Iowa Baseball NCAA Regional Preview

Hawkeyes Open Against North Carolina Friday in Terre Haute

It’s been six years, but Iowa is back in the NCAA baseball tournament.

The Hawkeyes are the No. 2 seed in the Terre Haute Regional, opening play on Friday night against third seed North Carolina. The four-team double-elimination bracket also includes top seed Indiana State and No. 4 seed Wright State.

A breakdown of the tournament, including Iowa’s opening game against the Tar Heels:

FRIDAY’S GAME

Records — Iowa 42-14, North Carolina 35-22

Time and place — 6 p.m. (CDT), Bob Warn Field, Terre Haute, Indiana

TV — ESPN+ and the ACC Network.

Radio — Hawkeye Radio Network

Pitching matchup — Marcus Morgan (4-2, 3.88 ERA) will start for Iowa. Jake Knapp (5-3, 4.79 ERA)

BREAKING DOWN THE HAWKEYES

Iowa roared through the Big Ten Tournament, winning its first three games before losing 4-0 to Maryland in the winner-take-all championship round.

The Hawkeyes are well-positioned with their pitching for the tournament. Brody Brecht (5-2, 3.86 ERA, 101 strikeouts in 70 innings) likely starts the second game, with Ty Langenberg (6-3, 4.06) lined up for a third game. That rotation worked well in the Big Ten Tournament, and coach Rick Heller likely sticks with it.

Iowa’s starting pitching is strong, but the bullpen has also delivered, especially in the closing weeks. Jack Whitlock (7-1, 2.01) has been a consistent choice, as has Aaron Savary (0-0, 2.61) and Luke Llewellyn (1-0, 2.67).

Iowa is batting .298 as a team this season. Brennen Dorighi (.340, 13 HRs, 61 RBIs) is the anchor of the middle of the lineup. Sam Petersen (.331, 11 HRs) and Brayden Frazier (.321) have been at their best late in the season. Raider Tello (.305) has also delivered some big hits.

It would help Iowa to get Keaton Anthony (.389) back from his suspension, but his status is still unclear heading into the tournament.

BREAKING DOWN THE TAR HEELS

North Carolina has power. Mac Horvath (.305) leads the team with 22 home runs, 62 runs batted in, and is second on the team with 20 doubles. Tomas Frick (.326) has 12 home runs, driven in 60 runs, and leads the Tar Heels with 71 hits, including 21 doubles.

The Tar Heels will be without center fielder Vance Honeycutt (.257, 12 HRs), who is out with a lower back injury.

North Carolina scored 21 runs in its first two ACC tournament games before losing to Clemson 10-4 in the semifinals.

The Tar Heels are a little thin in their starting rotation, but have a solid bullpen. Matt Poston (3-3, 1.77, 5 saves) has struck out 46 in 40 ⅔ innings, and has allowed just 20 hits. Kevin Eaise (3-3, 3.38 ERA) has struck out 56 in 50 ⅔ innings.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRACKET

Indiana State (42-15) dominated in the Missouri Valley Conference, going 24-3. Keegan Watson (.308) and Adam Pottinger (.300) are the team’s leading hitters. Mike Sears has 19 home runs.

The Sycamores have a deep starting rotation with Lane Miller (7-0, 2.61), Connor Fenlong (9-2, 3.24) and Matt Jachec (7-3, 3.90). Jared Spencer has five saves.

Wright State (39-21), the Horizon League champion, is led by Andrew Patrick (.333, 19 HRs, 58 RBIs), Jay Luikhart (.304, 11 HR, 43 RBIs) and Gehrig Anglin (.306, 9 HR, 48 RBIs). Sebastian Gongora (10-1, 2.92) will get the start in the opener.

IOWA NOTES

• This is Iowa's sixth regional appearance, the third under Heller. The Hawkeyes have appearances in 1972, 1975, 1990, 2015, and 2017.

• Iowa has outscored its opponents 466-241, they are averaging 8.3 runs per game. That ranks 23rd in the nation.

• The pitching staff has a 4.04 ERA, good for 11th in the nation. The Hawkeyes rank second in the country in hits allowed per nine innings (6.68) and fifth in strikeouts per nine (11.0), and the Iowa defense has a .981 fielding percentage, which ranks 14th in the country..

• Brecht leads the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (4.50), and Morgan ranks fifth (5.37). Brecht ranks 32nd in strikeouts with 101.