By Jacob Miller
The Iowa softball team got its first wins of the conference season against Purdue. The Hawkeyes won the series with two victories in decisive fashion, and their wins provide the blueprint for their success against future Big Ten opponents.
Quality at-bats
The phrase has been emphasized as a major point for the Hawkeyes in the batter’s box. Iowa has many powerful hitters, such as sophomore Brooke Rozier, who could easily clear the fence in any at-bat, but that’s not what the team is focused on. The Hawkeyes stress moving runners along, as in the work of freshman Lea Thompson, who leads the team in sacrifice hits at 11. The team goal is to win each game one step at a time.The Hawkeyes want to win each at-bat when they are in the box or in the circle, and they did so against Purdue, for the most part. The Hawkeyes have not accrued a lot of hits this season, and they are last in the Big Ten in this category, but there has been an uptick.
1 error, 20 hits allowed
The Hawkeyes had only 1 error in their two victories against Purdue and doubled that in their lone defeat. Iowa’s defense is proving to be one of the most disciplined in the Big Ten.
When the Hawkeyes have fewer than 2 errors in a game, they are almost impossible to beat. This seems redundant, but when a team does not make errors, it is going to be tough to beat. The Hawkeye defense could not have come together at a better time, because the squad will enter the tougher part of their Big Ten schedule.
Twenty hits in three games is alarming, but Iowa’s pitching has been solid all year. If Iowa’s bats continue to connect, the pitching staff can put some of the burden on the offense.
Coming from behind
The Hawkeyes have also proven that they can come from behind to win a game. This is not a team that is typically going to score a lot of runs, so getting down early puts even more pressure on the hitters.
Batting has also been a bit of a struggle for the Hawkeyes, but they put this to rest in game three of the Purdue series. Even though the Hawkeyes only had 5 hits, their quality at-bats were devastating for the Boilermakers.
The Hawkeyes were down 1-0 going into the third inning, when they went off. They had only two hits in the crucial inning in which they scored 7 runs. The 2 hits came from junior Allie Wood and Rozier.
Wood had two runners on base and sent the ball into left field to score both of them. After Wood, Rozier came up to the plate and hit a home run over the center-field wall.
Two at-bats, 2 hits, 4 runs, and just like that, the game was over in the third inning. If the Hawkeyes keep up the quality at-bats and the disciplined defense, they could have some major success down the road.