Even with at-large wiggle room, Iowa baseball taking nothing for granted at Big Ten Tournament

IOWA CITY — Although you have to squint to see a way Iowa baseball gets left on the NCAA regional sidelines with a week remaining until Selection Monday, Rick Heller has experienced too much May pain to take any situation for granted.

So even as his Hawkeyes head to Omaha for the Big Ten Tournament feeling they've already done enough to secure Iowa's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2017, this program knows as well as anyone what happens when a Big Ten school's postseason fate rests firmly in the selection committee's hands.

"Our thought is," Heller said Monday, "let's give them less opportunity to screw us."

More:Iowa baseball is closing in on a regional berth. How do the Hawkeyes finish the job?

It's with that mindset Iowa heads to Charles Schwab Field as the conference's No. 3 seed, set to face No. 6 Michigan at 10 a.m. Tuesday to kick off the Big Ten Tournament. With a 32 RPI and a quality league finish — along with strong pushes to begin and end the regular season — Heller's Hawkeyes are in prime position to secure their first at-large bid since 2015. Iowa, though, is hoping it won't need it, and there's a mound of evidence to suggest the Hawkeyes are the team best prepared to make an Omaha run.

Atop the list is Iowa's recent pitching production, which has rounded into form after some turbulence early in the Big Ten schedule. Tuesday's starter Marcus Morgan has been arguably the league's crispest arm in conference play. Brody Brecht's last two starts have been his most dominant outings this season, while Ty Langenberg has proven he can shine when the postseason lights flip on.

Throw in the possibility of two off days — one Wednesday, one Friday if Iowa starts 2-0 — and the Hawkeyes shouldn't be scraping the bottom of the barrel for quality arms deeper in the tournament the way many teams would.

"We're playing good ball as a team right now, and I think that's a big part of it," Morgan said. "We just all feed off of each other. A lot of confidence just comes from that and pulling for each other with our great culture here.

"We've encountered some new game situations the past couple weeks that we hadn't found ourselves in earlier in the year. Adversity is obviously a big deal, and I think we've responded really well to it. That should give us all the confidence in the world that we can win in any kind of game — anywhere, anytime."

That last point is noteworthy given Iowa's Tuesday morning draw. The Hawkeyes played a pair of 9 a.m. games last year at the Big Ten Tournament, including its opening loss to Penn State that fouled up the rest of the week and forced Iowa to fight out of the loser's bracket. Heller recalled that game Monday, noting how pivotal instant energy and focus are when you're the first team up in Omaha.

Then add in the opponent, which the Hawkeyes know well from past Omaha experiences. Although Iowa didn't face Michigan this season, it's met the Wolverines three times in the previous three Big Ten Tournaments — including twice last year. Southpaw starter Connor O'Halloran will take his best shot at Iowa despite pedestrian results in his last four starts.

"We know what it takes. We know where we need to be in our heads (Tuesday) morning," Heller said. "Let's make sure we're in that spot. If we do that, I feel good about where we're at.

"Now matchup-wise, not a great matchup facing O'Halloran. A lot of people in the league would tell you he's the best starter in the conference. He hasn't trended great here lately — but let's face it, he's a tough guy. And he's going to show up."

The Hawkeyes believe their bats will too. After responding to the loss of Keaton Anthony with seven wins in nine games — a stretch that's seen Iowa pile up 84 runs with four double-digit showings — the Hawkeyes have the results to match the next-man-up coach speak.

There's no better place for that offensive balance to pay off than the postseason, which will almost certainly see a handful of Hawkeyes sputter while others carry the load. Those names could change from game to game, inning to inning.

Formulating quality contingency plans is the key to conference-tournament survival and beyond. Although it would certainly like to have Anthony in the lineup, mashing balls the other way like he usually does, Iowa has proven it can withstand plan A going awry.

"We've set ourselves up a lot better this year," left fielder Sam Petersen said, "but we've never gone to the Big Ten Tournament just thinking about getting an at-large bid. We want to go there to win it and celebrate that. So we're playing for that this week."

A Sunday celebration could potentially generate some hosting discussions. An 0-2 Omaha showing should still see the Hawkeyes dancing even with a tense Selection Monday. Anything in between should be the final touches on a quality at-large resume.

Iowa, though, isn't interested in entertaining any of that chatter.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com.