FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
IOWA CITY, Iowa — First-year University of Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller announced the details of the 2014 spring schedule Tuesday. The Hawkeyes’ 53-game slate includes 16 contests against 2013 NCAA Tournament teams and 22 games at Banks Field.
Iowa opens the season at Austin Peay for the second-straight season, facing the Governors on Feb. 14-16 in Clarksville, Tenn. Austin Peay posted a 47-15 record in 2013, earning its third-straight Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and NCAA berth.
The Hawkeyes head to Port Charlotte, Fla., on Feb. 21-23, for the first of three trips to the Sunshine State. Iowa begins the Snowbird Baseball Classic against NCAA qualifier Saint Louis on Feb. 21 before playing a doubleheader against St. Bonaventure and Ball State on Feb. 22. The team closes out the weekend with a Feb. 23 match-up against Nebraska Omaha.
The Billikens went 41-21 in 2013 en route to the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, while Omaha claimed its first Summit League regular season championship.
Iowa travels to Deland, Fla., from Feb. 28-March 2 for the Stetson Invitational. The Hawkeyes face the host Hatters on Feb. 28 before squaring off against Maine (March 1) and Furman (March 2). Maine won the America East Conference regular season title in 2013.
From March 7-9, Iowa plays a three-game series in Manhattan, Kan., against Kansas State. The Wildcats won 45 games in 2013 and advanced to NCAA Super Regionals. The following weekend, the Hawkeyes will make their second road trip to Port Charlotte, Fla., facing St. Joseph’s, Maine, Georgetown, and Otterbein College on March 15-17.
Iowa opens a five-game home stand on March 19, hosting Mount Mercy at Banks Field. Two days later (March 21-23), the Hawkeyes open Big Ten play with a three-game series against Nebraska before rounding stretch with a March 26 game against Bradley.
Iowa travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face Michigan in its first Big Ten road series on March 28-30 before playing at Bradley (April 2) in the first game in the month of April. The Hawkeyes then host NCAA College World Series participant and defending Big Ten regular season and tournament champion Indiana, April 4-6, and Kansas, April 8-9.
Following a three-game series at Northwestern, Iowa returns to Banks Field for eight of its next nine games. The Hawkeyes open with a nonconference match-up against Western Illinois on April 15 before hosting Minnesota on April 18-20.
Following an April 23 road contest at Creighton, Iowa hosts 2013 NCAA qualifier South Dakota State, April 25-27, and Wisconsin Milwaukee on April 29.
The Hawkeyes open the month of May with a three-game set at Ohio State before returning to Banks Field for its final home stand of the season. Iowa hosts Upper Iowa on May 7 before squaring off against 2013 NCAA qualifier Illinois on May 9-11. Sunday’s finale against the Fighting Illini will serve as Senior Day.
Iowa closes out the regular season with a Thursday through Saturday, three-game series in West Lafayette, Ind., against Purdue. It is the fifth-straight year the two schools will meet on the final weekend of league play.
The top-six teams in the regular season standings will qualify for the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, which will be held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., May 21-25. NCAA Regionals will be held May 30 through June 2, Super Regionals from June 6-8 and the NCAA College World Series from June 13-23.
