Iowa, Illinois to meet in Big Ten softball tourney

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By Steve Batterson | Wednesday, May 7, 2008 11:47 PM CDT | () comments

Everything seems to be taking a little longer to bloom this spring, including the

cohesiveness of the Iowa softball team.

But as Gayle Blevins prepares the Hawkeyes for their record 15th straight appearance in the Big Ten Tournament, the coach likes what she sees.

“We’ve shuffled a lot more people around this year, looking for our best defensive and offensive lineups, and that took some time. Defensively, we’re playing much, much better,’’ Blevins said.

The tourney at Evanston, Ill., begins today, but third-seeded Iowa waits until Friday to face sixth-seeded Illinois in the chase for the Big Ten’s automatic NCAA tourney berth.

The Hawkeyes are 38-17 overall, and they are the only team in the Big Ten to have beaten the two teams that shared the conference title, Northwestern and Michigan.

“We’re excited to be heading into the championship

weekend feeling like we are playing well now,’’ Blevins said. “We have a lot of

confidence and we know it is a one-and-done type of situation, so we have to prepare hard, arrive ready and play with that attitude.’’

The Hawkeyes know what they are getting into in Friday’s 9 a.m. game with the Fighting Illini. Iowa swept two games from Illinois last weekend, winning on the road 5-2 and 12-6.

“It almost feels like we just stepped off the field against them, and we know what we’re up against,’’ Blevins said, referring to the Fighting Illini’s power-filled lineup.

After leading the nation in homers a year ago, Illinois ranks eighth nationally with an average of 1.25 home runs a game.

Senior shortstop Angelena Mexicano, who has hit a Big Ten-record 24 homers this season, leads the Illini at the plate.

“You can’t pitch around anybody in their lineup,’’ Blevins said. “They had a pinch-hit home run out of the ninth spot in their order last weekend that tells you what they can do. It’s up to our pitchers to take care of things in the circle and our offense to make the most of the opportunities they have.’’

Illinois coach Terri Sullivan, whose 30-31 team has played 17 games this season against teams rated in the Top 25, said her team will have to do more than hit for power despite the short fences at Northwestern’s Drysdale Field.

“We love to hit, and the long ball has been our style this year, but we have to bring more than that,’’ Sullivan said. “When you play a team like Iowa, you have to pitch and play defense, too. Maybe last weekend taught us that.’’

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.