IOWA BASEBALL DRAWS HOUSTON IN HOUSTON REGIONAL

In case you missed it, or if you’ve already forgotten, Rick Heller’s Iowa Baseball squad won the Big Ten Tournament yesterday in a 13-4 slaughter against Northwestern. It was the first outright Big Ten championship for any Iowa program since 2011. Jordan Hansen wrote a great piece this morning about how Hellerball has made him into a baseball believer, and JPinIC thinks we should give Coach Heller some Kirk Ferentz-level money in today’s Overreaction Monday.

If you’re just now getting into Iowa Baseball, have no fear! There’s more to come.

Less than 24 hours after securing the Big Ten Tournament title, the Hawkeyes found out their fate in the NCAA Regional: they’re heading to Houston to face host team Houston! The Regional runs June 2-5.

Here’s the seeding breakdown for the region:

1. Houston

2. Baylor

3. Texas A&M

4. Iowa

That’s a lot of Texas! Iowa will face Houston at 7 CT on ESPNU Friday night. The Cougars won the AAC regular season and conference tournament titles, and had a 40-19 record. Regionals are double-elimination, so the loser will play the loser of Baylor-Texas A&M. If Iowa manages to emerge from the Regional, they’ll play in a 3-game Super Regional series against the winner of the North Carolina/Davidson/Michigan/Florida Gulf Coast Regional. After that, it’s Omaha for the College World Series Check out an interactive full bracket here, along with a breakdown of how the tournament works up top.

It looks like the Hawkeyes will have their work cut out for them against the Cougars and the other three teams in the bracket as well. Houston is on a hot streak, and winning the regular season and tournament is no small feat, no matter the conference. We’ll post a more in-depth breakdown later this week.

The Cougars also match up well against the Hawkeyes in the post-game celebrations, too. Here are the Cougars dogpiling after winning the AAC Tournament.

I’ll take a Hawkeye post game celebration any day. It’s exciting to see this Iowa baseball program continue to improve. No matter what happens in the Regional, it’s going to be a great final chapter for what has been another amazing season of Hellerball.

Lastly, thank you to all those who have served, especially BHGP’s own J.P. Scott. I speak for all of us at The Pants in saying we’re incredibly grateful for the sacrifices you made for the freedom of our country.