Following a 7-1 thumping of AIB during their home-opener at Banks Field on Wednesday, the Iowa baseball team will head south for spring break as they will take on Houston Baptist and the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Hawks will play a four-game series with Houston Baptist from Saturday to March 17 in Houston before heading to Lawrence, Kansas, for a three-game showdown with the Jayhawks March 20-22.

At 10-2, the Hawkeyes are off to one of their best starts of the last 20 years, one they look to continue during spring break.

The Black and Gold are coming off of their home début, a 7-1 win against AIB that saw Iowa use nine different pitchers.

The win was a great set up for this weekend, allowing Iowa to rest its normal starting rotation and also get some lesser-used arms into the mix. 

That should prove helpful when the Hawks play seven games in nine days over break.

“It was a good day; we got everything out of it that we needed to,” head coach Rick Heller said after the win.  “Having a chance to play at home this early in March was big. I was pleased with the pitching, and we hit enough … it was a good day overall.”

Pitching has been the name of the game for Iowa through the first few weeks of the season for the Hawkeyes.

While inconsistent plate appearances have slowed down Iowa’s ability to put together consistent offensive outings, the pitching staff, owners of a Big-Ten leading 1.40 ERA, have picked up the slack.

Heller knows the Hawks are going to need every bit of that dominance from his staff this week when the team packs up for a long road trip.

“We feel good, but we know they’re both good team,” he said.  “We’re going on the road, which makes winning not so easy.  I think they’ll be great challenges for us and really get us set up for conference play when we come back.”

Iowa vs. Houston Baptist; Kansas