The Iowa baseball team will compete in its fourth Big Ten/Big East Baseball Challenge this spring, according to a release.

The Hawkeyes will play Pittsburgh on Feb. 17, Notre Dame on Feb. 18, and West Virginia on Feb. 19. All three games will be held in Major League Baseball training facilities in central Florida.

Iowa played all three teams last season; the Black and Gold lost to Pitt (3-2) and West Virginia (5-0) in the Challenge and beat the Fighting Irish twice in the Notre Dame Tournament in San Antonio (4-3 and 11-2).

The three games will be the first action of the season for coach Jack Dahm, who returns four starting pitchers from last year to go along with five position players. Iowa will also participate in the Coastal Carolina Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., before its home opener in March.

"The Big Ten/Big East Baseball Challenge provides us an excellent opportunity to compete against quality teams," Dahm said in the release. "Our team looks forward to starting the year in Florida in this event. We want to get off to a good start and set the tone for a good season."

Iowa went 20-32 last year. The Hawkeyes are 3-6 all-time in the Classic.

Ticket information will be released at a later date.

— by Seth Roberts