Hawkeyes Close Regular Season On The Road

May 2, 2008

IOWA CITY – On Deck ? The University of Iowa softball team wraps up regular season play at Illinois this weekend. The Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini will play single games Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.)

Hawkeyes on the Web ? Fans can follow along on Gametracker via hawkeyesports.com. Gametracker links can be found on the softball schedule page.

The remainder of Iowa softball games will be broadcast live on hawkeyesports.com. Fans can listen free, but do have to go through a quick registration. Audio links can be found next to the Gametracker links. Rob Brooks will handle the play-by-play.

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 (2nd/1st), Florida (3rd/2nd), Michigan (6th/5th), Northwestern (11th/11th), North Carolina (14th/14th), Louisiana-Lafayette (16th/17th) and DePaul (20th/RV) are all ranked.

In addition, Central Florida is receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll.

Explaining the Big Ten Standings ? Iowa has wrapped up third place in the Big Ten and will be the No. 3 seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes will face the No. 6 seed, which is yet to be determined.

Northwestern and Michigan are tied for first in the Big Ten with an identical 16-2 record. If both teams sweep their opponents this weekend (Northwestern vs. Michigan State, Michigan vs. Penn State), the No. 1 seed and host location for the Big Ten Tournament will be decided by a coin flip. Both teams will still be tied after all tiebreakers are applied.

Scouting Illinois ? The Illinois Fighting Illini are 30-29 overall and 8-10 in Big Ten play. Illinois leads the conference in hits (455), home runs (73) and slugging percentage (.509).

Angelena Mexicano is batting .369 and leads the Big Ten with 24 home runs and is second with 24 RBI.

Claire Devreese has thrown 217.1 innings and has a 20-18 record with a 3.87 earned run average and 146 strikeouts. Ashley Wright is 8-7 with a 5.63 earned run average and has 44 strikeouts.

Last Time vs. the Fighting Illini ? Junior Erin Riemersma hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Iowa a thrilling, 7-6 win over Illinois. The win clinched a fourth place finish for the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten.

Riemersma’s home run put an end to a very exciting contest with seven lead changes and two ties.

The two teams played only one game last season, as game two of the series was washed out at Pearl Field.

Inside the Last Box Score ? The Hawkeyes were out-hit by Illinois, 12-9, while each team committed an error.

Junior Erin Riemersma, sophomore Taylor Leichsenring and junior Quinn Morelock each collected two hits while Riemersma had two RBI and two runs scored. Morelock also scored two runs.

Iowa recorded five earned runs and six hits off starting pitcher Claire DeVreese and plated two earned runs on three hits off Ashley Wright. Illinois’ staff struck out two Hawkeyes and walked six.

Junior Brittany Weil tossed all eight innings, allowing five earned runs off 12 hits while striking out seven and walking two.

Hawkeyes Top Western Illinois ? Iowa scored both of its runs in the bottom of the fourth to defeat Western Illinois, 2-0, in the final home game of the 2008 regular season.

Iowa plated one run off an RBI single by Quinn Morelock and another on a well-executed double steal.

Junior Brittany Weil tossed her 23rd complete game and her 10th shutout of the season. She tallied her 250th strikeout of the season, finishing the game with six K’s.

Inside the Last Box Score ? Iowa out-hit the Westerwinds, 8-2 and forced three Western Illinois errors.

Freshman Chelsey Carmody finished 3-4 with a double and a run scored in her first game as a Hawkeye. Junior Colleen McGlaughlin collected two hits while three other Hawkeyes had one hit.

Western Illinois pitcher Kamren Ferguson threw all seven innings and did not give up an earned run while striking out six with no walks.

Hawkeyes Storm Back Against Purdue ? Iowa plated six runs on four hits in the top of the seventh to record an 8-5, comeback win over Purdue last Saturday.

The Hawkeyes were trailing, 3-2, going into their last at-bat before the bats woke up to earn the win.

Deja Vu ? Iowa lost both games at Indiana by a 3-2 score, with all three runs in both games coming off a three-run home run.

In game one, Indiana erased a 1-0 Hawkeye lead with a three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Game two was more of the same. The Hawkeyes led, 2-0, before surrendering a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Downs On a Roll ? Senior Summer Downs is curretnly on an eight-game hitting streak.

The San Diego, CA, native has 10 hits in the past eight games, including one home run, one double and three RBI.

Hot Over the Last 11 Games ? Junior Quinn Morelock is batting .462 (6-13) in the past 11 games.

Morelock has played in nine of the last 11 games and has started four. Base Thefts ? As a team, the Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in stolen bases (83) and attempts (106).

Junior Rachel West leads the team with 17 swipes while sophomore Lindsey Digmann has 16 and freshman Chelsey Carmody has 12.

Staff One of the Best ? Iowa’s pitching staff is establishing itself as one of the best, not only in the Big Ten, but in the nation.

