Iowa baseball submits bid to host NCAA regional

IOWA CITY - Iowa officials have submitted a bid to host the first round of the NCAA Division I regional baseball tournament, Athletics Director Gary Barta said Wednesday.

The No. 13 Hawkeyes (37-12, 18-3 Big Ten entering Thursday's game at Rutgers) will finish no worse than second in Big Ten play. Iowa, which has been ranked for seven consecutive weeks, is likely to gain its first postseason berth since 1990.

'Iowa has never hosted the first round of the NCAA tournament,” Barta said. 'When you have a season like this, it's fun and exciting to caught up in it.”

Duane Banks Field holds seating for around 2,500 fans. The school plans to bring in extra bleachers along the first- and third-base lines and provide areas for standing room only, associate athletics director Fred Mims said Thursday.

Schools must submit bids by Friday. Sixty-four teams qualify for regionals with four teams assigned to one of 16 sites. The double-elimination tournament opens May 29 and concludes June 1. The 16 regional champions then compete in one of eight super-regionals, which are held June 5-8. The eight-team College World Series is held June 13-24 in Omaha, Neb.

Iowa reached the College World Series in 1972 but was eliminated after two games. The Hawkeyes qualified for regionals in 1975 and 1990 but failed to win a game either season.

The Hawkeyes have won 30 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1989-90. Coach Rick Heller, who is in his second year as coach, previously directed Northern Iowa and Indiana State to regional tournaments.

'I know the history of the Big Ten championship in the past, but arguably we're having the best baseball season that we've had in our history,” Barta said. 'Knock on wood, we're not done yet.”

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