The Iowa Baseball has not gone according to the preseason expectations, but with three weekends left to play, the Hawkeyes are trying to build some momentum for a run at the Big Ten Tournament in late May. If they are going to finish the regular season strong and make a push for the conference’s automatic bid in Omaha, they may have to do it without two of their starting outfielders.
The Hawkeyes defeated Illinois State 8-7 on Tuesday evening and did it without Sam Petersen (lower leg) and Kyle Huckstorf (hand) in the lineup. Petersen was seen with a boot on his right foot, while Huckstorf had a brace on his right hand. Coach Rick Heller updated their status after the game and it wasn’t a promising update.
“I think both are doubtful for the rest of the season, unless something miraculous would happen.”
Sam Petersen missed a stretch of seven games last month with the same injury, but returned to play on April 17th against Bradley. He played in seven straight games batting just .208, before missing the Hawkeyes series finale at Nebraska. On the year, Sam is slashing .333/.459/.571, with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 27 RBI’s. He is tied for fourth in the conference with 17 stolen bases.
“With Petersen, his situation, they’re going to wait three weeks just to make sure everything really heals up, which is what they should be doing.”
Kyle Huckstorf started the first 39 games of the season for the Hawkeyes, but was absent from the lineup on Saturday against Nebraska. He has missed the last three games with a hand injury. On the year, Huckstorf is slashing .311/.398/.523, with eight doubles, three triples, six home runs and 40 RBI’s.
“The word I got today, he was at the doctor, it’s probably going to be four weeks before he can hit, but it sounds like they may let him pinch-run,” said Heller. “That would probably be the extent of it, unless we would be playing a little bit longer.”
The Hawkeyes are set to face North Dakota State this afternoon at 4:05pm CT, while the will host Northwestern for a three-game series with weekend at Duane Banks Field.
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