and will play 37 road games before heading home to Rocky Miller Park. The `Cats home opener is slated for Tuesday, April 21, against Milwaukee. NU is 8-16 in true road games this year.
DOUBLING UP
Fifth-year senior Scott Heelan, who is hitting .316 this spring, sits second in the Big Ten in doubles with 14, while outfielder Kyle Ruchim and junior Zach Jones are tied for third with 13 doubles apiece. The Wildcats also lead the conference in doubles with 78, averaging 2.86 doubles per game to sit 11th in the country.
ZACH ATTACK
Junior first baseman Zach Jones has played a critical role in the Wildcat's offense this year. The Glenview, Ill., native is hitting .331 and has tallied 17 runs on a team-best 46 hits along with 21 RBI and 13 doubles. On March 20, Jones tied a school record for hits in a single game when tallied seven against UNLV. The junior has reached base in 16-consecutive games and holds a nine-game hitting streak.
HOT BATS
Northwestern ranks among the Big Ten top seven in multiple offensive categories including first in doubles (78), third in at bats (1279), fourth in hits (356), sixth in total bases (475) and seventh in batting average (.278). On Sunday, March 29, the Wildcats clinched their first Big Ten series with a commanding 19-7 win over Minnesota. The 19 runs scored were the most by NU since 2006 when the squad edged past Illinois in a 19-18 slugfest. The Wildcats have registered double-digit hits in eight of their last nine games. Through Big Ten play, Northwestern is hitting .285 to sit third in the league.
MILESTONE MAGS'
Senior Brandon Magallones recorded his 200th-career strikeout in a 19-7 win over Minnesota (March 29). The right-handed pitcher earned the win after pitching five innings and fanning five batters. Magallones needs just one more K to crack Northwestern all-time top 10 for career strikeouts.
BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Northwestern fifth-year seniors Scott Heelan and Kyle Ruchim and senior starting pitcher Brandon Magallones were named Big Ten Players to Watch for the 2015 season.
Heelan is coming off an All-Big Ten season in 2014. The Gurnee, Ill., native drove in a team-high 33 runs a season ago while batting .317 with 15 extra-base hits and only 16 strikeouts in 189 at-bats. The versatile Wildcat split time at both second base, where he earned All-Big Ten honors in 2014, and catcher, though this season his primary focus figures to be behind the plate.
Magallones looks to lead the Wildcats' rotation for the second consecutive season. As a junior, the Manhattan, Ill., native ranked tied for second on the team with four wins and second with 77.2 innings pitched.
Ruchim made the list after missing all but two games of the 2014 campaign. As a junior in 2013, Ruchim earned All-Big Ten honors as an outfielder while batting .365 in 42 games. He had 61 hits, including 21 that went for extra bases. Ruchim collected 26 RBI and 10 stolen bases during his last healthy season.
Ruchim was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, but he did not sign and elected to return to Evanston to complete a graduate degree and play one final season of collegiate baseball.
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