Iowa will hit the road for a third-straight week to Mississippi for a clash against Mississippi State starting today.

The Hawkeyes are 3-6 and hope to turn that around this weekend to get back to a .500 record.

But this weekend appears to be a tough test. The Bulldogs enter the series with an 11-0 record and have four pitchers on the roster with less than a 1.00 ERA.

Iowa will need contributions from a lot more players if it hopes to win the series.

Freshman Claire Fritsch and catcher Holly Hoffman have stepped up. Hoffman leads the Big Ten in runners caught stealing with a 66.7 percent success rate. Fritsch made the Getterman Classic All-Tournament team last weekend after batting .538.

Unlike the last two tournaments, the team is playing only one game a day. This change of pace could benefit the Hawks as they try to find their groove.

— by Jack Rossi