Iowa back to B1G tourney title game after marathon semifinal win

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For 11 grueling innings, the Iowa bullpen scratched and clawed its way to domination, throwing up one unblemished frame after another while they waited for the big boom. The relievers were running on fumes — having been recycled from previous tournament outings — but their combined success didn’t waver.

Then, as the night waned on, it came.

Tyler Cropley’s 13th-inning solo homer, his second of the night, snuck just inside the left-field foul pole at Bart Kaufman Field, sparking a two-run frame that ended Saturday’s baseball marathon with a black-and-gold tint.

“There was no wind,” Cropley said, “and I didn’t know if it was going to stay fair or not.

“I was just praying.”

After falling to Minnesota in Game 1 of semifinal Saturday, Iowa rebounded emphatically with a 7-5 win to clinch its second straight Big Ten Tournament title game appearance. The Hawkeyes will get the winner of Maryland and Northwestern, which were pushed back to Sunday at 8 a.m. CDT. That creates a doubleheader scenario for either the Terrapins or Wildcats, with the title game scheduled to start 40 minutes after Maryland-Northwestern concludes.

In a string of gritty relief outings, Josh Martsching was the headliner, tossing 5 2/3 scoreless frames in what was his third appearance in Bloomington. With one out in the seventh, the redshirt senior entered with the bags full and immediately induced a double-play ball, the third time this tournament Martsching has successful navigated through a bases-loaded jam.

He rolled from there all the way into the 12th before giving way to Shane Ritter, who tossed a clean ninth for his fifth save.

Martsching said he told Rick Heller he was good for two innings. But adrenaline and sheer will soon took over, zapping any lingering fatigue.

“I didn’t want that to be my last time as a Hawkeye,” Martsching said .“I kept going as long as I could.”

It proceeded extended outings from Zach Daniels and Kyle Shimp, who all helped pick up a weary and depleted staff after Cole McDonald went two frames and surrendered four runs. The bullpen repeatedly snuffed out scoring chances in combining to yield one run in 11 frames.

For the tournament, Iowa relievers has given up just three earned runs over 22 innings.

“The story was just attitude,” Heller said. “We came out with a lot of focus and a lot of energy. I think everybody felt like we kind of let down this morning. It wasn’t our best effort. It was uncharacteristic of Hawkeye baseball And I know that the captains brought everyone together after that game.

“A different team showed up tonight.”

After Iowa produced just four hits in Saturday’s opening-game loss, Heller issued a plea to his floundering bats. The Hawkeyes entered the Big Ten Tournament with one of the conference’s most potent offenses and flashed it in Thursday’s 9-8 win over Maryland — but nothing much since.

They answered the call early, as Cropley, Jake Adams and Matt Hoeg all launched homers in the first four innings to counter Minnesota’ early damage. The Hawkeyes sported a 5-4 advantage, but the Gophers knotted things in the sixth.

Then, the stalemate ensued. Neither squad budged an inch.

Until finally, a breakthrough.

"After that first game today, coach really emphasized just sticking to the plan,” said Cropley, who now has three homers this tournament. “Everything’s going to come around eventually. Minnesota hit well in both games, and we finally poured it on there in the end with some hard hits

“We just had to stick to our plan.”

That plan has always included a title-game return after falling to Ohio State there a season ago after a similar riveting postseason run. One win gives the Hawkeyes a second regional appearance in three years and caps off a weekend push that’s seen Iowa knock off the tournament’s No. 4, No. 1 and No 3 seeds.

Nobody has forgotten last season’s pain. A conference tournament surge is only complete with a title. Saturday’s win means little unless the Hawkeyes capture exactly that.

Heller said he didn’t know who exactly will be available Sunday — likely another piece-it-together day dripping with uncertainty and anxiety — but this Hawkeye bunch has swatted away obstacles left and right.

It needs one more boost.

“We got back to the championship,” Martsching said, “Now, it’s time to win the thing.”

Dargan Southard covers preps, recruiting, Iowa and UNI athletics for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.