Feb. 28, 2006
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IOWA CITY – Weekend in the Midwest
The University of Iowa softball team travels to Carbondale, IL, this weekend to compete in the Coach B Classic, hosted by Southern Illinois University. The Hawkeyes face the Salukis Saturday at 2 p.m. and Northern Illinois at 4 p.m. Iowa will square off against Illinois-Chicago at 10 a.m. Sunday and the teams will then be seeded. The Hawkeyes will play at either 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. to close out the tournament.
Rained Out In Georgia
Iowa played only two of its scheduled five games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic last weekend. The Hawkeyes fell to No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette and to No. 2 Tennessee in the first day of competition.
Iowa was scheduled to face Florida State and participate in bracket play Saturday, but over two inches of rain fell in Columbus, GA. Tournament officials tried to schedule games for Sunday, but the facilities were too wet for competition.
Ragin’ Cajuns Shut Out Hawkeyes
Sophomore Emily Nichols recorded Iowa’s only hit in a 6-0 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns belted three home runs and recorded nine hits against the Hawkeyes.
Lady Vols Top Iowa
The Hawkeyes didn’t have an answer for Tennessee all-American pitcher Monica Abbott in an 11-2, five inning contest. The Lady Vols recorded 11 hits, including two home runs for the win.
Senior Stacy May and junior Sami Baugh tallied hits in the contest, with May and freshman Rachel West each scoring a run.
Hawkeyes In The Rankings
Iowa is ranked 24th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. The USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is updated every Wednesday.
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Southern Illinois Salukis are 7-1 this season.
Chelsea Petty and Jayme Wamsley lead the Salukis at the plate, each batting .421. Wamsley paces the team with seven RBI. Katie Louis is batting .308 and leads the team with two home runs.
Ashley Hamby is 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA inside the circle. She has started three games with one complete game and one shutout. Cassidy Scoggins is 3-1 with a 0.72 ERA and paces the team with 30 K’s.
The Salukis are coached by Kerry Blaylock. Iowa leads the all-time series, 5-1.
Scouting Northern Illinois
The Northern Illinois Huskies are 2-2 this season.
Elyse Jamrozy and Randi Kreiter lead Northern Illinois’ offense. Both are batting .375 with a run scored. Kelly Drozd is batting .300 with a team-best three RBI.
Lindsey LaChiana is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA to lead the Northern Illinois pitching staff. She also has a team-leading 15 strikeouts.
The Huskies are coached by Donna Martin. Iowa leads the all-time series, 18-16.
Scouting Illinois-Chicago
The Illinois-Chicago Flames are 1-4 this season.
Elizabeth Jacoby is batting .444 to lead the Flame offense. Cathy Joyce leads the team with two home runs.
Sarah Clynes is 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA inside the circle for the Flames. She also paces the team with 14 strikeouts.
The Flames are coached by co-head coaches Tom Gray and Sarah O’Malley Fisher. Iowa leads the all-time series, 3-1.
May Charges Offense
Senior shortstop Stacy May leads the Hawkeyes in batting average (.412), at bats (34), runs scored (9), hits (14), doubles (4), slugging percentage (.529), walks (6) and stolen bases (3). May has only struck out once in her 34 plate appearances this season.
In addition, May is currently tied for fourth in career doubles (42) and tied for seventh in career hits (214).
Freshmen Making a Difference
Hawkeye freshmen have recorded 13 hits and scored 17 runs so far this season.
Erin Riemersma has started all 10 games at second base while Brittany Weil has started five games in the circle. Both Quinn Morelock and Colleen McGlaughlin have started 10 games while Rachel West and Callie Adreon have appeared as pinch runners. Lindsey Emery has one plate appearance as a pinch hitter.
May Selected in NPL Draft
Shortstop Stacy May was drafted by the Comcast Chicago Bandits, a member of the National Professional Fastpitch League (NPF). May was selected with the fourth pick in the second round. She was the Bandits’ first pick overall.
May has started every game in her career so far at Iowa and is a two-time all-Big Ten selection. She was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2003. She joins current Akron Racer Kristin Johnson as the second Hawkeye to be a member of the NPF.
Arnold Moving Up
Senior Ali Arnold passed former Hawkeye player and assistant coach Debbie Bilbao for fifth on the career strikeout list last weekend at the Littlewood Classic. Arnold now has 492 career K’s.
Early Honors
Senior Stacy May and freshman Brittany Weil were both named to the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic all-Tournament team.
May batted .462 (6-13) with three doubles during the opening tournment while Weil went 4-1 with a 0.98 ERA and 18 K’s in her first action as a Hawkeye.