B1G tourney vital for Iowa’s regional bid

IOWA CITY - Iowa's dream of a baseball season has included the most wins since 1985, its highest Big Ten finish since 1990 and the potential for the program hosting an NCAA regional for the first time.

But the course of the dream doesn't stop before it ends. That's why this week's Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis is huge for the program.

'We're very confident in our team,” Iowa pitcher Blake Hickman said. 'We feel if we play right and keep doing things that we've done all year, that we will come out on top.”

The second-seeded Hawkeyes (38-14) open tournament play 1 p.m. Wednesday against seventh-seeded Ohio State (35-18) at the Twins' Target Field. The double-elimination tournament culminates Sunday. Iowa did not play Ohio State this season.

Iowa players and coaches aren't quite looking past the tournament to what comes next: a first NCAA bid since 1990. After all, winning the Big Ten Tournament would be a first as well. But the prospects of hosting a potential regional had the Hawkeyes buzzing this week.

'We don't want to just make it, we want to host one,” pitcher/first baseman Tyler Peyton said. 'We want to play here (Duane Banks Field) in front of this great fan base.”

Securing a regional likely means a good showing in Minneapolis. The Hawkeyes dropped two of three games at Rutgers last week, which enabled the Scarlet Knights to crawl out of the league cellar. It also forces Iowa to leave a better impression on the NCAA decision-makers this week than it did in New Jersey.

On Iowa's side of the bracket includes No. 3-seeded Michigan and No. 6-seeded Indiana. The Hawkeyes swept Indiana and took two of three from the Wolverines. The league's top-seeded team - Illinois (45-6) - faces eighth-seeded Nebraska. Fourth-seeded Maryland opens with fifth-seeded Michigan State. Iowa and Illinois did not play this year.

'I'd like to think that if we won a couple of games that we would secure (a regional), but you never really know what goes on in those meetings,” Iowa Coach Rick Heller said. 'Obviously we have to play well, and you can play well and lose. But I just hope that we go out and play as well as we have this year and compete.

'We don't talk a whole lot about winning and losing on our team and never have so we'll go into it trying to play the best to our ability and make sure we're in control of ourselves.”

Iowa finished fifth in team batting, second in pitching and second in fielding among Big Ten teams. Tuesday, the Big Ten named six Hawkeyes to all-conference teams but only one - Hickman - to first team. Hickman was 9-1 overall and 7-0 in Big Ten competition.

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