Softball set for tourney
Brendan Stiles - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: Sports
The Iowa softball team is feeling confident.
After losing in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament the past two seasons, the Hawkeyes are determined to post a different outcome this weekend in Evanston, Ill.
"I've been one-and-done my freshman and sophomore years," junior Colleen McGlaughlin said. "This is a great opportunity for us to go deep into the tournament."
Iowa, which is the No. 3 seed in this weekend's tourney, will square off with the sixth-seeded Illinois on Friday at 9 a.m. Should the Hawkeyes win, they would play their semifinal game later that afternoon against the winner of today's contest between Michigan and Michigan State.
Just last week, Iowa took two games from Illinois in Champaign, winning by scores of 5-2 and 12-6. In the latter contest, the Hawkeyes belted 17 hits off of Fighting Illini pitching.
The players believe their bats couldn't be coming around at a better time.
"I think people are peaking at the right time right now," McGlaughlin said. "People are hitting very consistently, and we're getting the timely hitting when we need it."
The team sees an advantage in playing Illinois again after doing so on May 3-4, but coach Gayle Blevins was quick to point out how it could also benefit the Fighting Illini to see the Hawkeyes again.
"There are no secrets," she said. "Everybody knows everyone, and that's true on both sides. Certainly, the Illini have a sense of urgency, because they know what they have to do to get to postseason.
"We won't see any different approach from them from what we saw in both of the games we played. They are just a very high-energy team, and they swing the bats."
Among the Hawkeyes licking their chops about playing the Fighting Illini again is sophomore Katie Brown, who went 5-for-6 with three home runs in the two contests with Illinois, good enough to earn her Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
"I think we're all really prepared and kind of excited to play them," she said.
After losing in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament the past two seasons, the Hawkeyes are determined to post a different outcome this weekend in Evanston, Ill.
"I've been one-and-done my freshman and sophomore years," junior Colleen McGlaughlin said. "This is a great opportunity for us to go deep into the tournament."
Iowa, which is the No. 3 seed in this weekend's tourney, will square off with the sixth-seeded Illinois on Friday at 9 a.m. Should the Hawkeyes win, they would play their semifinal game later that afternoon against the winner of today's contest between Michigan and Michigan State.
Just last week, Iowa took two games from Illinois in Champaign, winning by scores of 5-2 and 12-6. In the latter contest, the Hawkeyes belted 17 hits off of Fighting Illini pitching.
The players believe their bats couldn't be coming around at a better time.
"I think people are peaking at the right time right now," McGlaughlin said. "People are hitting very consistently, and we're getting the timely hitting when we need it."
The team sees an advantage in playing Illinois again after doing so on May 3-4, but coach Gayle Blevins was quick to point out how it could also benefit the Fighting Illini to see the Hawkeyes again.
"There are no secrets," she said. "Everybody knows everyone, and that's true on both sides. Certainly, the Illini have a sense of urgency, because they know what they have to do to get to postseason.
"We won't see any different approach from them from what we saw in both of the games we played. They are just a very high-energy team, and they swing the bats."
Among the Hawkeyes licking their chops about playing the Fighting Illini again is sophomore Katie Brown, who went 5-for-6 with three home runs in the two contests with Illinois, good enough to earn her Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
"I think we're all really prepared and kind of excited to play them," she said.
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