Iowa sophomore Katie Brown has been named the co-Big Ten Conference softball player of the week. The Spirit Lake native helped lead the Hawkeyes to a sweep at Illinois by going five-of-six at the plate with three home runs, she drove in six runs and also scored four times.
Iowa coach Gayle Blevins who says Brown put up some "huge" numbers as she came up in so many key situations she only drew one intentional walk. Blevins says her teammates get credit for getting on base in front of her and then hitting well behind her.
The Hawks finished third in the league race with a record of 14-6 and will open the Big Ten Tournament on Friday in Evanston against Illinois. At 38-17 overall, Blevins feels good about their chances of making it into the NCAA field. Blevins believes they are in good shape to make the postseason, and want to continue with the confidence they showed this last weekend. Brown shared the player of the week award with Nicole Pauly from Northwestern.