For the sixth time in program history, the Iowa Hawkeyes are headed to the postseason and to an NCAA Baseball Tournament Regional. It’s the third NCAA Tournament trip under Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller.
Iowa is off to the Terre Haute Regional with host and No. 14 overall seed Indiana State. The Hawkeyes earned the Regional’s No. 2 seed and open up play versus No. 3 seed North Carolina. Indiana State will play fourth-seeded Wright State.
Of course, Indiana State was Iowa head coach Rick Heller’s previous head coaching stop before joining the Hawkeyes in the 2014 season. The Hawkeyes opened this season with a walk-off, extra-innings grand slam from Kyle Huckstorf to down the Sycamores in the Snowbird NCAA Baseball Classic from Port Charlotte, Fla.
That tilted the all-time series record against Indiana State into the Hawkeyes’ favor, 2-1. Iowa previously topped Indiana State, 6-3, in 1981 before losing to the Sycamores, 11-3, in 2016.
Meanwhile, Iowa is set to square off with North Carolina for just the third time in program history. The two teams have split the pair of games in their series history.
Iowa lost to the Tar Heels, 5-3, in their first-ever meeting as part of the Northeast Regional back in 1990. Then, in 2020, Iowa beat then-No. 20 North Carolina, 5-4. It was a dramatic, come-from-behind victory for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and then walked off the Heels in extras with a solo shot from Austin Martin in the Cambria College Classic.
Lastly, Iowa is 1-0 all-time over Wright State with a 3-1 win over the Raiders in the 1989 season.
Social media was naturally thrilled with the Hawkeyes’ postseason assignment. Here were the best reactions to the announcement for Iowa.
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