The Iowa baseball team will make its second trip to the state of Nebraska in as many weekends on Saturday.

This time will feature a break from Big Ten action. The Hawkeyes (14-16) will play a double-header, facing South Dakota State (9-17-1) at 10:05 a.m. and Creighton (14-16) at 2:05 p.m.

Iowa’s morning matchup with the Jackrabbits will mark the third meeting between the two teams this season. The Hawkeyes swept a midweek series in Iowa City on April 3-4; Iowa outscored the Jackrabbits 17-6 in the two games.

Freshman Sasha Kuebel is expected to start the first game on Saturday. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 3.56 ERA in seven starts. Kuebel has earned no-decisions in his last two outings, however, posting a 7.12 ERA in those games.

Iowa ace Jarred Hippen will take the mound for the Hawkeyes in the afternoon game. Hippen (3-3, 4.17 ERA) pitched well enough in his last start to lead the Hawkeyes to their first-ever victory over Nebraska on April 6. The senior allowed 3 earned runs on 8 hits in 7 1/3 innings of work against the Cornhuskers.

The second game pits Iowa’s manager Jack Dahm against his alma mater. Dahm played his college baseball at Creighton from 1986-89, then went on to be an assistant and eventual head coach of the Bluejays. Dahm left Creighton following the 2003 season with a record of 283-276 in 10 years.

Saturday’s games will be played in Creighton’s TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, home of the College World Series. The $131 million facility seats 24,000 fans, and Dahm said "It will be a neat experience for our players."

Iowa’s twin bill on Saturday is sandwiched between two South Dakota State/Creighton games tonight and on Sunday.

— by Ben Schuff