By Adam Hensley | [email protected]

Iowa’s break in Big Ten play continues, this time when the Hawkeyes host South Dakota State in a two-game series, starting today at 4:05 p.m.

Iowa swept UNLV, which came into the weekend series on an eight-game losing streak last weekend, but South Dakota State enters on a four-game winning streak.The Jackrabbits shut out Dakota Wesleyan and Fort Wayne (in the teams’ first meeting of the season) in the first two games of the run, then followed up with 12 and 10 runs in the second and third games against Fort Wayne.

For Iowa’s second nonconference opponent in as many matchups, head coach Rick Heller stressed a specific message to his team regarding the opportunity at hand.

“Don’t let it slip away because we’re not engaged or locked in,” he said. “[I] challenged them to respond better.”

South Dakota State represents a unique challenge for the Hawkeyes — in the grand scheme of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, two wins over the Jackrabbits won’t do much to boost Iowa’s RPI. A loss or two would do wonders to hurt its RPI, however.

To add fuel to the fire, there are nine South Dakota State players who grew up in Iowa, all looking to knock off their home state team.

After a close matchup against Grand View prior to the UNLV series – a little closer than Heller would have liked – he dared his team to take all opponents seriously despite their records.

The Rebels gave the Hawkeyes a run for their money in a tightly contested three-game series, but Iowa proved to be the stronger team in a draining series.

Nick Gallagher shut down UNLV’s bats in one of his best performances of the season on March 31.

Gallagher pitched a shutout in his seven innings, never walking a batter and allowing only 2 hits. The junior also retired 15-consecutive batters.

With Heller having to lean heavily on his bullpen while dealing with injuries to his starting staff, Gallagher’s ability to go deep into games has been huge.

As the Friday starter, he won’t pitch in this Tuesday-Wednesday series.

However, the discussion that he and his coach had provided his fellow pitchers with advice on how to handle succeeding in the colder early-season conditions.

“[When it’s cold] it’s not a fun day to hit,” Gallagher said. “We want to get our fielders back in the dugout where it’s warm. It’s not fun standing out there for long innings.”

Drake Robison will make his first midweek start of the season at the mound today.

Making quick work of Jackrabbit hitters is a top priority on the Hawkeyes’ list, but Iowa’s defense wasn’t as stifling as on March 31.

Iowa needed a walk-off hit on April 1 to defeat UNLV in Game 1 of the teams’ doubleheader.

Chris Whelan’s single on a 1-2 count capped off a 3-run ninth inning for the Hawkeyes.

“It [was] unbelievable,” Whelan said. “It [was] actually my first walk-off hit in my career, so it’s a feeling like [no] other. I’ve never really experienced it.”

In Iowa’s third win of the series, the eighth-inning magic struck again, this time climbing back down 6-4 before taking a 7-6 lead – which ended up being the game’s final score.

That game capped off Iowa’s season-best six-game win streak.

Another streak in Iowa’s favor — the Hawkeyes are 4-0 in midweek games.

First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. at Banks Field.

Admission for adults is $7, youth (ages 6-18) $3, and children under 5 years old get in for free.

For those who can’t make it out to Banks Field or would rather watch from the comfort of home, the game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.