Hawkeyes ready for Omaha
It has been 1,096 days since the Iowa Hawkeyes last took the field for a game in the Big Ten Tournament at TD Ameritrade Park. They were eliminated following a 3-0 loss to Minnesota, but so much has changed since that moment.
There was a canceled season, a global pandemic, a season without a trip to Omaha and the stadium even changed its name to Charles Schwab Field. Just six players from that 2019 team remain on the roster, but the cleverly coined “OmaHawks” are looking to make a run this week in the Big Ten Tournament to lock down a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
“I think we are playing our best baseball. In my past, we’ve struggled the last few weeks and that wasn’t the case this year,” said Izaya Fullard. “We have to take it one game at a time…It’s unpredictable. Anyone can win. Every team that’s there deserves to be there.”
“I’m very excited,” said Adam Mazur. “I feel like we have the team, we have the staff, we have the offense to make a deep run in this tournament. If we play the way we are capable of, we can make a deep run.”
The Hawkeyes are coming off a three-game sweep of Indiana and have won their last six series in Big Ten play. The momentum seems to be building for this squad, but they understand that they need to reset and refocus ahead of their matchup against Penn State.
“We ended on a good positive note. Swept Indiana. So, there is a lot of confidence heading into this,” said Keaton Anthony. “Everyone is dialed back in. Focused on the next game, Penn State. Not looking ahead to any games in the tournament.”
“It’s pretty simple, the only way to guarantee yourself a shot at the NCAA Tournament is to win the (Big Ten) Tournament,” said Coach Rick Heller. “I just hope that we can take the momentum that we have from last weekend and continue to play well like we have been.”
Most of the Iowa team has never played a game in Omaha due to reasons outside of their control, which means there is a lot of excitement around the team. Big stage, historic venue and the team is still chasing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Keaton Anthony and Peyton Williams are among the new visitors to Charles Schwab Field.
“I mean I’m really excited. Excited for a new opportunity,” said Anthony. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about this place. Excited to get down there and get after it.”
“It’s really exciting. Getting to play in a stadium like Omaha, it’s going to be really fun,” said Williams.
Coach Heller said that he feels the early season tournaments in Corpus Christi and Frisco helped prepare this team. They faced Texas A&M in Frisco in front of over 5,000 Aggies fans and Nebraska garnered large crowds for their home series against the Hawkeyes. Still, Heller says the veterans on the team that have experienced Omaha have done a good job talking with the younger players and helping them prepare for this week. The key is to not make the game feel any bigger than it really is.
The one thing that is very different about the Big Ten Tournament compared to a normal weekend series is the number of guys needed to put together a successful run. A run to the tournament final may mean playing as many as six games and that means some unexpected heroes have to emerge.
Back in the 2016, Rick Heller turned to true freshman Shane Ritter for a start in the tournament semifinal against Maryland. He had previously made just one start and thrown 24.0 innings during the regular season. He threw 3.0 scoreless innings, and the Hawkeyes went on to win 11-0. He started just one more game over the next three seasons.
“That kind of just shows that everyone has to be ready to step up,” said Fullard, who was friends with Ritter. “If you’re going to want to make a run, everyone has to contribute, and I think that is the mindset we have to go in with.”
“We’ve prepared for that the entire year. We talk to them about it every Tuesday and Wednesday…You always see the team that makes it (a deep run) has a guy that hasn’t thrown since April 15 that gets them four innings and saves the day,” said Coach Heller. “If they don’t get to pitch in the midweek game and they have to throw in the scrimmage on Wednesday, that is what we are talking about. You have to take that seriously; you have to be ready to go because if we’re going to get to where we want to go, you’re going to be out there at some point, and you have to be ready to go.”
With rain in the forecast for tomorrow and the potential for games to get pushed back to Thursday, pitching staffs will get strained even more. Midweek arms for the Hawkeyes are going to be called on to throw important innings and they will need to produce if Iowa wants to get to Saturday or Sunday.
First pitch against Penn State is currently set for 9:00am CT from Charles Schwab Field, but rain is expected for most of the day. We will continue to update as information comes available tomorrow.