Hawkeyes hope hot stretch continues into Big Ten baseball tournament

Timing is everything in baseball, for both batters and pitchers.

It is also important when it comes to wins, as the Iowa baseball team now understands. The Hawkeyes (27-25, 12-12) took two of three games against Penn State last weekend to secure its spot in the Big Ten tournament as the No. 8 seed. It's the first time in team history Iowa has made the tournament three seasons in a row.

Just a few weeks ago, the tournament looked out of reach, but the Hawkeyes launched themselves into tournament title contention by going 7-3 over their last 10 games and winning their last two Big Ten series, over Michigan State and Penn State, respectively.

'We've played really well in the last couple Big Ten series,' said senior Tyler Peyton, who threw a three-hit, complete game shut out against Penn State on just 98 pitches. 'We're trying to ride that momentum into the Big Ten tournament.'

The Hawkeyes' attention now turns to Minnesota (34-18, 16-7), the league's regular season champion and winner of two out of three in a regular season series against the Hawkeyes in April in Minneapolis.

The Gophers have the tournament's No. 1 seed, but both Iowa's coaches and players said the Big Ten tournament is wide open. No one team dominated the regular season.

Coach Rick Heller said his team will take the field as confident as they have been all season, especially as they have already seen the Gophers' pitching staff.

'We're playing better than we were when we went to Minnesota last time,' Heller said.

• MORE: Top-seeded Gophers await confident Hawkeyes

He noted that having played six of the other seven teams in the tournament adds an advantage in preparation as well.

'From a scouting standpoint and a confidence standpoint for the guys, we're not going to have to go break down film from a bunch of teams we didn't play,' he said.

The Hawkeyes have strung together success recently, and that bodes well for their success heading into the long tournament.

Add in the multitude of experience on the Hawkeye roster, including Peyton, everyday starters in seniors Joel Booker and Nick Roscetti, and a staff of relievers who have seen post season action, and Iowa seems poised to make a run in the tournament.

Booker agreed with his teammates and coaches in thinking the Hawkeyes can compete for the tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

'I think we're all confident, especially with the run we went on the last two weekends,' Booker said. 'It's not about how good you are at the beginning, it's about when you peak and when you get hot.

'Hopefully that's us right now.'

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