By Jake Mosbach  | [email protected]

The Hawkeye baseball team entered the bottom of the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s midweek contest against the Air Force Academy trailing 6-0.  Things were going the Falcons’ way in every aspect of the game.

But in the bottom of the sixth, a spark was lit, and the comeback was on.

The Hawks used a 5-run sixth and a 4-run seventh to beat Air Force, 9-7, and improve to 15-15 on the year, the first time the team has hit the .500 mark.

“It was one of those games where I felt like, other than maybe one or two at-bats, we were hitting the ball hard,” Iowa head coach Rick Heller said after the game.  “I just kept telling the guys to keep swinging the bats.”

Iowa’s starter on the mound, senior right-hander Calvin Mathews, managed four innings of work before being relieved by freshman Shane Ritter. Mathews gave up 2 earned runs on three hits, striking out four.  Josh Martsching earned his second save of the season.

Ritter earned the win (1-0), also going four innings.  After Air Force hitters jumped on him early in the fifth and sixth innings, the youngster from Plainfield, Illinois, settled down.

Ritter said pitching coach Scott Brickman showed him some tough love after the game.

“[Brickman] goes after the game, ‘You grew up today; in that first inning, you had no command,’ But after that I kind of settled in,” Ritter said.  “As a pitcher, you’ve just got to go out whenever you get the call.”

After allowing 4 earned runs in his first two innings of work, Ritter knew something had to change, specifically after a Tyler Zabojnik solo home run to make it 6-0.

“He creamed that ball,” Ritter said.  “As soon as I got that ball back I said, ‘I’m done screwing around.’ ”

Ritter struck out the next three Falcons and pitched two more innings without allowing another run. 

At the plate, the Hawkeyes shone all through the lineup. Senior centerfielder Joel Booker led the comeback, going 1-for-3 at the plate with 2-RBI single to extend the team’s lead to 9-6.

Booker said he got help from coaches and even a teammate during his game-changing at-bat.

“You just go to your scouting report and listen to your coaches,” Booker said.  “Luckily, [Daniel Aaron] Moriel was on second base.  He kind of tipped the pitch to me and told me a slider was coming.”

Booker also said the Hawks never lost sight of a victory, even trailing 6-0 in the sixth.

“You’ve just got to stay positive,” Booker said. “In the sixth inning, there’s still a lot of baseball left.”

Booker led the team with 2 RBIs, with several others contributing one to the stunning comeback.  Zach Daniels, Tyler Peyton, Moriel, Robert Neustrom, and Eric Schenck-Joblinske also plated runners for the Hawks.

For today’s second game of the midweek contest with the Falcons (6:05 p.m.  at Banks Field) Heller said the same determination would be needed to earn another win.

“We just need to keep improving and getting better,” Heller said.  “I feel good about where we’re at right now.”

Follow @RealJakeMosbach on Twitter for Iowa baseball news, updates, and analysis.