With the Big Ten season upon Iowa softball, the team needs to prepare the defensive side of its play.

Pitching isn’t the problem. Sophomore Allison Doocy has overpowered opposing batters this season, posting a 1.27 ERA. Doocy also has averaged 7.64 strikeouts for starters, while only allowing 1.82 walks. Despite these dominating stats, Doocy is only 7-4 this season.

Behind Doocy, Lauren Shaw has filled a steady backup role. The freshman has a 2.45 ERA but is 2-6 on the season.

Hitting could be stronger for the Hawkeyes; the team averages .235 in the box, led by junior Mallory Kilian, who has posted a .365 batting average.

“We’ve got to be more aggressive in the box,” head coach Marla Looper said. “Offensively, meaning we attack pitches — good pitches — early and force action on them.”

Going into Big Ten play, Iowa’s opponents will only get better, and today’s game with Michigan will pit the Hawkeyes against one of the hottest teams in college softball. Michigan has a 17-game winning streak going.

Behind that streak is one of the best pitchers in the Big Ten. Meghan Beaubien, who has been labeled a spin doctor, has a 0.90 ERA with a 15-2 record. She also has held opponents to a .133 BA.

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Behind that pitching, the Wolverines are hitting .304 as a team, with 24 home runs, 16 more than Iowa’s relatively meager 8 dingers. Michigan’s hot bats will surely put the ball in play, and the Hawkeye defense will need to rise to the challenge.

Iowa’s defense has made games too close for comfort too often. In Wednesday’s double-header with South Dakota State, the team had 4 errors, 2 of which brought in Jackrabbit runs.

“We just need to clean it up,” Kilian said. “They had a lot of hits that we couldn’t do anything about. But the ones that we can, just make sure we’re going hard and staying clean on everything.”

Iowa’s lack of defense didn’t just start. It showed at the Creighton Invitational last weekend and has been a recurring theme this season.

“Defensively, we need to play more solid defense,” Looper said. “We got a little crazy a couple times this weekend, and the circus showed. But the circus was left in Omaha, and now we’re in Iowa City.”

Iowa will do its best to avoid the circus with the Michigan double-header starting at 2 p.m. Friday.

“We need to play the game like we know how, and we have most of the year,” Looper said. “I feel that approach, no matter who it is, South Dakota or Michigan, our approach is not different. Go out there, respect the game, and play it the way it’s supposed to be played.”