IOWA CITY -- Patrick Lala says he doesn't get nervous when he's playing baseball, but there are exceptions.

One of those exceptions happened Feb. 19 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., when Lala pitched his first game for the University of Iowa.

It came in relief against Pittsburgh in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge. And he doesn't mind saying, he had butterflies.

"I couldn't explain the feeling the first time I came into the game against Pittsburgh," he said Friday. "I was nervous, and I never get nervous."

Pitching for the Iowa Hawkeyes is a dream come true for the Marion High School graduate ('08), but it took a few more years than he would have hoped. He wanted to join the Hawkeyes right after high school, but a wrist injury set him back and he played at Kirkwood Community College the last two years.

Undeterred, the self-avowed Hawkeye fan kept his eye on Iowa City and joined the Hawks as a junior this season.

"When they started talking to me my sophomore year at Kirkwood, it was definitely a dream come true when I knew that I'd be able to play here," he said.

Lala, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound righthander, has peformed well for the Hawkeyes (9-11) and is one of their top relief pitchers. He has a 1-0 record with a 0.68 earned run average. Opposing batters are hitting just .170 against him.

"I've been really happy with Patrick," Iowa Coach Jack Dahm said Friday night after Lala pitched 3 1/3 innings against Western Illinois. "He's got electric stuff from a pitching standpoint. And really, nobody has swung the bat very well against him. He's going to be a go-to guy for us."

The one bugaboo has been walks. Lala has walked 15 batters in 13 2/3 innings, but he's been able to pitch around them by allowing only eight hits and getting double plays.

Nonetheless, he knows he has to throw more strikes.

"If you keep pounding the zone and your stuff is good enough, you're going to get guys out," he said. "That's what we've been focusing on."

Lala walked four batters during his 3 1/3 innings against Western Illinois in a 4-2 loss. He allowed only one unearned run, but threw 70 pitches on a cold night. He knows he has to limit the walks and pitch more efficiently.

"His life will get a lot easier and I won't get quite as gray if he does that, because guys are struggling to hit off him," said Dahm. "He needs to get ahead of hitters and trust his stuff. He's got the best stuff of any player on our team."

Lala's fastball has gotten better and better during his high school, junior college and brief Division I career.

"He throws up to 93-94 miles per hour, his slider has gotten much better, he's throwing the split-finger," said Dahm. "So he's got good enough stuff, he just can't create anything for the opponents and give up all those walks. Once he cuts down on that, good things will happen for him."

Lala has pitched against Pittsburgh, Kansas, Mississippi State, Georgia State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Gonzaga and Western Illinois. He got his victory against Georgia State on March 6 with 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief.

"It's kind of weird, because you see all these teams on TV and then you're there," he said. "I would tell everyone to keep on dreaming and I think it will come true for them. It's awesome once you're here."

He loved playing on major college baseball fields on Iowa's trips to Texas and Mississippi.

"Mississippi State's field was unbelievable," he said. "It's the nicest thing I've ever been in. And Texas Tech was nice. It's so much nicer to play at all these parks."

Polk-DeMont Stadium at Mississippi State has a listed capacity of 15,000 fans.

Ironically, Lala's first game for the Hawkeyes came at the spring training home for the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Fla. The Phillies picked Lala in the 29th round of the major league draft last June, but he joined the Hawkeyes instead.

"Playing pro baseball is definitely a dream and I want to do it," he said. "But after they drafted me, I thought I needed to work on some things in order to become a better pitcher. I want to put myself in the best position in order to move up in their farm system."

The Phillies do not own his rights anymore, but they can draft him again this June if they want. So can any other team. If he doesn't sign this year, he could play for Iowa again next season and be eligible for the 2012 draft as a senior.

Lala would like to go higher than the 29th round. He was the 891st player selected in 2010, so the odds would have been stacked against him and the signing bonus would have been relatively small.

He wants to refine his skills this season and see what happens.

"I think you kind of saw tonight (Friday), I was doing well but there's still some stuff to work on, like the accuracy and maybe the slider," he said. "It was great at times, and at other times it was just bad. I've just got to become more poised and more accurate."

Once he does, Dahm thinks good things could happen. "He's got a chance to be a special, special pitcher for us," said Dahm.