Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller is not sure what the magic number is for the Hawkeyes to lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament. With six games remaining in the regular season the Hawkeyes sit in second in the Big Ten race and stand 34-12 overall heading into their final home series against Minnesota.
“We always talk about trying to get as close to 40 as you can and keeping your RPI as high as you can. Right now we are in pretty good shape with the RPI. I think we are going to be in pretty good shape as long was we just keep winning ballgames,” Heller says.
The Hawkeyes trail league leading Illinois by a game and a half and have a three game lead on third place Ohio State. He says it’s a matter of continuing to fight off injuries and playing the best baseball that they can at the end of the season, “And right now we’re still playing pretty good.”
Heller says the focus for the Hawkeyes is on a strong finish. Iowa and Minnesota open their series with a single game on Friday night.