The Iowa softball team will attempt to capture its first Big Ten victories during its home-opener series this weekend.

The Hawkeyes will play three games against Purdue at Pearl Field:5:30 p.m. today, 2 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. April 3.

Iowa dropped its first three Big Ten games when the team traveled to Indiana on March 25-27. It dropped them to the bottom of the conference along with Purdue, Rutgers, and Maryland — all of which were swept in their first Big Ten series.

Purdue dropped its first three games to No. 22 Minnesota.
While the record might not be, history is in Iowa’s favor. The Hawks own a 41-10 advantage over Purdue in the teams’ all-time series.

Iowa won two of the three games the teams played last season and has taken five of the last six from the Boilermakers.

Iowa will still face some tough competition, though. Three Boilermakers in the lineup are batting above .300 so far.

Junior Kristen Hoppman (.350), freshman Lauren Steward (.309), and senior Mary Gooding (.302) have been the most consistent. Along with that, Iowa will also see senior pitcher Lilly Fecho, who has a 1.66 ERA and holds the school record for strikeouts (745).

Three Iowa players are also above the .300 mark. Freshman Mallory Kilian leads the Hawkeyes with a .340 average, and senior Haley Hansel (.333) and sophomore Katy Taylor (.311) are also near the top.
Iowa’s Kaitlyn Mullarkey is also on a 25-game streak of reaching base, by far the longest on the team and also a career best.

Help on the defensive side has come from newcomer pitchers Elizabeth Wiegand and Erin Riding. Wiegand, a junior transfer from Tennessee-Martin, leads the team in ERA (3.19), wins, (4), appearances (16), games started (12), and strikeouts (45). Freshman Riding has contributed in 10 games, posting a 3.72 ERA.

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