After a dramatic pair of midweek wins, softball has a stiff challenge in front of it.
The warm, sunny weather in Iowa City is fitting because Iowa's baseball and softball's seasons are filled with hotly-contested matchups night in and night out.
Both programs have crucial weekends ahead, but their weeks have been filled with dramatic ball.
Rick Heller's baseball team had to grind out a 6-4 victory over Illinois-Chicago on Wednesday evening, but most of the drama belongs to Stacy May-Johnson and the softball squad.
The Hawkeyes avenged their April 5 defeat against rival Iowa State with a 7-2 win in Ames on Tuesday, but that's not where the madness occurred. Iowa followed that up with a trip to Cedar Falls to take on in-state foe Northern Iowa, and the final score looked like a football score, not a softball score.
The Hawkeyes raced out to a comfortable 17-1 lead early on, only to see the Panthers rally back with 15 runs in the fifth to make it a one-run ballgame. Iowa held on for a 21-17 victory, but it certainly raised more questions than answers.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, and it's one the Hawkeyes desperately needed considering who is on deck this weekend.
Here's your weekly weekend watch guide for Iowa baseball and softball:
Softball
Matchup: Iowa (25-22, 6-12) @ No. 3 Nebraska (37-6, 17-1)
Location: Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska
Game dates: April 24-26
Game times (All times Central): 5:30 p.m. (April 24), 1 p.m. (April 25), 12 p.m. (April 26)
TV: BTN+ (All games)
Game Notes
The Cornhuskers have three players with 40 or more RBIs on the season. Senior Jordyn Frahm is pulling double duty, leading the team in home runs (16), runs scored (45), innings pitched (118 2/3) and ERA (1.36). In the circle, freshman Alexis Jensen has made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season, posting a team-best 166 strikeouts and a 2.73 ERA through 112 2/3 innings.
In the Big Ten Conference, Iowa ranks third in doubles (78), fifth in sacrifice flies (20) and fifth in stolen bases (46).
Iowa has broken the program’s combined run record twice this season. The Hawkeyes first set the mark on March 13 with a 21-15 win over Illinois, totaling 36 runs, before surpassing it on April 23 with a 21-17 victory over Northern Iowa (38 total runs).
Baseball
Matchup: Iowa (23-16, 7-11) @ Indiana (19-22, 6-12)
Location: Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Indiana
Game dates: April 24-26
Game times (All times Central): 5 p.m. (April 24), 1 p.m. (April 25), 12 p.m. (April 26)
TV: BTN+ (all games)
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (John Leo)
Game Notes
Iowa is 10-4 when scoring in the first inning, 17-5 when scoring first and 19-3 when scoring 6 or more runs.
RHP Justin Hackett shut down left-handed hitters all season, retiring 21 of the 22 lefties he faced in 2025. He didn't give up a hit to a lefty until Trevor Cohen of Rutgers singled in the Big Ten Tournament. Hackett held lefties to a .045 batting average.
The Hawkeyes ranks in the top 25 in the nation in five categories.They are first in triple plays (1), sixth in fielding percentage (.985), 9th in doubles (94), doubles per game (2.41), and 14th in batting average (.316).
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io