Ready, or not, the Iowa baseball team opens the Big Ten race on Friday with the first of a three game series at Rutgers.
The Hawkeyes enter conference play 5-6 and coach Rick Heller says the early start to the league race is due to an expanded Big Ten. Last season the Hawkeyes played 20 games before entering league play.
The bullpen has struggled at times but Heller says so far the Hawkeyes have done a better job of limiting free bases.
Heller says the offense has been better than expected. The only trouble spot has been hitting with runners in scoring position.
