Jeff Johnson

A look at how former Eastern Iowa high school and University of Iowa baseball players are doing in affiliated professional baseball.

Junior pitcher Ty Langenberg threw seven innings of two-hit ball to help the Iowa baseball team to a 5-0 win Saturday morning over Michigan at the Big Ten tournament. The Hawkeyes play for the tourney title Sunday afternoon.

The Iowa baseball team scored four runs in the seventh inning and four more in the ninth for a 9-4 come-from-behind victory over Indiana at the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes are one win away from advancing to the tourney’s championship game.

The game of baseball has changed, thus the way a batting order is constructed has as well. At the low-Class A minor league level, even more things go into who bats where. Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Brian Dinkelman described how he goes about things after a 4-2, 10-inning loss Wednesday afternoon to Wisconsin.

Brayden Frazier hit a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning that propelled the Iowa Hawkeyes baseball team to a 13-3, eight-inning win Tuesday morning over Michigan at the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Iowa has hit nine grand slams this season.

Iowa City Regina announced Monday that it has hired Paul Rundquist to be its new boys’ head basketball coach. Rundquist spent the past five seasons as co-head coach at Iowa City West and won a state championship with Mount Pleasant in 2012.

The Iowa Hawkeyes baseball team begins Big Ten Conference Tournament play Tuesday morning in Omaha, Neb., against Michigan. They have surged at the end of the regular season and overcome the loss of top hitter Keaton Anthony for a lot of reasons, one of them including the play of first baseman Brennen Dorighi.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels rallied Sunday afternoon to beat Peoria, 4-2, and win their third series in a row. The rally was possible because of 7 2/3 hitless, walkless, scoreless innings from four relief pitchers.

Relief pitcher Gianluca Dalatri of the Cedar Rapids Kernels was a ballyhooed prep baseball pitcher in New Jersey, who decided to go to the University of North Carolina instead of possibly turn pro. His Tar Heels career was filled with injuries, and he ended up signing as a non-drafted free agent with the Cardinals. Released in spring training, he signed with the Minnesota Twins and has thrown well for the Kernels.

Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder has been his team’s hottest hitter in May

As it prepares for its final regular-season series of the season, against the Big Ten’s worst team, the Iowa baseball team seems to be in solid position for an NCAA tournament berth.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels had a successful two-week trip to South Bend and Quad Cities that saw them go 9-4. They beat Peoria, 6-5, Tuesday night to begin a 12-game homestand and extend their overall win streak to five.

Western Dubuque’s baseball team won the Class 3A state championship last year, culminating a seven-game win streak at the end of the season. Their coach Casey Bryant decided he wasn’t going to shave until his Bobcats lost again. They won their season-opening double-header Monday night.

University of Iowa sophomore pitcher Brody Brecht has been struggling with his control and was pushed back in his baseball team’s starting rotation this weekend from Friday to Sunday. He was terrific in the Hawkeyes’ 5-1 win over Michigan State.

A look at how former Eastern Iowa high school and University of Iowa baseball players are faring in affiliated professional baseball in mid-May