March 5, 2008
IOWA CITY – This Weekend’s Action ? The University of Iowa softball team travels to Riverside, CA, to compete in the Amy S. Harrison Classic. Below is Iowa’s schedule at the Classic. All times listed are central.
Friday, March 7
vs. Utah Valley (2 p.m.)
Saturday, March 8
at UC Riverside (1 p.m.)
vs. Buffalo (3 p.m.)
Sunday, March 9
vs. Utah Valley (11 a.m.)
Hawkeyes on the Web ? Fans can follow the action at hawkeyesports.com, where live stats (Gametracker) will be available. The link can be found along the right side of the softball schedule page.
Hawkeyes in the Polls ? Iowa is one of 15 teams receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA poll.
Opponents in the Polls ? Seven Iowa opponents are ranked in both the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls. Arizona State (1st/1st), Florida (5th/5th), Northwestern (8th/8th), Michigan (10th/11th), DePaul (16th/19th), Louisiana-Lafayette (18th/20th) and Ohio State (20th/22nd) are all ranked.
In addition, North Carolina and Arkansas are receiving votes in both polls and Iowa State is receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll. Last Week’s Action ? Iowa finished the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a 2-3 record. Iowa upset 16th-ranked Louisiana Lafayette, 2-1 in nine innings and also defeated Tennessee Tech, 8-1. The Hawkeyes fell to No. 23 North Carolina (1-0), No. 19 DePaul (5-4, eight innings) and Florida State (2-0).
Iowa Knocks Off Louisiana-Lafayette ? The Hawkeyes upset 16th-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette, 2-1, in nine innings last Saturday at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
Sophomore Lindsey Digmann slapped a hard grounder to shortstop with two outs and beat the throw to first, which allowed freshman Chelsey Carmody to cross the plate for the game-winning run.
What a Relief ? Sophomore Amanda Zust threw six impressive innings of relief in Iowa’s extra-inning win over No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette.
Zust allowed only one hit and struck out six with only two walks, facing 21 batters to record the win.
Add Another to the Record ? Senior Emily Nichols’ 34th career home run couldn’t have happened at a better time. Nichols blasted a solo shot to tie the score at 1-1 vs. No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette.
Nichols tops Iowa’s career home run record list with 34 round-trippers.
Oh, So Close ? Three of Iowa’s five losses have come to ranked opponents, all by only one run.
The Hawkeyes lost to No. 4 ranked Arizona State and No. 23 ranked North Carolina by a 1-0 score. Iowa also lost to No. 16 DePaul, 5-4, in eight innings.
In addition, Iowa was defeated by Arkansas, who is receiving votes in both national polls.
Free Softball ? Last Saturday at the NFCA Leadoff Classic was a long day for the Hawkeyes. Both Iowa games went to extra innings, with the first game against No. 19 DePaul going eight frames and the nightcap against No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette going nine.
The last time Iowa played two extra-inning games on the same day was was Feb. 22, 2003. Iowa defeated Georgia State, 4-0, but lost to Marshall, 2-1, both in eight innings.
Haven’t We Met? ? The Hawkeyes are scheduled to face Buffalo this weekend, who they defeated, 6-1 earlier this season in the Littlewood Classic.
Sophomore Amanda Zust threw all seven innings in the win, collecting nine strikeouts. Sophomore Katie Brown added two hits while junior Colleen McGlaughlin had two hits and two RBI.
Pitching Staff Solid ? Iowa’s pitching staff is establishing itself as one of the best in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes rank first in earned runs allowed (11), opposing batting average (.150) and home runs allowed (1). The staff is second in earned run average (0.72), total runs allowed (23) and saves (2). Iowa’s pitchers are also third in hits allowed (56) and fourth in strikeouts (112).
Individually, junior Brittany Weil ranks first in opponent batting average (.142) and fourth in earned run average (0.73), innings pitched (67) and strikeouts (70). Sophomore Amanda Zust is first in earned runs allowed (4) and fourth in earned run average (0.69). Both pitchers are tied for second with one save a piece.
Iowa in Offensive Big Ten Stats ? Three Hawkeyes rank in the top five in different offensive statistical categories in the Big Ten.
Junior Rachel West is tied for the Big Ten lead in stolen bases with nine while sophomore Lindsey Digmann tops the league with seven sacrifice hits. Freshman Chelsey Carmody is tied for third with five doubles.
Amy S. Harrison Classic Tidbits ? Iowa is 1-1 vs. UC Riverside and 1-0 vs. Buffalo. The Hawkeyes have never faced Utah Valley.
? Senior Summer Downs and junior Brittany Weil will be returning to their home state of California to compete this weekend. Downs is from San Diego and Weil is from Garden Grove.
? Buffalo assistant coach Angela Churchill played at Michigan from 2001-04. Iowa went 3-4 against Michigan when Churchill played for the Wolverines.
? Iowa and Buffalo both competed in the Littlewood Classic and share four common opponents. Buffalo lost to Arizona State (12-3), Radford (12-2), Miami, OH (6-1) and Illinois State (10-0). Iowa defeated Miami, OH (3-2), Illinois State (2-0) and Radford (5-4), but fell to Arizona State (1-0).
? This will be the first weekend of the season Iowa will not play five games. The Hawkeyes played five opponents in the Metrodome Classic, Littlewood Classic and NFCA Leadoff Classic.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.