After this weekend, 12 of the Big Ten’s 14 softball teams will travel to the Big Ten Tournament at the Goodman Softball Complex in Madison, Wisconsin.
Iowa sits in 11th in the Big Ten, just one game ahead of Purdue, which the Hawkeyes will face in a three-game series this weekend at Pearl Field.
This series is big. Penn State is half a game behind Purdue, so if Iowa were to lose two games, and Penn State were to win its three games this weekend, there is a chance Iowa cold be knocked out of the tournament.
“We got to take care of business this weekend,” head coach Marla Looper said. “Period. We can’t stop, and look on paper, and say this is what should happen. We’ve got to play three very good ballgames against a decent Purdue team. Our outcome is in our hands, it’s not in anyone else’s.”
Iowa will have to focus on fundamentals if it wants to continue playing this season. The team has won one of their last 12 games, and Purdue is beatable.
“We are going to get back to what we do well and work on that,” Looper said. “The things that we’ve struggled with the last few weeks, we’ll work on those. Then, get our minds right for Purdue.”
Purdue is a better hitting program than Iowa, batting .239 compared with the Hawkeyes’ .227. Purdue runners are also relatively unlikely to steal once on base; they are just 17-of-25 in the stolen-base universe, compared with Iowa’s 47-of-53.
Boilermaker pitching lags behind the rest of the Big Ten. They have a team ERA of 5.24, giving Iowa bats an opportunity to light up before the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa’s ERA sits at a 2.25, good for the third best in the conference. Sophomore Allison Doocy has been at the forefront for Iowa in the circle and will likely start twice this weekend.
Doocy led Iowa to its first win in 11 games on April 28 against Northwestern, tossing a complete game with 8 strikeouts and allowing 0 runs. If Doocy and Iowa can continue that momentum against Purdue, their odds for a series win are high.
“Every time [Doocy’s] on the mound, she gives us a really good performance,” catcher Angela Schmiederer said. “When things aren’t clicking, we talk about the three aspects of our game: defense, pitching, and hitting. We had those going on [April 28], and it was really fun to see and really fun to be a part of.”
But Iowa’s defense, pitching, and hitting haven’t necessarily been intact all season. Iowa was inconsistent throughout April, dropping 12 of the 16 games.
“We really just have to stick to our game plan,” Schmiederer said. “We need to make those adjustments quicker, both on offense and defense, and just really being on the attack mindset. That will get us the most ready for the tournament, and that starts with Purdue.”