March 12, 2008
IOWA CITY – This Weekend’s Action ? The University of Iowa softball team travels to DeLand, FL, this weekend to compete in the Stetson Spring Classic. Below is Iowa’s schedule at the Classic. All times listed are central.
Friday, March 14
vs. Elon (12:30 p.m.)
at Stetson (5:30 p.m.)
Saturday, March 15
vs. Bowling Green (9:15 a.m.)
vs. Cornell (11:30 a.m.)
Sunday, March 16
vs. Cornell (1:30 p.m.)
Hawkeyes on the Web ? Fans can follow the action at gohatters.com, where live video and audio will be provided by Stetson University for a one-time charge of $9.95.
Hawkeyes in the Polls ? Iowa is one of eight 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 (4th/4th), Michigan (9th/9th), Northwestern (12th/12th), DePaul (15th/19th), Louisiana-Lafayette (17th/17th) and Ohio State (19th/21st) are all ranked.
In addition, North Carolina is receiving votes in both polls while Florida State is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
Last Week’s Action ? Iowa finished the Amy S. Harrison Classic with a perfect 4-0 record. The Hawkeyes knocked off Utah Valley State twice (4-0, 11-1 in five innings) host-school UC Riverside (6-0) and Buffalo (11-1 in five innings).
Staff Tosses Combined No-Hitter ? Junior Brittany Weil and sophomore Amanda Zust combined to throw a no-hitter against Utah Valley State last Friday.
Weil picked up the win, throwing four innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. Zust tossed three innings of relief, striking out three with no walks. Only four Wolverines reached base, two off walks, one off a hit batsman and one on a fielder’s choice. No Utah Valley State runner made it past first base.
Weil Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week ? Junior pitcher Brittany Weil was been named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season and the third time in her career.
Weil gave up only one earned run on three hits while striking out 23 batters to just three walks in 14 innings of work at the Amy S. Harrison Classic last weekend. She limited her opponents to just a .068 batting average in the Classic and finished with a perfect 3-0 record.
Weil tossed the first four innings of a combined-no hitter in Iowa’s first game against Utah Valley State. She struck out eight and walked two before sophomore Amanda Zust closed out the no-hitter. Weil followed with a complete game, two-hit shutout against host-school UC Riverside. She struck out a season-high 11 batters with no walks in the win.
The Garden Grove, CA, native threw the first three innings in Iowa’s rematch against Utah Valley State for her eighth win of the season. She struck out four batters and allowed only one hit, which was to the first batter of the game.
Weil threw 194 total pitches on the weekend with 124 going for strikes.
Weil earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after Iowa’s opening weekend (Feb. 18).
Dominating Weekend in the Circle ? Iowa’s pitching staff allowed just one run on only five hits and struck out 36 batters to just three walks in 25 innings of work last weekend.
Offensive Explosion ? The Hawkeye offense put on a show over the weekend, outscoring their opponents, 32-1. Iowa collected 32 hits, including 13 extra base hits. Four Hawkeyes hit home runs and the team finished the four-game weekend with a .578 slugging percentage.
Lighting Up the Scoreboard ? The last time an Iowa team scored 32 or more runs over a four-game stretch was in 2003. Iowa put up 33 runs with wins over Wagner College (9-1 in five innigs), Georgia State (4-1), Lousiville (9-1 in six innings) and Indiana State (11-0 in five innings).
Rachel Likes it Out West ? Junior Rachel West batted .600 (6-10) with two RBI and four stolen bases in California last weekend.
West has the second-highest batting average on the team (.386) and leads the squad with 13 stolen bases.
Power Numbers ? Three Hawkeyes finished the Amy S. Harrison Classic with impressive power numbers.
Senior Emily Nichols batted .556 with one home run, one triple, one double and a massive 1.222 slugging percentage. Junior Erin Riemersma collected a .500 batting average with one home run, two doubles and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Junior Colleen McGlaughlin hit two home runs with a .417 batting average and a .917 slugging percentage.
Carmody in the Books ? Freshman Chelsey Carmody tied two school records in Iowa’s 11-1, five-inning win over Utah Valley State Sunday.
Carmody roped triples in her first two at-bats to tie the school record for triples in a single game. She also scored four runs, which tied the school record for runs scored in a single game.
Pitching Staff Solid ? Iowa’s pitching staff is establishing itself as one of the best in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes rank first in opponent batting average (.135) and home runs allowed (1), second in earned run average (0.63), runs allowed (24), earned runs allowed (12) and saves (2), tied for thid in strikeouts (148) and walks allowed (40) and fourth in batters struck out looking (40).
Individually, sophomore Amanda Zust has the lowest earned run average in the Big Ten (0.55) and has given up the fewest earned runs in the conference (4). She also ranks second in opposing batting average (.142) and is tied for third in saves (1). Junior Brittany Weil tops the Big Ten in opposing batting average (.130) and is third in strikeouts (93), games started (12) and saves (1), fourth in earned run average (0.69) and fifth in batters struck out looking (26) and innings pitched (81).
Iowa in Offensive Big Ten Stats ? Two Hawkeyes rank in the top five in different offensive statistical categories in the Big Ten.
Junior Rachel West leads the Big Ten in stolen bases with 13 while sophomore Lindsey Digmann tops the league with eight sacrifice hits.
Stetson Spring Classic Tidbits
? Iowa is 3-2 vs. Stetson and 7-1 vs. Bowling Green. Iowa has never faced Elon or Cornell.
? Elon, Stetson and Iowa have all lost to North Carolina this year. Iowa dropped a 1-0 decision aginst the Tar Heels. Elon lost, 9-1 in six innings while Stetson was defeated, 3-0.
? Elon Head Coach Patti Raduenz played at Michigan State from 1993-96. Iowa was 12-3 against the Spartans while Raduenz was a player. Additonally, Raduenz served as an assistant coach at Iowa State.
? Bowling Green Head Coach Shannon Salsburg played at Penn State from 1995-98. The Hawkeyes were 12-1 vs. the Nittany Lions during Salsburg’s years at Penn State.
? Bowling Green assistant Lani Southwell served as an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb in 2005, when the Hawkeyes defeated the Runnin’ Bulldogs, 9-1.
|
|
|
