The Iowa softball team will face a tough Northern Iowa team.
By Courtney Baumann
The Iowa women’s softball team will take on Northern Iowa when the Panthers travel to Pearl Field this evening.
Iowa, fresh off of a weekend sweep by Northwestern, has yet to reach 10 wins on the season. If the Hawkeyes win the game tonight, they would finally hit that mark.
Northern Iowa is yet another team to add to the list of opponents the Hawks have faced with a record above .500. Northwestern was the only team Iowa played against since February that had lost more games than it had won.
The Panthers come into the game with a 27-12 record and a team batting average of .312. Seven players in Northern Iowa’s lineup are batting better than .300, including two — Bailey Lange and Alyssa Buchanan — who hit better than .400.
Lange also earned Pitcher and Newcomer of the Week honors on Monday. She hit .545 in four games last week and recorded a 0.50 ERA in two complete-game appearances.
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There are also a couple of pitchers on the Panther staff that Iowa could have trouble with. Buchanan and Chelsea Ross each have an ERA of 2.50 or less.
On Iowa’s end, redshirt senior Holly Hoffman has been a huge force on the field. She’s hitting .344 thus far this season. In Iowa’s last 11 contests, she has batted .485. During that stretch, she registered 10 extra-base hits with 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 4 home runs.
Iowa and Northern Iowa have split games, 3-3, over the past four seasons. The Hawkeyes won the last matchup in five innings when they outscored the Panthers 12-4 and the mercy rule went into effect.
