The Iowa softball team (26-5) will travel to Bloomington, Ill., today for a 5 p.m. game against Illinois State (13-14). The team’s home game with William Penn on Tuesday was canceled because of poor playing conditions.

Iowa is ranked this week for the first time this season, jumping to No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

The national recognition comes on the heels of the Hawkeyes’ current nine-game winning streak, which started March 14 against Cornell. On March 22, Iowa downed South Dakota in both games of an afternoon double-header behind stellar performances by pitchers Amanda Zust and Brittany Weil.

In the first game, Weil pitched a one-hit shutout, striking out 11 of the 17 batters she faced. Zust followed with the first no-hitter of her career in game two. The duo has posted a combined ERA of 1.05 through 31 games.

Senior Colleen McGlaughlin collected three hits in five at-bats and five RBIs as the designated player on Sunday. The senior from Morton, Ill., leads all players with at least 25 at-bats in batting average (.354) and shares the home run lead (four) with freshman Liz Watkins. McGlaughlin also leads the Hawkeyes with 29 RBIs.

— by Jon Linder