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125 S ophomore C.J. Eldred has ascended from a relief pitcher for the University of Iowa baseball team to its Friday starter in a span of three weeks. Eldred started the season as a reliever when the Hawkeyes opened the season with a three-game series at Dallas Baptist. He joined the starting rotation in Week 2 before taking the ball in the series opener at Southern Illinois on March 4. "In baseball, things can change quickly," said Eldred, a Mount Vernon, Iowa, native. "We have some guys that needed to work on some things, guys who got hurt, and I was asked to fill a role. I did it to the best of my ability." Eldred has been Iowa's most consistent pitcher since the start of the season. He is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in three appearances, which includes two starts. He has allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits over 18 innings and has 12 strikeouts to two walks. e success doesn't come as a surprise to UI head coach Rick Heller. "We knew he was a guy that would compete and battle," said Heller. "He pounds the strike zone with his fastball and if you can do that, it makes a big difference. He went nine innings at Southern Illinois and it was primarily locating his fastball and mixing in secondary stuff. "C.J. is a competitor and that's the reason we gave him the ball to take Tyler Peyton's (Friday night) spot. We needed that mentality on the mound." Eldred retired the first 13 hitters he faced in his Hawkeye debut at Dallas Baptist before pitching five innings of four-hit, one-run ball to record his first career victory in a 4-1 win over Dartmouth on Feb. 27. In his last start, he carried a no-hitter into the eighth, and allowed one run on two hits over nine innings. Eldred says that is a rare occurrence for a self- proclaimed ground ball pitcher. "at doesn't happen too oen for me," said Eldred, who threw a seven-inning no-hitter in high school. "Normally I am getting ground balls and eventually one of them finds a hole. It was one of those days where things were going my way. "I noticed in the fourth that I hadn't given up a hit, but it didn't register with me. en I didn't think about it until I gave up the hit with two outs in the eighth." Now that Eldred has cemented his spot in the weekend rotation, he's looking to help the Hawkeyes brush off their slow start where the team has won three times in its first nine games. "We need to keep working," said Eldred. "We all want it so bad that sometimes we press a little bit. We need to stick to our game plan and get our work done throughout the week. We have a lot of guys that work hard and there is no doubt the capability is there. "Coach Heller prepares us well; we need to stick to the process. If we do that we're going to be fine." MARCH SCHEDULE March 8 Northwestern College March 11 vs. Nebraska-Omaha March 12 vs. Seton Hall March 13 vs. Savannah State March 14 vs. Point University March 18-20 at Missouri State March 23 Bradley March 25-27 Maryland March 30 Northern Illinois