Sunday, February 18
Charleston, S.C.
10:00 AM
Lehigh University
2-1
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University of Iowa
2-1
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Lehigh
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Iowa
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Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh Shocks #20 Iowa 8-4 In Upset Victory
2/18/2024 4:24:00 PM | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Lehigh baseball shocked the college baseball world on Saturday afternoon, defeating Michigan State 2-0 for their first win over a Big Ten opponent since 2008. Less than 24 hours later, the Mountain Hawks did it again.
On the final day of the Swig & Swine College Classic in Charleston, S.C., Lehigh matched up with the #20 Iowa Hawkeyes to conclude their weekend. The Mountain Hawks put the country on notice with an 8-4 win to claim their second Big Ten upset in a row.
"Our hitters worked counts and fought hard to get on base," said head coach Sean Leary. "They came through with some clutch hits."
Earning the win for Lehigh was senior Teddy Tolliver, who posted career-highs in both innings pitched and number of pitches. Tolliver threw 6.1 innings, striking out three and allowing six hits while tossing 102 pitches across the plate. Taking the loss for Iowa was Reece Beuter, who allowed six of Lehigh's eight runs in his lone inning on the mound.
"Tolliver was amazing today," said Leary. "He showed tremendous composure and set the tempo for our team."
The Hawkeyes, who had gone 2-0 across their first two games at the Swig & Swine, looked to build upon their early season success after taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Iowa's Sam Peterson reached on an error from Sam Holtz and Davis Cop's single sent him home to get the Hawkeyes on the board first.
Iowa's starter Cade Obermueller was steady on the mound for the Hawkeyes, only allowing one hit through four full innings. All the while, Tolliver was keeping the Hawkeyes at bay, working out of a jam in the second inning before retiring Iowa 1-2-3 in the third. The right-handed senior again made quick work of the Hawkeyes in the fourth inning, leaving the score at a manageable 1-0 headed into the fifth inning.
The Hawkeyes made a change on the mound to open the fifth inning, replacing Obermueller with Beuter. After Andrew Nole opened the frame with a single to left center, Beuter forced Raffaelle Rogers and Jake Whitlinger into ground-outs, putting two outs on the board while advancing Nole to third base. On the next at bat, Ryan Cochran singled up the middle to send home Nole, tying the game 1-1. Reuter walked the next two batters, setting up a bases-loaded situation for Tyler Young, which he took full advanatage of via a bases-clearing double that put the Mountain Hawks ahead 4-1. Justin Butler homered to right field the very next at bat, putting the cap on a massive six-run inning for Lehigh.
It wouldn't take long for the Hawkeyes to respond, as Iowa added two runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a two-run shot from Raider Tello. Unable to score in the top of the sixth, Lehigh once again turned to Tolliver, who retired the side for the second time on the morning to keep the score 6-3 in favor of his team.
Andrew Kohl got on base to start the seventh inning for Lehigh after he was struck by a pitch, which was the second time he was hit in the game. Kohl advanced to second on a wild pitch and was brought home by an RBI single off the bat of Butler, giving the Mountain Hawks a four-run advantage. Tolliver remained on the mound to start the bottom of the seventh, but he was replaced by first-year Julio Ermigiotti after allowing two Hawkeyes to get on base. Although he did concede an unearned run, the rookie calmly forced the final two outs to go into the eighth still leading 7-4.
Ermigiotti closed the lid on an Iowa comeback attempt down the stretch, retiring the Hawkeyes 1-2-3 in the eighth before a Butler solo home run in the top of the ninth extended Lehigh's lead to four. Although Iowa did get one baserunner aboard in the bottom of the ninth, but Ermigiotti recorded the final three outs to earn the save and complete Lehigh's shocking upset.
Butler finished the game going 3-5 with four RBIs and two homers. The junior batted .417 with a total of six RBIs and three home runs on the weekend.
"Butler's power display this weekend was impressive," said Leary. "He puts in the work and deserves the success he had this weekend."
Cochran hit 2-4 with an RBI on the day while Young's bases-clearing double also acted as a catalyst for Lehigh's offensive success.
The Mountain Hawks will return to the Palmetto State next week for a three-game series against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. Game one of the series will take place on Friday, February 23 at 4 p.m.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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On the final day of the Swig & Swine College Classic in Charleston, S.C., Lehigh matched up with the #20 Iowa Hawkeyes to conclude their weekend. The Mountain Hawks put the country on notice with an 8-4 win to claim their second Big Ten upset in a row.
