Iowa Baseball Has Winning Weekend at MLB Desert Invitational

The college baseball season officially started this past weekend, which caused jubilant celebration to fill the streets. Perhaps that’s a bit of an over exaggeration, but the sentiment is true nonetheless. Baseball is back, and that’s extremely exciting.

The Iowa Hawkeyes began their quest for Omaha out in Arizona at the MLB Desert Invitational. There, alongside seven other schools, the Hawkeyes competed against some of the best competition the sport has to offer. And luckily for them, they came out on the winning side of it. Against Kansas State, Air Force and Northeastern, Iowa managed to finish the weekend 2-1.

It was an impressive start to the campaign, one which the squad hopes to keep up throughout the rest of February and into March.

Opening Day Goes Sideways

Iowa's Tyler Guerin pitches during game 2 of Iowa vs. Oregon State baseball at Principal Park on May 10, 2025, in Des Moines. | Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sometimes the start of something new doesn’t always go as planned. That was certainly true for the Hawkeyes in their opening game versus the Kansas State Wildcats on Feb. 13 at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona.

Kansas State jumped on Iowa starting pitcher Tyler Guerin right from the get-go, scoring one run in the first, another in the second and one more in the third. By the time the bottom of the fourth rolled around, with the score 4-2, the Wildcats’ offense completely exploded. Six runs came across in that frame, and that pretty much ended any hope that Iowa had a chance. In the end, Kansas State took home a 15-6 victory to hand Iowa its first loss of the season.

Despite the not-so-good outcome, there were some positives. Gable Mitchell, the team’s leadoff hitter and most potent weapon offensively, collected two hits and scored two runs. He reached base all four times he came to the plate. First baseman Caleb Wulf and shortstop Kooper Schulte also had two hits. With the lack of pitching prowess that Iowa exhibited against Kansas State, it was clear that it was going to be the bats that carried the Hawkeyes over the weekend. Unfortunately, there was only so much that side of the team could do against the Wildcats.

Late-Inning Heroics Against Air Force

Iowa appeared to be on the verge of dropping its second game in a row to start the season against Air Force on Feb. 14 — despite an impressive pitching performance by starter Logan Runde, who went 5 1/3 innings and allowed just two runs with six strikeouts — but fate had other plans.

Down 2-1 in the top of the seventh, the Hawkeyes finally broke through for the first time all weekend. Guerin led off the frame with a single. Jaylen Ziegler came in to replace him as a pinch runner and immediately made his mark when he advanced to second base on a wild pitch. He then trotted over to third after an error by the Air Force third baseman. That then enabled him to score the tying run when Jaixen Frost knocked him in via a sacrifice fly to right field.

Hawkeye Debut ✔️ pic.twitter.com/HcNnUHrFYv
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) February 15, 2026

After Matthew Delgado struck out for the second out of the inning, Joey Nerat — who had three hits on the night — delivered a double to left field. Mitchell then singled, scoring Nerat and giving Iowa its first lead of the season. Mitchell would later score himself on a Wulf single to shallow left field, giving the Hawkeyes a 4-2 advantage they wouldn’t relinquish. Even another Air Force run in the bottom of the seventh couldn’t stop Iowa from coming out on top.

Hawkeyes Outslug Northeastern

Iowa’s 21-13 win over Northeastern on Feb. 15 was insane. Just absolutely bonkers from start to finish.

Northeastern took a 4-0 lead after the first inning and extended that to 5-0 in the second. Iowa responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the second via a Max Burt RBI single, but that didn’t stop Northeastern from adding one more run in the top of the third. With the score 6-1, it appeared that the Hawkeyes were once again staring down the barrel of another blowout loss. The pitching was lackluster — starter Carter Wilcox didn’t record an out and allowed four runs — and the offense was struggling. But fate had other plans.

The Max Burt Game™️ pic.twitter.com/6DvEI0URI8
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) February 15, 2026

Eight Iowa runs scored in the bottom of the third, two of which (weirdly) came on hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded. It was truly an inning where Iowa just kept the lineup moving. From there, Iowa was able to roll to a 21-13 win.

Wulf, Mitchell and Max Burt were the stars of the show. Wulf and Burt both drove in three runs, with Mitchell contributing two, and all three had at least two hits. It was on their shoulders that the Hawkeyes were able to come away with the win in the offensive showdown against Northeastern.

What’s Next for Iowa Baseball?

The Hawkeyes will travel back home to face a Division III opponent in UW-Platteville on Feb. 17. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on B1G+. A radio telecast will be available on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!