May 13, 2008
IOWA CITY – On Deck ? The University of Iowa softball team will host one of 16 NCAA Regional tournaments this weekend. The Hawkeyes welcome No. 14 seed Long Beach State, Missouri and Creighton to Pearl Field. Below is the tournament schedule.
Friday, May 16
Game 1 – Creighton vs. Long Beach State, 5 p.m.
Game 2 – Iowa vs. Missouri, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 17
Game 3 – Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two, 12 p.m.
Game 4 – Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 – Loser Game Three vs. Winner Game Four, 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 18
Game 6 – Winner Game Three vs. Winner Game Five, 1 p.m.
Game 7 (if neccessary) – Winner Game Six vs. Loser Game Six, 3:30 p.m.
Hawkeyes on the Web ? All of Iowa’s NCAA Tournament games will be broacast live via hawkeyesports.com, where free audio will be available. The broadcasts are free, but fans do have to go through a quick registration. Rob Brooks will handle the play-by-play.
Fans can also access the Iowa City Region tournament page by clicking on the NCAA Regional logo that is located both on the front page and softball page of hawkeyesports.com. Gametracker links, box scores, game recaps and postgame quotes along with other information is available.
NCAA Tournament Notes ? Iowa holds a 29-29 record in NCAA Tournament games, including a 24-21 mark in NCAA Regional contests. This marks the eighth time in the last nine years the Hawkeyes have competed in the NCAA Tournament.
? The Hawkeyes have advanced to the Women’s College World Series four times (1995, 1996, 1997 and 2001).
? Iowa is hosting an NCAA Regional for the eighth time in school history and for the first time since 2006. The Hawkeyes hold a 12-8 record in NCAA Regional games played at Pearl Field.
? The Hawkeyes have moved on to the Women’s College World Series three times after hosting an NCAA Regional (1996, 1997 and 2001).
? Iowa is 6-9 vs. Missouri, 1-2 vs. Long Beach State and 7-20 vs. Creighton.
? The Hawkeyes are 0-2 vs. Missouri in NCAA Regional games and 1-2 vs. Creighton. Iowa was elimated by Missouri in the 1991 NCAA Regional held in Iowa City with back-to-back losses (2-0, 4-0). Creighton defeated Iowa once in both the 1989 NCAA Regional held in Iowa City (6-1) and in the 2004 NCAA Regional in Lincoln, NE (8-4, 10 innings). The Hawkeyes knocked off Creighton, 2-1 in eight innings in the 2005 NCAA Regional held in Lincoln.
? Iowa faced 13 teams that were selected for the NCAA Tournament this year and collected an 8-9 record against those teams. The Hawkeyes also faced four national seeds, including No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Arizona State and No. 11 Northwestern.
? Creighton Head Coach Brent Vigness graduated from Nesco High School in Zearing, IA. He also attended Central College in Pella, IA, where he served as a softball student assistant coach from 1986-88.
? Long Beach State Assistant Coach Tairia Flowers and Iowa Associate Head Coach Michelle Venturella both own Olympic gold medals. Flowers was a member of the Athens, 2004 team while Venturella won gold in the 2000, Atlanta games.
? Missouri Head Coach Ehren Earleywine and Iowa Pitching Coach Shane Bouman are both accomplished men’s fastpitch players. The two faced each other numerous times at the international level during the mid-1990’s and early 2000’s.
Scouting Missouri ? The Missouri Tigers are 44-15 overall and finished third in the Big 12 with an 11-6 record. The Tigers are batting .291 entering regionals and their pitching staff has a combined 2.24 earned run average. Missouri has also swiped 129 bases as a team.
Rhea Taylor was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and leads the team with a .405 batting average. Taylor is also second in the nation with 53 stolen bases. Amanda Renth leads the team with 19 home runs while Lindsey Ubrun has a team-high 57 RBI.
Stacy Delaney is 18-3 with a 1.74 earned run average and leads the team with 165 strikeouts. Delaney has tossed 156.2 innings. Jana Hainey is 10-3 with a 2.31 earned run average while Jen Bruck is 16-9 with a 2.75 earned run average and has 99 strikeouts.
Scouting Long Beach State ? The No. 14 seed and 18th-ranked Long Beach State 49ers are 39-15 overall and won the Big West Conference title with a 15-6 record. The 49ers have a .252 team batting average with a team earned run average of 1.57.
Jennifer Griffin leads the team with a .333 batting average. Jessica beaver has a team-high six home runs with 42 RBI.
Freshman Brooke Turner is 26-4 with a 0.67 earned run average and 226 strikeouts to lead the 49ers in the circle. Bridgette Pagano is 13-11 with a 2.44 earned run average and has 84 strikeouts. Turner has tossed 210 innings while Pagano has thrown 157.2.
Scouting Creighton ? The Creighton Bluejays are 43-15 and won the Missouri Valley regular season championship with a 21-3 record. The Bluejays enter the NCAA Tournament batting .277 with a team earned run average of 2.24.
Jessica Wakasugi is batting .362 to lead the team offensively. TJ Eadus has a team-high 11 home runs while Bailey Dawson has a team-best 39 RBI.
