SCOUTING AIR FORCE
• The Falcons went 26-22 overall during the 2021 season, which included an 18-16 record in the Mountain West Conference — the program’s first winning season conference play in school history. Air Force is selected to finish third in the MWC by D1Baseball.com.
• Falcon utility player Paul Skenes is the D1Baseball MWC Preseason Player of the Year and he was named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. Skenes will start on the mound against Iowa on Opening Day. Last season Skenes tallied 11 saves as the Air Force closer, going 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA. He also hit .410 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs as a true freshman.
SCOUTING BALL STATE
• The Cardinals posted a 38-18 overall and 29-11 record in 2021 to finish as the Mid-American Conference runner-up. Ball State is projected to finish as the league runner-up again in 2022 by D1Baseball.com and in the MAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
• The Hawkeyes will face LHP Tyler Schweitzer, who was 1-0 with a 5.35 ERA in 23 appearances last season. Schweitzer had two saves and punched out 51 over 35 1/3 innings.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
• The Bison were picked to finish fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Bucknell went 11-22 overall and 11-15 in league play a season ago.
• Outfielder Chris Cannizzaro and starting pitcher Chris DiFiore were named the Patriot League Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
• Cannizzaro was the league batting champion, hitting .355 with 44 hits, 12 doubles and four triples last season. DiFiore went 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 10 games last season, fanning 46 over 51 1/3 innings.
• Iowa will face RHP Austin Odell on Sunday. Odell went 0-3 with a 7.78 ERA in 10 appearances (four starts) last season, logging 19 2/3 innings.
SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa is 3-1 all-time against Air Force with the last meeting coming in Iowa City in 2016. The Hawkeyes swept the Falcons, winning 9-7 and 22-2.
• The Hawkeyes are 1-1 all-time against Ball State. The Cardinals won the most recent meeting, winning 14-6 in New Orleans in 2018.
• Iowa is 3-1 all-time against Bucknell with the Bison winning the most recent meeting, 7-1 in 2017 in Florida.
DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT
The Hawkeyes have overcome deficits to win 63 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 15 walk-offs. Thirty of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. Twenty have come in the final at-bat.
• The Hawkeyes overcame deficits in 19 games in 2021. The team was 12-7 in such contests.
30 WINS X 6
Since head coach Rick Heller’s first season in 2014, the Hawkeyes have reached the 30-win plateau in six seasons. It was the program’s longest stretch since posting seven straight 30-win seasons from 1979-85.
2014: 30-23
2015: 41-18 (2nd-most wins all-time)
2016: 30-26
2017: 39-22 (5th-most wins all-time)
2018: 33-20
2019: 31-24
2020: 10-5 (*pandemic shortened)
2021: 28-16 (*Big Ten-only schedule)
BANKS MAGIC
• The Hawkeyes are 105-33 at home since the start of the 2015 season.
• Iowa won 19 games in 2019, the third-most in a single-season in school history, trailing only the 22 wins in 1977 and 20 wins in 2018.
• Iowa has 17 walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
• Iowa will play 25 home contests at Duane Banks Field with its home opener scheduled for March 1 against Loras College
• The Hawkeyes will travel the first four weekends of the regular season, playing tournaments in South Carolina (Swig & Swine Classic), Corpus Christi, Texas (Kleberg Bank Classic), Frisco, Texas (Frisco College Baseball Classic) and a three-game road series at UC Irvine.
• The Hawkeyes will play 15 games against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams, including three-game home series against Super Regional team Texas Tech and NCAA Regional qualifier Central Michigan. Iowa will play road series at NCAA Regional teams UC Irvine (3), Michigan (3) and Nebraska (3).
• After a two-year pause, the Big Ten Tournament returns in 2022 and it will be held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, from May 24-29.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
• Iowa’s 42-man roster features one graduate transfer, five seniors, three juniors, 14 sophomores, two redshirt freshman and nine freshman.
• The Hawkeyes have 21 newcomers (12 transfers), including Division I transfers in Adam Mazur (South Dakota State), Connor Schultz (Butler), Jared Simpson (Missouri), Casey Day (Wichita State) and Will Christophersen (Michigan State).
• The Hawkeye roster is made up of student-athletes from 10 states and Canada — Iowa (28), Illinois (4), Wisconsin (2), Arizona (1), Georgia (1), Kansas (1), Minnesota (1), Missouri (1), Montana (1), Washington (1), Canada (1).
• Iowa has two sets of college teammates and six sets of high school teammates — Kyle Huckstorf and Jared Simpson (Iowa Western CC); Luke Llewellyn, Casey Day and Cade Moss (Kirkwood CC); Brendan Sher and Duncan Davitt (Indianola); Brett McCleary and DJ Heck (Iowa City High); Anthony Mangano and Ty Snep (Lake Zurich); Brody Brecht and Weston Fulk (Ankeny); Ty Langenberg and Gehrig Christensen (Urbandale); Peyton Williams, Cade Moss and Ben Wilmes (Johnston).
#HELLERBALL
• Head coach Rick Heller recorded his 900th career win against Grand View in a 15-2 victory on March 3, 2020, at Duane Banks Field
• Heller is one of nine coaches all-time to lead three different NCAA Division I teams to regional play.
• The Hawkeyes have won 30 or more games in each of Heller’s six full seasons as the helm of the program. It’s a first for the team since winning 30 or more in seven straight seasons from 1979-85.
• Heller has led the Hawkeyes to two NCAA Regional appearances; the program had three regional appearances in its history prior to his arrival.
• Heller is third in school history in career wins with 240 at Iowa, including the second (41) and fifth-most (39) in school history.
• Heller led Iowa to its first Big Ten Tournament title in 2017 — the first conference title since 1990 — and he guided the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten Tournament title game in consecutive seasons. Iowa has advanced to the league tournament in six straight years for the first time in program history.
• Heller has coached at least one first-team All-Big Ten selection in six of his first eight seasons, and has 21 Major League Baseball Draft picks in seven seasons — the most in a six-year stretch in school history.
• Iowa had a school-record six All-Big Ten selections in 2015 and five in 2017. The Hawkeyes have had 26 All-Big Ten honorees in eight seasons under Heller.
• Iowa has posted winning streaks of nine games (in 2015) and eight games (in 2017) — the longest streaks for the program since 2012.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Iowa baseball fans can follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook @iowabaseball, Twitter @UIBaseball, and Instagram @UIBaseball in addition to coverage on hawkeyesports.com.