Feb. 12, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa sophomore Megan Blank has been named a Primetime Performer by CollegeSoftball360 for her performance in Iowa’s opening weekend tournament — the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic.
Blank, who became the ninth player in school history to garner first team All-Big Ten honors as a freshman, and the ninth to earn all-region recognition as a freshman in 2012, picked up where she left off a year ago, hitting .333 in Iowa’s first weekend.
She led the Hawkeyes to wins over Texas State, Houston and No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette. The win over the Cajuns marked Iowa’s first over a ranked opponent since it defeated No. 23 Oklahoma State last year, 5-3, on March 3. No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette is the highest-ranked team the Hawkeyes have defeated since winning at No. 1 Michigan on April, 23, 2011.
Blank had the game-winning two-run double in Iowa’s come-from-behind win over Texas State on Friday. Saturday, she hit two home runs in leading Iowa to wins over the Cougars and Cajuns. Against No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette, Blank had a career-best five RBIs.
For the weekend, she batted .333 with five hits, two home runs, a double and eight RBIs. She slugged .800 and matched her home run total from a year ago in one day’s work on Saturday.
“Megan was a key contributor offensively in our opening weekend,” said UI head coach Marla Looper. “She will be counted on throughout the year to duplicate that production. She has the ability; the challenge will be replicating the results due to scouting reports.
“Softball is a team sport that needs individual performances. It takes a team effort. Megan stood out offensively, but our team effort as a whole garnered this recognition.”
The Hawkeyes return to action this weekend at the Lovelace Invitational in Denton, Texas. Iowa opens play against Dayton (9 a.m., CT) and Oklahoma State (2 p.m.) on Friday. The Hawkeyes face Nebraska-Omaha (2 p.m.) and host North Texas (4:30 p.m.) on Saturday, before concluding play against Oklahoma State on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.