FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head baseball coach Jack Dahm announced the details of the 2013 spring schedule Monday. The Hawkeyes’ 52-game slate will include 12 games against 2012 NCAA Tournament teams and 24 games at Duane Banks Field.
“It is a very demanding schedule, but one that our program can handle this year,” said Dahm, who is in his 10th season. “We open with five of our first six games against teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last year and those teams return some quality players.
“We will also play nine games against teams from the Big 12, which will be good for us. If you can go out and have success in that nonconference schedule and gain momentum heading into Big Ten play, that could be a big boost for us.”
The Hawkeyes open the season with a three-game series at NCAA qualifier Austin Peay on Feb. 15-17 before heading to Corpus Christi, Texas, for the 2013 Kleberg Bank College Classic on Feb. 22-24.
Iowa begins tournament play against Oklahoma before facing New Mexico and host Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The Sooners went 42-25 in 2012 and were an NCAA Super Regional squad, while the Lobos played in NCAA Regionals, finishing 37-24 overall.
“Our guys have worked extremely hard in the offseason. We’re looking forward to having a successful season and going up to Target Field for the Big Ten Tournament and having a lot of success.”
UI head coach Jack Dahm
The Hawkeyes open the month of March in Lawrence, Kan., at the Millard Management Jayhawk Classic. Iowa will play two games apiece against Kansas and Eastern Michigan. On March 8-10, Iowa heads to Port Charlotte, Fla., for the Snowbird Classic, where it faces Maine, Georgetown and West Virginia.
March 15 marks the team’s home opener, as the Hawkeyes host Nebraska-Omaha for a three-game series before rounding out the four-game home stand against Coe College on March 19. Iowa opens Big Ten play March 22-24 in Evanston, Ill., squaring off against Northwestern.
The Hawkeyes return to Iowa City for a 12-game home stand beginning March 27 against 2012 NCAA qualifier Creighton. The team also hosts Indiana (March 29-31), Western Illinois (April 2), Nebraska (April 5-7), Kansas (April 9-10) and Kansas State (April 12-13). The final game of the series between Iowa and Kansas State on April 14 will be held at Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa, beginning at 3:30 p.m. (CT).
The 12-game stretch is the longest of the Dahm era. The Hawkeyes hosted 10-straight games during the 2005 season and 11-of-12 at home (with one neutral site game in Cedar Rapids) and eight straight and 14-of-15 at home in 2006.
After facing Nebraska-Omaha at Werner Park in Papillion, Neb., on April 16, the Hawkeyes head to University Park, Pa., for a three-game series at Penn State (April 19-21). Iowa returns to Banks Field for five games, beginning with an April 24 date against Northern Illinois. The squad then hosts Minnesota on April 26-28 before squaring off against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on April 30.
Following a three-game series at Michigan on May 3-5, the Hawkeyes host Nebraska-Omaha on May 7. The squad then closes out the regular season with two series against 2012 NCAA Tournament squads.
Iowa hosts Michigan State for three games May 10-12 in the home series finale, before closing out the regular season against defending Big Ten champion Purdue on May 16-18 in West Lafayette, Ind.
The 2013 Big Ten Tournament will be contested May 22-26 at Target Field in Minneapolis. The NCAA Regionals will take place May 31-June 2, NCAA Super Regionals on June 7-8 and the NCAA College World Series on June 14-24 in Omaha, Neb.
“Our guys have worked extremely hard in the offseason,” said Dahm. “We’re looking forward to having a successful season and going up to Target Field for the Big Ten Tournament and having a lot of success.”
