Iowa Must Win B1G Tournament for NCAA Bid

Hawkeyes Have Been Preparing for Omaha Run

Iowa head coach Rick Heller watches from the dugout during a NCAA Big Ten Conference baseball game / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen /

It’s been apparent over the last few weeks that Iowa’s path to a return trip to the NCAA baseball tournament was to win the automatic bid out of this week’s Big Ten Tournament.

So, coach Rick Heller has challenged his team to treat recent weekend series like what the Hawkeyes will see this week in Omaha. It started with the Illinois series to close the Big Ten part of the regular-season schedule, then it continued with the three-game series against Florida International in Des Moines last weekend.

“What we tried to do was start attacking it about three weeks ago,” Heller said on Monday. “For example, before the Illinois series (it was), ‘All right, here’s a trial run for us. To win, or have any chance of winning, the Big Ten regular season, we had to sweep.’ We won one.

“This past weekend. In Des Moines, we're in an atmosphere similar to what it's going to be like at the tournament in Omaha. Let's use this as a trial run with our backs against the wall. We didn't get it done there. We won two out of three.”

But it was the backs-against-the-wall mentality that Heller wanted, because that’s what this week’s tournament is for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa (31-21) is the fifth seed in the tournament, and will play No. 4 seed Michigan (30-26) in Wednesday’s 2 p.m. game at Charles Schwab Field.

The eight-team, double-elimination tournament determines the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Illinois, which won the Big Ten regular-season title, is the No. 1 seed..

The tournament begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday when No. 3 seed Indiana (30-22-1) faces No. 6 seed Purdue (33-22). No. 2 seed Nebraska (34-19) faces No. 7 seed Ohio State (28-24) at 2 p.m. followed by Illinois (33-17) versus No. 8 seed Penn State (26-23) at 6 p.m.

“The No. 1 goal is to get off to a great start and set yourself up with the first two games,” Heller said. “And then try to finish it off.”

Brody Brecht (4-3, 3.55 ERA) will be the starting pitcher for the Hawkeyes’ opener. Cade Obermueller (4-3, 4.12) will start the second game. After that, Heller said, the pitching plan will depend on where the Hawkeyes are at in the tournament, and how many fresh arms are available. The goal in a double-elimination tournament is to play as few games as possible, which helps conserve pitching, but Heller knows how factors such as weather and an early loss can change the plan.

“It doesn't usually happen the way you think it's going to happen,” Heller said. “But I feel good about where the pitching is.”

The Hawkeyes were expected to be NCAA tournament contenders when the season started, but injuries and struggles with consistent pitching cost them at different points during the season. Heller, though, knows a new — and the last — opportunity awaits his team.

“What we talked a lot about in the last month of the season is ‘What is that thing that if someone took it away from you, you would fight with every inch of your life to try to prevent it?’” Heller said. “That’s what we need to find.”