Baseball will visit USC, while softball will stay in Iowa City for a four-game non-conference battle against two teams.
The Iowa baseball and softball teams are gearing up for another weekend of ball.
Head coach Stacy-May Johnson and her softball team hope the new weekend brings new life to their clubhouse. Iowa has lost seven consecutive games after a 21-10 start, and Wednesday's heartbreaking 9-7 loss to in-state rival Iowa State is only adding fuel to the fire.
“We gave ourselves a chance and were all over their pitcher, but just had none competitive at-bats, it’s 100 percent a mental problem, and someone needs to step up in those moments,” a frustrated May-Johnson told The Daily Iowan after the loss. “I have a feeling that we are going to have some extra hitting in practice tomorrow, like we seem to always have.”
Rick Heller's baseball team has experienced an up-and-down campaign, but a series victory over rival Minnesota last weekend has its spirits trending up. The Hawkeyes were supposed to play Milwaukee on April 7, but that game was postponed due to cold temperatures.
Iowa shouldn't have to deal with cold temperatures this weekend, as it travels to No. 14 USC for a three-game set in Los Angeles. The Trojans have been dominant at home, holding a record of 19-1, and currently sit in third place in the league standings behind surging Nebraska and undefeated UCLA.
While the baseball team basks in the California sun, the softball team will remain in what looks to be a rain-soaked Iowa City for an unusual four-game non-conference weekend against Georgia Tech (2 games) and South Dakota State (2 games).
Here's where and when to watch each matchup:
Baseball
Matchup: Iowa (18-12, 5-7) @ No. 14 USC (27-6, 10-5)
Location: Deadeaux Field in Los Angeles, California
Game dates: April 10-12
Game times (All times Central): 9 p.m. (April 10), 4 p.m. (April 11), 3 p.m. (Sunday)
TV: BTN+ (All Games)
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (John Leo, John Evans)
Game Notes
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Head coach Rick Heller earned his 400th career win at Iowa on March 31 at Bradley. He is the third head coach in program history to reach 400 wins (Duane Banks, 810; Otto Vogel, 440).
Heller's .618 winning percentage is the best among Iowa head coaches with at least 35 games.
Six different Hawkeyes have homered eight times to lead off an inning this season (Gable Mitchell 2x, Kooper Schulte 2x, Mitch Wood, Joey Nerat, Miles Risley, Carter Geffre). Iowa is 6-1 in those contests.
Softball
Matchups: Iowa (21-17) vs. Georgia Tech (24-20) & South Dakota State (20-23)
Location: Bob Pearl Field in Iowa City, Iowa
Game dates: April 10 & 11 (Georgia Tech), April 11 & 12 (South Dakota)
Georgia Tech-Iowa start times: 5 p.m. (April 10), 1:30 p.m. (April 11)
Iowa-South Dakota State start times: 4 p.m. (April 11), 12:30 p.m. (April 12)
TV: BTN+ (All games)
Game Notes
The Yellow Jackets are coming off a series sweep of Boston College and an 8-0 midweek victory against Jacksonville State. Junior Gracyn Tucker leads the offense in home runs (13) and RBIs (41). This season, Tucker has reached 100 career hits and 25 career home runs.
South Dakota State is coming off an 0-3 series loss to Kansas City. Junior Akayla Bernard leads the team with 12 home runs, 32 RBIs and 44 runs scored. In the circle, Madi Mangulis has a 4.50 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings pitched.
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