Iowa baseball sticking with fun, loose environment as postseason rolls on

IOWA CITY - Late Sunday night after the Iowa baseball team won its first ever Big Ten tournament title, the team bus stopped at a gas station on the way back.

Reliever Josh Martsching grabbed the trophy, which had been buckled in and passed around at various points during the ride back, and took it inside with him, leaving his teammates impressed and laughing at the memory the next day during the team's NCAA selection show watch party.

It was yet another moment of fun in a season full of them, but it also said something about this team that has been true all year - Iowa keeps it loose.

'When you play for your team, when you play to have fun and go out and do the best you can, it takes away all those things people talk about as, ‘oh, the pressure situations,'” Iowa Coach Rick Heller said. 'There are no big games, you take the next pitch and go from there.”

During the Big ten Tournament, the Iowa dugout had its bit of fun during Heller's in-game interviews, staging everything from a 'hot dog” eating contest with Slim Jims to a mini hunting expedition as the coach talked to the Big Ten Network announcers.

Iowa also had a 'Free Corbin” sign taped in its dugout during the game, in honor of team captain Corbin Woods, who was ejected during the second Iowa-Minnesota semifinal game and wasn't able to suit up for the final.

It's little stuff, but keeping things light has paid off for the Hawkeyes in tournaments so far. They did similar stuff last season and they'll lean on this idea of keeping things light and fun once again as they head to NCAA regional action at 7 p.m. Friday to face No. 1 seed Houston, which is hosting one of the 16 regionals. Iowa is the fourth-seeded team in a four-team bracket.

'We're a close group of guys, so we all feel comfortable with each other and we all like to be goofy as you can see in the dugout,” first basemen Jake Adams said. 'It keeps us calm and our mind off anything bad that's happening.”

This is exactly the mentality Heller wants his team to take and even takes it a step further. He wants his players to not focus on their batting average or ERA or any other stat and to just play the game.

Taken about as seriously as it gets, he stresses this approach to the game of baseball this way constantly.

'It's something we try instill in guys the minute they walk on campus,” Heller said. 'It's contrary to what they hear their whole life and a lot of times as soon as they walk out of a practice session, it's all they hear from their friends or family.

'That's our job to worry about getting them on pace and not let them worry about results.”

As the team gears up for Houston, which they'll leave for on Wednesday, they're taking this mentality with them, while also trying to play the part of the underdog. Those two things fit together and if they can stay true to themselves, they just might have a chance to do a little damage in the tournament.

After all, no one gave them much of a shot in the Big Ten tournament either. The trophy for that game rode on the bus home with them.

l Comments: jordan.hansen@thegazette.com