In Iowa baseball’s first weekend of play, it bounced back from a season-opening loss to pitch two phenomenal performances on the mound and pick up two victories.

Now, the Hawkeyes want to keep the streak of solid pitching going when they travel to a baseball paradise in Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors in a four-game series from today through Feb. 24.

The hurlers who led the Hawkeyes to the wins weren’t the team’s ace. Instead, Saturday starter Jack Dreyer and Sunday starter Grant Judkins were responsible for Iowa’s impressive recovery.

Neither pitcher allowed a run; Dreyer allowed 2 hits with 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Judkins tossed six no-hit innings, striking out a career-high 11 on his way to winning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pitcher of the Week honors.

Judkins now leads the Big Ten with his 11 strikeouts, which also ranks fifth nationally.

The Pella native had one of the best performances of his career, and so did Dreyer, who helped Iowa right the ship after a 7-2 opening day loss to George Mason.

The performances from the back end of the starting rotation showed that each pitcher head coach Rick Heller throws on the mound can take over a game.

Hawaii, currently sitting at 1-3, has a team batting average of just .212, so Iowa certainly has a chance to take advantage with its pitching.

“We’ve all kind of embraced whatever roles we’re given,” Dreyer said at the team’s media day. “Even if they switch throughout the season, it doesn’t really matter. We’re just going to take it one game at a time and do whatever it takes to help our team win.”

What’s also impressive about Iowa’s ability to bounce back and outscore opponents 20-1 in the final two games of the Diamond 9 Sunshine State Classic Series is that it did it with a new team.

While new faces in the lineup are obvious — Austin Martin, Tanner Padgett, and Izaya Fullard were all solid in their Black and Gold débuts — there’s also a new coaching staff.

Pitching coach Desi Druschel and hitting coach Joe Migliaccio accepted positions with the New York Yankees shortly before the season, leaving the Hawkeyes to hire Robin Lund as hitting coach and Tom Gorzelanny as volunteer pitching coach.

Even with the changes in personnel, Iowa hasn’t missed a beat.

“We all have the same goal in mind, and the coaches they brought in, they have the same goal in mind,” second baseman Mitchell Boe said at Iowa’s media day. “They didn’t really come in and stir the pot, change anything. It’s looking really good. The new coaches mesh really well, if not made us even better.”

While Iowa’s play on the field wasn’t concerning in the last two games, the need to hire two new coaches still came at a weird time.

“It’s just tough at times because of the timing of it,” Heller said at the Hawkeyes’ media day. “We’re getting ready to play, and they’re trying to learn what’s going on and how things work. All those things have been a little bit of a struggle to work through, but those guys have done a tremendous job.”