Iowa opens Big Ten baseball tournament with trouncing of top-seeded Minnesota

OMAHA, Neb. — Joel Booker tied a Big Ten tournament record with five hits as Iowa continued a Big Ten tournament Wednesday theme of lower-seeded wins with an 8-2 victory over top-seeded Minnesota.

Iowa never trailed, scoring five runs in the first two innings and chasing Big Ten Player of the Year Matt Fiedler after 2 1/3 innings.

No. 6 Maryland and No. 7 Michigan State took down No. 3 Indiana and No. 2 Nebraska, respectively, earlier in the day in the double-elimination tournament.

Austin Guzzo's two-run double gave the Hawkeyes a first-inning lead, then Nick Roscetti singled home Tyler Peyton after Peyton's triple in the second. Mason McCoy's single scored two more and Fiedler left in the third inning, having allowed eight hits and five earned runs.

The Gophers, who took two of three games from the Hawkeyes in the regular season, cut it to 5-2 in the bottom half, but Iowa extended its lead with three runs in the fifth.

Booker was 5 for 5 with a run, RBI and walk.

'I am seeing the ball well,' Booker said in a release. '...but I got some help from the baseball gods. I didn't barrel many balls up today, but they found holes and dropped.'

Peyton was 4 for 6 and scored twice from the leadoff spot while Guzzo (3), McCoy (2) and Daniel Aaron Moriel (2) also each had multiple hits.

C.J. Eldred got the win, giving up two earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five in seven innings.

The Hawkeyes (28-25) will face Ohio State at 9 p.m Thursday on BTN. Minnesota (34-19) faces the loser in an elimination game at 1 p.m.