New and improved McCool leading Hawkeyes

CEDAR RAPIDS - Zach McCool's time as a Buck helped him become a better Hawk.

That's the Waterloo Bucks, with whom the Iowa junior third baseman spent last summer. The experience he got in the collegiate Northwoods League has helped him become the Hawkeyes' best hitter.

Going into last night's Corridor Classic against Coe College at Veterans Memorial Stadium, McCool had a team-leading .350 batting average - and went 3-for-3 last night. That includes a school record-tying five hits in a game against Michigan State.

All this success after a sophomore season in which the former West Delaware prep hit a paltry .237. What a difference.

“The biggest thing that happened for me was in the summer,” said McCool, whose team beat Coe last night, 16-6, before 964 fans. “I knew I had to be a better player, so I worked hard in the Northwoods League. It helped me offensively and defensively, seeing some of the best pitchers in the country on a daily basis.”

His transformation has been sudden and startling. McCool wasn't even an every-game player, sitting out Iowa's first Big Ten Conference game in early April against Michigan State.

He didn't start the second game, either, going 2-for-2 as a sub in a 16-2 Hawkeyes loss. That got him into the lineup the next day. Five hits later and the rest is history.

“Confidence is huge,” said McCool, a state champion wrestler in high school, as well as an all-state baseball and football player. “It all started at Michigan State. We were getting beat, and I knew I had to get something going for myself and my team. I went 5-for-6, and ever since then I go up to the plate with confidence that the pitcher can't get me out.”

Pitchers haven't been getting him out. McCool is 25 of 54 in Big Ten play, a cool .463 average.

“He had kind of a frustrating year last year,” said Iowa Coach Jack Dahm. “He worked extremely hard on his swing and also on his defense. (Assistant) Coach (Ryan) Brownlee has really worked with him on trying to flatten out his swing and to hit more line drives. Zach is just such a hard-nosed guy and competitor. He's a guy we need in the lineup.”

Iowa is 19-24 and 6-9 in league play. That's a tie for last, though conference leaders Michigan and Northwestern are only 9-6.

The Hawkeyes haven't qualified for the Big Ten tournament since 2007. They play three games this weekend at Penn State.

“We've just got to play with more consistency,” McCool said.