Iowa baseball has its second date with Bradley this season, and the Hawkeyes will try to exact revenge on the Braves today.

Bradley beat Iowa, 5-2, at Banks Field on a cold March 25 outing in which Iowa left numerous runners in scoring position and even more on the bases.

The Braves enter 22-9 after going 1-2 on the weekend in a series with Dallas Baptist.

Iowa, which entered the USA Today Coaches’ Poll at No. 24, is 23-9 and coming off a 2-1 series win over Maryland on the road this past weekend.

Senior Andrew Hedrick, 0-0 with a 16.20 ERA in two appearances, will start his first game of the season. He missed the first month and a half of the season with an injury.

Bradley is ranked 13th in the country in RPI, meaning a win would be a résumé booster for the Hawkeyes and help secure a berth in the postseason, a goal for this team.

The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series against Bradley 41-39-2.

Hawkeyes in the rankings

Iowa baseball is gaining national attention and rightfully so.

A weekend sweep of then-No. 17 Maryland Terrapins propelled the Hawkeyes to the 24th spot in the USA Today Coaches Poll, ahead of Big Ten foe Nebraska, who sits 24th, but behind No. 22 Maryland and No. 12 Illinois.

The Hawkeyes are tied with the Fighting Illini for first place in the Big Ten. Both teams are 8-1 in the league. Iowa and Illinois are not scheduled to play each other in the regular season, but could potentially face off in the Big Ten Tournament, scheduled for May 20-24 in Minneapolis.

The Hawkeyes are ranked in several other polls as well, including d1baseball.com, Baseball America, and Collegiate Baseball, where they are ranked 14th.

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