"Our hitters worked counts and fought hard to get on base," said head coach Sean Leary. "They came through with some clutch hits."
Earning the win for Lehigh was senior Teddy Tolliver, who posted career-highs in both innings pitched and number of pitches. Tolliver threw 6.1 innings, striking out three and allowing six hits while tossing 102 pitches across the plate. Taking the loss for Iowa was Reece Beuter, who allowed six of Lehigh's eight runs in his lone inning on the mound.
"Tolliver was amazing today," said Leary. "He showed tremendous composure and set the tempo for our team."
The Hawkeyes, who had gone 2-0 across their first two games at the Swig & Swine, looked to build upon their early season success after taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Iowa's Sam Peterson reached on an error from Sam Holtz and Davis Cop's single sent him home to get the Hawkeyes on the board first.
Iowa's starter Cade Obermueller was steady on the mound for the Hawkeyes, only allowing one hit through four full innings. All the while, Tolliver was keeping the Hawkeyes at bay, working out of a jam in the second inning before retiring Iowa 1-2-3 in the third. The right-handed senior again made quick work of the Hawkeyes in the fourth inning, leaving the score at a manageable 1-0 headed into the fifth inning.
The Hawkeyes made a change on the mound to open the fifth inning, replacing Obermueller with Beuter. After Andrew Nole opened the frame with a single to left center, Beuter forced Raffaelle Rogers and Jake Whitlinger into ground-outs, putting two outs on the board while advancing Nole to third base. On the next at bat, Ryan Cochran singled up the middle to send home Nole, tying the game 1-1. Reuter walked the next two batters, setting up a bases-loaded situation for Tyler Young, which he took full advanatage of via a bases-clearing double that put the Mountain Hawks ahead 4-1. Justin Butler homered to right field the very next at bat, putting the cap on a massive six-run inning for Lehigh.
It wouldn't take long for the Hawkeyes to respond, as Iowa added two runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a two-run shot from Raider Tello. Unable to score in the top of the sixth, Lehigh once again turned to Tolliver, who retired the side for the second time on the morning to keep the score 6-3 in favor of his team.
Andrew Kohl got on base to start the seventh inning for Lehigh after he was struck by a pitch, which was the second time he was hit in the game. Kohl advanced to second on a wild pitch and was brought home by an RBI single off the bat of Butler, giving the Mountain Hawks a four-run advantage. Tolliver remained on the mound to start the bottom of the seventh, but he was replaced by first-year Julio Ermigiotti after allowing two Hawkeyes to get on base. Although he did concede an unearned run, the rookie calmly forced the final two outs to go into the eighth still leading 7-4.
Ermigiotti closed the lid on an Iowa comeback attempt down the stretch, retiring the Hawkeyes 1-2-3 in the eighth before a Butler solo home run in the top of the ninth extended Lehigh's lead to four. Although Iowa did get one baserunner aboard in the bottom of the ninth, but Ermigiotti recorded the final three outs to earn the save and complete Lehigh's shocking upset.
Butler finished the game going 3-5 with four RBIs and two homers. The junior batted .417 with a total of six RBIs and three home runs on the weekend.
"Butler's power display this weekend was impressive," said Leary. "He puts in the work and deserves the success he had this weekend."
Cochran hit 2-4 with an RBI on the day while Young's bases-clearing double also acted as a catalyst for Lehigh's offensive success.
The Mountain Hawks will return to the Palmetto State next week for a three-game series against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. Game one of the series will take place on Friday, February 23 at 4 p.m.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tolliver, Teddy (1-0)
L: Reece Beuter (0-1)
S: Ermigiotti, Julio (1)
Batting:
2B: Young, Tyler 1
HR: Butler, Justin 2
RBI: Cochran, Ryan 1 ; Young, Tyler 3 ; Butler, Justin 4
SH: Rogers, Raffaele 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cochran, Ryan 1 ; Perich, Rafe 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 2 ; Young, Tyler 1 ; Butler, Justin 2 ; Nole, Andrew 1
HBP: Kohl, Andrew 2
Batting:
2B: Reese Moore 1 ; Gable Mitchell 1
HR: Raider Tello 1
RBI: Raider Tello 2 ; Davis Cop 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Michael Seegers 1 ; Sam Petersen 1 ; Raider Tello 1 ; Kyle Huckstorf 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/IF
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