Hawkeyes Prep For Mid-Week Action

March 23, 2009

IOWA CITY – On Deck ? The University of Iowa softball team will play two mid-week games, hosting William Penn Tuesday at 4 p.m. before traveling to Illinois State Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Tickets for Tuesday’s home game are $3 for adults and free for UI students and children 18 and under.

Hawkeyes on the Air ? Tuesday’s game against William Penn can be heard live on AM-800 KXIC. Rob Brooks will handle the call.

Hawkeyes on the Web ? Gametracker links for all Iowa games can be found on hawkeyesports.com. The links can be accessed under the schedule tab on the home page or on the softball schedule page.

The remainder of Hawkeye softball games will be broadcast over the internet at hawkeyesports.com (for a fee). The “Listen” links can be found next to the Gametracker links. Rob Brooks enters his third season calling the action for Iowa softball.

Iowa in the Polls ? The Hawkeyes are listed as receiving votes in both the latest USA Today/NFCA and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls.

Opponents in the Polls ? Six Iowa opponents are ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls.

UCLA (5th/5th), Arizona State (T-6th/11th), Michigan (8th/8th), Northwestern (14th/12th), Ohio State (17th/14th) and Florida State (22nd/22nd) are all ranked.

In addition, Texas and Cal State Fullerton are receiving votes in both pollls while Illinois and Long Beach State are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.

Spring Break Recap ? Iowa went 6-0 last week, improving its record to 26-5 overall.

Iowa swept through the Stetson Hatter Roundup with wins over Long Island (6-3) and Stetson (1-0). The Hawkeyes then picked up two more road wins in extra innings at Bethune-Cookman (3-0 in eight) and Central Florida (2-1 in 11).

Iowa won both games of its home-opening doubleheader against South Dakota Sunday, 9-0 and 15-0, both in five innings.

Zust Tosses First No-Hitter ? Junior Amanda Zust threw her first career no-hitter in Iowa’s 15-0, five-inning win over South Dakota Sunday.

Zust dominated the Coyote offense, allowing only two walks, both of which were in the first inning. She then retired the final 13 batters in order with seven strikeouts.

This season marks the first time in school history that the Hawkeyes have tossed three no-hitters in a single season. Senior Brittany Weil threw no-hitters against Kent State and Kennesaw State earlier this season.

Zeroes For Zust ? Junior Amanda Zust tossed 25 scoreless innings last week, compiling a 4-0 record.

The Des Moines native recorded three complete game shutouts and tallied 25 strikeouts to just seven walks. She limited her opponents to a microscopic .075 batting average.

Zust entered Iowa’s game against Long Island in the third inning and promptly shut down the attack. She then followed with an overpowering performance against Stetson, recording a one-hitter with only three batters reaching base.

Zust turned in another strong performance against Bethune-Cookman with a three-hit shutout.

She capped the week with her first career no-hitter against South Dakota.

Senior Stepping Up ? Senior Colleen McGlaughlin came through with some big hits for Iowa last week.

In Iowa’s first game of the week against Long Island, McGlaughlin delivered a one-out grand slam in the third to help Iowa claw back from an early 3-0 deficit. McGlaughlin’s home run gave Iowa a 4-3 lead that it never relinquished, winning by a 6-3 margin.

McGlaughlin gave Iowa a comfortable 3-0 lead in extra innings at Bethune-Cookman. After seven scoreless innings, Iowa managed to plate two runs before McGlaughlin drove in the third run of the eighth inning.

Iowa once again relied on McGlaughlin for a game-winning hit, this time at Central Florida in an extra-inning marathon. With the game tied at 1-1 in the top of the 11th, McGlaughlin hit an RBI single through the left side to plate the eventual game-winning run. The Morton, IL, native capped the weekend by going 2-4 with a career-high four RBI in game two against South Dakota.

McGlaughlin recorded 11 RBI in six games played last week. She also had one home run and three doubles with a .667 slugging percentage.

On a Roll ? Iowa is currently on a season-long nine-game winning streak, dating back to an 11-3, five-inning win over Cornell March 14.

During the streak, Iowa is batting .351 and has a 0.68 earned run average. Blevins Reaches Milestone ? Head Coach Gayle Blevins collected her 900th win at Iowa with a 1-0 win over Stetson March 17. Blevins is the most successful coach in Iowa softball history, with a record of 904-406-3.

Closing in on History ? Head Coach Gayle Blevins is just 15 wins away from becoming the second-winningest coach in Division I history.

Blevins, who recently picked up her 1,200 career win March 17 against Stetson, trails former Florida State Head Coach JoAnne Graf for second place by 14 wins. Blevins’ record currently has 1,204 wins. Graf retired after a 24-year career at Florida State, recording 1,218 victories.

Weil Getting Close to Records ? Senior Brittany Weil is close to becoming Iowa’s all-time strikeout and wins leader.

Weil is just 37 strikeouts and 14 wins away from breaking both records. She also ranks among Iowa’s career leaders in complete games (3rd), innings pitched (4th), games pitched (T-4th) and shutouts (5th).

Weil Drafted ? Senior pitcher Brittany Weil was one of 25 NCAA softball seniors chosen in the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) Draft Feb. 17. Weil, who wears No. 7 at Iowa, was drafted by the Akron Rachers as the seventh overall pick in the draft (second pick of the second round).

Weil, who will join the Racers once the Hawkeyes finish their 2009 season, is the fourth Hawkeye to play in the NPF, and the third since 2005 to be drafted. Stacy May and Emily Nichols were both selected in the second round of the NPF Draft by the Chicago Bandits in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Kristin Johnson was also a member of the Akron Racers from 2003-07.

McGlaughlin Up For CLASS Award ? Senior Colleen McGlaughlin is one of 30 softball student athletes nationally to be nominated for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

The award, which stands for “Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School,” focuses on the total student-athlete. To be eligible, student-athletes must have notable accomplishments in four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community and competition.

The list of 30 candidates will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the softball season. Ballots will then be distributed through a nationwide voting system and the award winner will be recognized at the 2009 NCAA Women’s College World Series.

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