July 27, 2009
IOWA CITY – Former Hawkeyes Melissa Stuber, Natalie Johnson and Stephanie Ackerson were recently inducted into the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Hall of Fame. The induction took place during the Iowa Girls High School State Softball Tournament, held in Fort Dodge.
Stuber, who lettered at Iowa from 1998-01, was a two-time elite all-state honoree while at Cedar Falls High School. She was also a four-time all-conference and all-city selection, and was named the 1996 Mississippi Valley Player of the Year after leading the state in batting average (.564) and hits (93). She also led the state in batting average in 1995 (.607).
While at Iowa, Stuber played in 201 career games with 126 starts, playing first base, second base, third base and right field.
Johnson played at Iowa from 2003-05, and attended Burlington High School. She was a two-time elite all-state pick, but was forced to sit out her senior year of high school after suffering a serious knee injury. She had a school-record 48-game hitting streak that spanned her sophomore and junior seasons, and collected a school-record 86 hits as a junior. Johnson was also a two-time first team all-conference, all-Hawkeye Land and all-district pick while in high school.
Johnson continued her success at Iowa in the outfield, and was a first team all-Big Ten selection in 2004 as a redshirt sophomore. She appeared in 60 games, starting 56 during 2004, and led the team with a .314 batting average and a .509 slugging percentage. Johnson also led the Hawkeyes with 40 runs scored and five home runs.
Ackerson played high school softball at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines before lettering at Iowa from 2005-07. While at Dowling, Ackerson was named the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2004, and was a three-time all-state selection. She was also named the Pitcher of the Year in the Iowa High School State Tournament in 2003, and named captain of the state all-tournament team in 2004.
Ackerson played in 156 games with 122 starts as a Hawkeye. She was a two-time academic all-Big Ten honoree, and also threw a five-inning no-hitter in the first game of the 2007 season against Howard. Ackerson both pitched and played first base, and was named the team’s Gold Glove award winner in 2006 after committing only one error in 334 chances.