By Jacob Miller
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After winning four out of their five games in the Hawkeye Invitational, the Hawkeyes will try to carry that momentum over against Illinios at 2 p.m. today at Pearl Field.
“One thing about this past weekend was coming up with some wins and starting to build our momentum on offense and defense,” freshman Lea Thompson said. “To know that we can produce offensively and get the bats going, just the push to get us moving in the right direction that we want to go in [is big].”
Thompson and the rest of the freshmen are also excited to jump into conference play for the first time in their Hawkeye careers.
Illinois’ overall record is 19-8, fourth in the Big Ten, and it is on a five-game winning streak. Its last lost came March 18 against Auburn, which is ranked fourth in the nation.
The Illini are one of the highest scoring teams in the Big Ten, averaging 6 runs a game and the third highest batting average at .324, with 173 runs scored.
Illinois senior Nicole Evans is one of the best hitters on the team, and she leads the Big Ten with 9 home runs.
“They’re a good ball club,” head coach Marla Looper said. “They’ve played some quality opponents. They’ve won a lot of games, but it’s a new season starting this weekend, so it’s an opportunity for us to come out and set a tone early. We will have an opponent on the other side, in Illinois, to come to try to stop that.”
For the Hawkeyes, batting has not been their strong point this season.
Right now, Iowa only averages around 2 runs per game and has only scored 51 runs, which ranks last in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes will need to be more explosive at the plate in order to keep up with Illinois’ high-powered offense.
“Today, we’re really concentrating on our swings and stuff, because that’s what we really struggled with over the weekend,” junior Cheyenne Pratt said. “We’re just kind of getting back to the fundamentals, and reiterating them, and overall just getting back to the club aspect.”
Pratt said the Hawkeyes will focus on getting quality at bats to ensure they utilize every batting opportunity.
A positive for the Hawkeyes is that their pitching has been lights out and is working well with the defense. If the pitching stays strong, Iowa might be able to keep the Illini from raking up too many runs.
“I think that’s what’s kind of a blessing in our sport is we can scout and things, but it’s still scouting to see how we best face them,” Looper said. “We attack the way we know how to, not change our game plan going in to face them. If we continue to plug away and work that process, the outcomes will fall our way.”