HAWK TALK

June 2014

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49 Yacinich says the preparation for 2015 has already begun. "It starts now in us getting better from here on out," he said. "e whole summer, next fall and with all the strides we have made already, we're hoping to double, triple that next year." e 2014 Hawkeyes opened the season with a 9-1 re- cord — the best start for the program since 1940. Iowa claimed Big Ten series wins over Nebraska and Minne- sota and won 30 games for the third time since 1993. "I am proud of his group because anytime a new coach comes in with a bunch of older guys you don't know what to expect," said Heller. "ese guys bought in and welcomed us with open arms from day one. "We didn't challenge this group with winning games, but with changing the culture; winning on a daily basis in the classroom and off the field and developing habits that develop winners. ey did that." Heller says the Hawkeyes believed and fought from the get-go. "We made big strides from where we were day one to the end of the season and that makes me feel good," he said. "To reach some of our goals and to see these guys go out and have a chance to win virtually every game we played this year was a lot of fun. "We played 53 games and in 46 or 47 of those we had a chance to win in the late innings. You measure a team by how many you really had a shot at. You're not going to get them all, but these guys bought into giving a great effort every day." Turning the Corner By JAMES ALLAN A 30-win season in University of Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller's first season was a step forward for the Hawkeyes, and it could be just the beginning. "e only starter we're losing is (Taylor) Zeutenhorst," said Heller following Iowa's first Big Ten Tournament appearance since 2010. "We know Jake (Yacinich) could be gone in the dra and there are things that can happen, but if we don't lose anyone, we have a good team returning." e Hawkeyes will welcome back all five players who garnered All-Big Ten recognition in 2014 in first- team selection Yacinich, second-team honorees Jake Mangler and Nick Day and third-team selections Dan Potempa and Eric Toole. Yacinich led the squad with a .365 batting average, 76 hits, a .438 on-base percentage and 25 steals, while Mangler (45) and Potempa (40) combined for 85 RBIs. Heller will also bring in a 10-player recruiting class to go along with the addition of two of team's top arms that will return aer missing the 2014 season because of injury. "We have some good players in our recruiting class, and we get two of our top pitchers back in Josh Martsching and Taylor Kaufman," said Heller. "It should be a year where we have a chance to make a run at it if we stay healthy. "Everybody in that locker room knows deep down that if we do the work and get aer it these next nine months and get bigger, faster, and stronger, build more confidence and believe more; we can do it next year. We can put together a great year."

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