The Iowa softball team opens the Big Ten tournament tomorrow morning in Evanston, Illinois when the Hawkeyes face Indiana. Iowa is the third seed and coach Gayle Blevins says her team will need to contend with one of the BigTen’s top players in the Hoosiers’ Mariangee Bogoda. She finished sixth in the conference in hitting, second in home runs and is Indiana’s top pitcher.
Blevins says Bogoda has probably been the conference player of the week at least four different times as a pitcher and leadoff hitter. Blevins says they had trouble with her on defense, but were able to hit her.
The teams split a regular season doubleheader. Regular season champion Northwestern is hosting the tournament but the host school has not always fared well in the past. She says though Northwestern is playing well right now.
Iowa is 39-19 on the season.