Entering the week, the Hawkeyes rank seventh in the country in earned run average (1.12) while junior Brittany Weil is 21st in earned run average (1.06), 23rd in victories (22), 25th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.13) and 66th in strikeouts per seven innings (7.4). Sophomore Amanda Zust is 29th in earned run average (1.23) and 17th in hits allowed per seven innings (3.89).

Iowa ranks in the top three in nearly every pitching category and leads the Big Ten in home runs allowed (10).

Night Hawks ? Juniors Colleen McGlaughlin and Brittany Weil must prefer playing under the lights.

McGlaughlin is batting .471 (16-34) with two home runs, four doubles and eight RBI in 13 night games. Weil is 5-2 with a 0.53 earned run average and 58 strikeouts after 5 p.m.

McGlaughlin Everywhere ? Junior Colleen McGlaughlin has played wherever she has been needed this season.

McGlaughlin has started 23 games at third base 22 at first base, five at shortstop and three in left field.

In addition, the Morton, IL, native is batting .373 while at third, .310 at first, .308 at shortstop and .154 in the outfield.

Illinois Game Notes ? Iowa leads the all-time series, 10-6.

? Iowa junior Erin Riemersma and Illinois freshman Ashley Conrad are both from Orland Park, IL and graduated from Carl Sandburg High School.

? Iowa has four players from the state of Illinois. They include juniors Erin Riemersma (Orland Park) and Colleen McGlaughlin (Morton), sophomore Heidi Daumen (Aurora) and freshman Lindsey Major (Lockport).

? Iowa and Illinois share five common opponents. The Fighting Illini were defeated by Florida (3-2), Arizona State (7-2) and DePaul twice (7-2, 8-4). Illinois split games with Louisiana-Lafayette (1-4, 2-1) and also defeated Illinois State (16-8).

Weil in the Record Books ? Junior Brittany Weil is the first Hawkeye in school history to be named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week four times in a single-season and five times in a career.

Weil is also the first Big Ten pitcher since 2006 to earn the award four times in a season. Northwestern pitcher Eileen Canney was given the award four times in 2006. The record is held by Michgan’s Marissa Young, who was tabbed Pitcher of the Week six times in 2002.

Tough Schedule in 2008 ? Twelve of Iowa’s opponents are inside the top 50 of the latest NCAA RPI, released April 23. The Hawkeyes have seven wins over top 50 RPI teams (No. 4 Michigan, No. 12 Northwestern, No. 29 Louisiana-Lafayette, No. 45 Purdue, No. 46 Illinois State).

Fifteen of Iowa’s 17 losses have also come to opponents with an RPI of 100 or better, including No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Arizona State, No. 12 Northwestern, No. 13 North Carolina, No. 23 DePaul, No. 30 Central Florida, No. 32 Florida State, No. 39 Arkansas, No. 48 Tulsa, No. 55 Ohio State, No. 72 Minnesota, No. 80 Stetson, sNo. 81 Drake and No. 95 Cornell.

Queens of the Road ? The Hawkeyes have played 40 of their 53 games this season on the road. Iowa has an away record of 7-6 and a neutral site mark of 16-6.

Iowa is scheduled to play two of its final three regular season games on the road. The Big Ten Tournament will also be at a visiting site.

The Hawkeyes have an away record of 9-9 and a 16-6 at neutral sites.

Scoring Early and Often ? Iowa is outscoring its opponents, 33-14 in the first inning and 25-6 in the fourth inning.

The Hawkeyes have outscored their opponents, 180-95 in 53 games.

No Need to Wait ? Freshman Jenny Schuelke wasted no time in recording her first career home run as a Hawkeye. The Solon, IA, native’s first hit in Black and Gold was a towering, solo home run to left field in Iowa’s 4-1 win over Drake Feb. 17.

First Hit Was a Long One ? Junior Quinn Morelock’s first hit of the 2008 season was a two-run home run in game one of Iowa’s doubleheader against Northern Illinois March 26.

Morelock smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to give Iowa a commanding 7-0 lead over the Huskies.

Carmody in the Books ? Freshman Chelsey Carmody tied two school records in Iowa’s 11-1, five-inning win over Utah Valley State March 9.

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.

Nichols Named to Watch List ? Senior catcher Emily Nichols has been named to the 2008 USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List. The Portland, OR, native is one of 50 players to be selected. Nichols is the first Hawkeye player named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List.

The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) sponsors the award, which is considered one of the most prestigious honors in collegiate softball. This is the seventh year the ASA has given the award.

Nichols Drafted ? Senior Emily Nichols was selected by the Chicago Bandits in the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) Draft. Nichols was the third pick in the second round and the ninth overall selection.

New Assistant Coach ? Shane Bouman is in his first season as pitching coach for the Hawkeyes.

Before coming to Iowa, Bouman served as head coach at South Dakota State for six seasons. He is the winningest coach in school history with 140 victories.

Bouman is also an accomplished softball pitcher. He is a four-time ASA all-American and a two-time NAFA all-American. He led five teams to ASA national championships and competed in nine International Softball Congress Tournaments.

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