May 25, 2010
Tournament Bracket in PDF Format
COLUMBUS, OH – Head Coach Jack Dahm met with the media Tuesday during the Iowa baseball team’s first full day of activities at the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes practiced at Bill Davis Stadium early in the morning before taking the rest of the day to relax and later go to the tournament’s banquet at Huntington Park where the all-Big Ten teams were announced.
“We are very excited to be here, it was a great race,” Dahm said at the press conference. “I do want to congratulate all the teams that made it. When you look at the tournament field and the conference as a whole, I think one of the most amazing things are the teams that aren’t here and how talented they were. Teams like Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois and Penn State and all the talented players they have. That is compliment to our league.”
Getting to the Big Ten Tournament was a journey in itself–and playing their Big Ten finale not knowing if they would even make the tournament was where the Hawkeyes found themselves last Saturday. Minnesota, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue and Indiana were the five teams that also found themselves breathing a sigh of relief and qualifying for a spot vying for the Big Ten Championship.
The Hawkeyes used a sweep of the Purdue Boilermakers last weekend at Duane Banks Field to claim the No. 4 seed in the 2010 Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament. The Hawkeyes will take on Purdue, yet again, Wednesday at 11:05 (CT) at Bill Davis Stadium. The game can be seen live on the Big Ten Network (HD).
Iowa will look to carry momentum into the tournament after winning eight of its last nine regular-season games, including capturing seven of its last eight Big Ten games.
“As a team, we are really excited to be here,” said sophomore pitcher Jarred Hippen, who was tabbed second team all-conference. “It being Purdue makes no difference, we just need to go out there an compete like we did last weekend.”
And while Hippen and the Hawkeyes looked to be facing Purdue ace, Matt Bischoff, Purdue has instead named righty Matt Morgan as its starter for tomorrow. Morgan pitched four and two-thirds against Iowa last Friday, allowing one run on four hits and a walk in relief in a 5-1 Hawkeye win.
Wednesday will be only the second ever meeting between the Hawkeyes and Boilermakers in a Big Ten Tournament contest (1987).