Tara Oltman is 31-7 with a 0.94 earned run average and 285 strikeouts in 261.2 innings pitched. Amanda Hess is 7-6 with a 4.14 earned run average while Emily Humpal is 5-2 with a 5.60 earned run average.
Great Tournament Run ? Iowa scored 22 runs en route to the Big Ten Tournament championship game, where it was narrowily defeated by Northwestern, 1-0. The Hawkeyes knocked off Illinois, 9-1 in five innings in the quarterfinals and Michigan State, 13-4 in five innings in the semifinals.
Iowa’s 22 runs scored tied the school record for most runs plated in a Big Ten Tournament, matching the 2001 squad’s performance.
Putting Up Power Numbers ? The Hawkeyes batted .404 (19-47) with five home runs, three doubles, one triple and 17 RBI against Illinois and Michign State combined. As a team, Iowa tallied an .830 slugging percentage and a.517 on base percentage.
Sophomore Katie Brown led the way, batting .750 (3-4) with two home runs and three RBI. Her two long-balls tied for the second-most in Big Ten Tournament history.
Freshman Jenny Schuelke and juniors Colleen McGlaughlin and Quinn Morelock each had one home run.
She’s Heating Up ? Over the last six games, sophomore Katie Brown is hitting at an impressive .615 (8-13) clip. She also has a 1.846 slugging percentage and a .706 on base percentage.
Brown has collected five of her eight home runs, nine of her 27 RBI and has scored seven of her 13 runs over the six-game stretch.
Keeping Late Leads ? Iowa is 29-3 when leading after four innings, 33-3 when leading after five innings and a perfect 30-0 when leading after six frames.
Queens of the Road ? The Hawkeyes have played 45 of their 58 games this season on the road. Iowa has an away record of 11-10 and a neutral site mark of 18-6.
Four Hawkeyes Named all-Big Ten ? Iowa had four student-athletes selected for postseason all-Big Ten honors.
Sophomore Katie Brown was a first team selection as a designated player. Junior Colleen McGlaughlin was a second team utility pick and junior Brittany Weil was named a second team pitcher. Junior Quinn Morelock was chosen as a third team outfielder.
Four Chosen For all-Tournament Team ? Four Hawkeyes were selected to the 12-person Big Ten Tournament all-tournament team last weekend. Players included were sophomores Katie Brown and Lindsey Digmann and juniors Colleen McGlaughlin and Quinn Morelock.
McGlaughlin Earns Academic Honor ? Junior Colleen McGlaughlin was named ESPN the Magazine first team academic all-District.
McGlaughlin boasts a 4.0 GPA majoring in acturial science and was honored with the same award last year as a sophomore. McGlaughlin will now appear on the national ballot for academic all-America honors.
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 ninth in the country in earned run average (1.17), while junior Brittany Weil is 21st in victories (25), 23rd in earned run average (1.14), 30th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.34) and 64th in strikeouts per seven innings (7.4). Sophomore Amanda Zust is 16th in hits allowed per seven innings (3.87), 30th in earned run average (1.24) and saves (37).
McGlaughlin Everywhere ? Junior Colleen McGlaughlin has played wherever she has been needed this season.
McGlaughlin has started 25 games at both first and third base, five at shortstop and three in left field.
In addition, the Morton, IL, native is batting .392 while at third, .323 at first, .308 at shortstop and .154 in the outfield.
Brown Named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week ? Sophomore Katie Brown was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week, May 5, for her efforts at Illinois May 3-4. The award was the first weekly accolade for Brown.
The Spirit Lake, IA, native led Iowa’s offense in the two-game sweep over the Fighting Illini. She finished the weekend with an .833 (5-6) batting average along with three home runs, one double, six RBI, one intentional walk and four runs scored. Brown also tallied an impressive 2.500 slugging percentage and an .857 on base percentage.
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 Michigan’s Marissa Young, who was tabbed Pitcher of the Week six times in 2002.
Iowa in the Polls ? Iowa is listed as receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls.
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. Florida (1st/1st), Arizona State (2nd/2nd), Michigan (6th/6th), Northwestern (11th/10th), North Carolina (13th/15th), Louisiana-Lafayette (16th/17th) and DePaul (19th/21st) are all ranked.
In addition, Central Florida is receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll.
Tough Schedule in 2008 ? Thirteen of Iowa’s opponents are inside the top 50 of the latest NCAA RPI, released May 7. The Hawkeyes have eight wins over top 50 RPI teams (No. 4 Michigan, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 27 Louisiana-Lafayette, No 45 Illinois, No. 48 Purdue).
Sixteen of Iowa’s 18 losses have also come to opponents with an RPI of 100 or better, including No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Michigan, N0. 6 Arizona State, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 21 DePaul, No. 32 Florida State, No. 33 Central Florida, No. 36 Arkansas, No. 44 Tulsa, No. 53 Ohio State, No. 62 Stetson, No. 76 Minnesota, No. 81 Drake and No. 98 Cornell.
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.
Schuelke also blasted a pinch-hit, three-run home run against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
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.
Morelock added another home run this season with an opposite field grand slam against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
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.