Iowa first baseman Stephanie Ochoa was named the Big Ten Player of the Week Monday.

Last week, Ochoa recorded a .612 batting average and an OPS of 1.317.

Against No. 11 Tennessee on March 17, the senior was 4-for-4, tying the team mark for most hits in one game this season.

Ochoa then continued her streak by going 5-for-6 in a double-header against South Dakota on Sunday. She scored four runs and gave the Hawkeyes one RBI against the Coyotes.

Originally hailing from Stanton, Calif., Ochoa transferred to Iowa in 2010 after playing for Iowa Lakes Community College during her freshman and sophomore years (2008-2009).

In 2010, Ochoa finished the season with a .181 average, but this year her average has climbed to .443.

“Whatever the situation is when I go up to bat, whatever it is that my team needs me to do, that’s what I try to do,” Ochoa said following the double-header on Sunday. “I focus on being aggressive, not on the average. Averages really mean nothing. I just want to do what my team needs from me.”

— by Molly Irene Olmstead