Iowa Baseball is playing in its tenth consecutive Big Ten Tournament and its eighteenth in program history. The Hawkeyes finished the regular season on a two-series losing streak, dropping five of six games to Oregon State and Oregon.
After dropping the final two series of the regular season, the Hawkeyes were knocked out of first place in the Big Ten standings and earned a three seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
In their first tournament matchup, the Hawkeyes beat the ten-seed Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-3 to advance to the semifinals automatically.
Iowa did lose 5-0 to the Indiana Hoosiers on Thursday night, but as the higher seed, they moved on to the semifinals.
On Saturday, the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes take on the No. 2 UCLA Bruins in the semifinals. Iowa faces its most formidable tournament challenge and must bring its A-game to advance.
The No. 13 UCLA Bruins finished the regular season on a hot streak and earned a share of the Big Ten regular season title with Oregon. UCLA won eight of ten conference series and entered the Big Ten Tournament looking to capture its first title as a Big Ten member.
The Hawkeyes have a tough test in front of them, and here are their two biggest keys to victory for Saturday's game.
Slow down Roch Cholowsky
The first key to victory is easier said than done. UCLA sophomore infielder Roch Colowsky has been stellar for the Bruins this season. He finished the regular season with a .377 batting average and 22 home runs (No. 2 in the Big Ten).
Cholowsky was named the 2025 Big Ten Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team.
The Hawkeyes have a solid pitching staff, but will have their hands full with Cholowsky.
UCLA has a strong offense, batting .291 (No. 4 in the Big Ten) as a team, and have scored 451 runs this season (No. 3 in the Big Ten).
Cholowsky is the engine that drives UCLA's offense, and if the Iowa pitchers can limit his impact, they have a great chance to win the game.
Do not beat yourself
UCLA has a stout defense, ranking No. 1 in the Big Ten in fielding percentage (98.1 percent). They also lead the nation in double-plays (57) and double-plays per game (1.02). The Hawkeyes cannot afford to take chances on the bases and run into outs.
The Bruins also have a solid offensive attack, and the Hawkeye pitchers must limit the walks and errors. Iowa is No. 2 in the Big Ten in team earned run average (4.06) and No. 1 in strikeouts (572), but they walk 4.7 batters per nine innings.
In their last two regular-season series, Iowa pitchers also struggled with errors and wild pitches, which led to runs. They must reduce walks and errors to have a chance against UCLA.
How to watch
The No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes battle the No. 2 UCLA Bruins on Saturday, May 24, at 6:00 p.m. Central Time from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. The game airs on the Big Ten Network