March 9, 2011
- 2011 Iowa Softball Media Guide
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa softball team returns to action Mar. 11-13 at the Stetson Classic in DeLand, Fla. The Hawkeyes play Liberty (12:30 p.m.) and Stetson (5:30 p.m.) Friday and Liberty (10 a.m.) and Jackson State (12:30 p.m.) Saturday. The team the closes out the tournament with its championship/consolation game at either 9 or 11 a.m. Sunday.
ON THE WEB
Fans can follow the action at hawkeyesports.com, where live stats (Gametracker) will be available. The live “GT” can be found under the calendar tab on the right-hand side of the hawkeyesports.com home page, or on the softball schedule page.
LAST WEEK
The Hawkeyes went 1-4 last weekend at the DeMarini Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. Iowa split the opening day of the tournament, falling 2-1 to No. 14/16 Stanford before topping host Cal State Fullerton, 5-1. The squad then lost its last three games against No. 10/11 California (6-2), IPFW (4-0) and Murray State (7-2) in eight innings.
THE OPPONENTS
Liberty enters the weekend having won three straight contests to improve its record to 5-2. Three Flame batters are hitting over .300 on the season with Amber Depasquale being the top regular with a .375 mark. Alyssa Dimartino has a team-low 1.17 ERA, while Tiffani Smith if 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA with three complete games and one shutout. Smith has 23 strikeouts in 22.0 innings of work.
Stetson went a perfect 4-0 last weekend to win the 2011 Stetson Invitational title. Overall, the Hatters are 10-8 on the year, playing all of their games at home. Stetson has four players hitting above .300 with Jill Semento leading the way with a .348 average and 11 RBI. Camille Czarnecki is 5-3 on the mound with a 3.82 ERA, while Meredith Owen is 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA with a pair of shutouts.
Jackson State has won its last two contests to improve to 5-10 on the year. JSU plays South Alabama Wednesday prior to traveling to Florida. Prior to the two-game winning streak, the Tigers had lost five straight. Jackson State has four batters hitting above .300 with Farren Wright lead the team with a .425 average. Wright has 17 hits, six doubles, one triple and two home runs. On the mound, Breea Jamerson paces the squad with a 2-3 record and a 3.34 ERA.
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
? The Hawkeyes has only faced one of the three opponents they will play in the Stetson Classic. Iowa is 5-4 against the host Hatters, while the games against Liberty and Jackson State will be the first meetings in the all-time series.
? Jackson State was a late addition to the field when Delaware State backed out of the tournament. The Hawkeyes were slated to play the Hornets in the second game Mar. 12.
? Stetson dropped an 8-1 decision to Big Ten foe Michigan State on Feb. 11 in DeLand.
? Liberty opened the season with a 3-0 loss to Iowa State in the College of Charleston Cougar Classic.
STREAKIN’
Senior Chelsey Carmody brings a 17-game hitting streak into DeLand, Fla., this weekend. The Missouri native has four multi-hit games on the season.
Carmody has a team-best 21 hits on the year, and is pacing the squad with a .375 batting average.
WITH FOUR MORE HITS…
Senior Chelsey Carmody will become the 11th player in Iowa softball history to amass 200 career hits. She currently ranks 12th in the Hawkeye record books with 196 hits.
OCH SETTLING IN
Senior Stephanie Ochoa has provided the Hawkeyes with a lift in the middle of the batting order. The senior has three multi-hit contests in nine games, and has a .345 batting average with 10 hits in 29 at-bats.
WATKINS COMING ON
Junior Liz Watkins batted .400 last weekend at the DeMarini Invitational to go along with a .600 on-base percentage. The Illinois native delivered the big hit — a grand slam — in the 5-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton. It was Watkin’s team-leading third home run of the season and her first career grand slam.
ACTIVE ON THE BASE PATHS
The Hawkeyes are tied for third in the Big Ten Conference with 21 stolen bases on the year. Five Iowa players have three or more steals with Katie Kroeger (4-4), Johnnie Dowling (4-8) and Ashley Akers (4-4) leading the squad with four swipes apiece.
TEAM TIDBITS
? The Hawkeyes will be in the south from March 10-19. The squad will play in DeLand, Fla., from March 10-16 before closing out its spring break in Knoxville against nationally-ranked Tennessee.
? Iowa had a season-high 18 hits and tied a season-best with 11 runs in the 11-9 triumph over Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 25.
? Sophomore Chelsea Lyon posted a 2.62 earned run average last weekend in California. Lyon tallied her third win of the season in the triumph over the Cal State Fullerton.
? Freshman Kayla Massey is fifth in the Big Ten with 56 strikeouts and 10th with a 3.03 ERA.
? Sophomore Ashley Akers had her first career extra base hit — a double — in the 2-1 loss to No. 16 Stanford. She then followed it up with her first career multi-hit game against No. 10 California.
MASSEY LEADS HAWKEYE HURLERS
True freshman Kayla Massey is pacing the Hawkeyes on the mound, compiling a 5-3 record with a 3.03 ERA. The California native is limiting opposing batters to a .238 average, and she has 56 strikeouts on the year.
RIGHT THERE AGAINST RANKED FOES
The Hawkeyes dropped a pair of games to ranked foes last weekend at the DeMarini Invitational. Iowa led No. 16 Stanford 1-0 in the fifth inning before the Cardinal’s Michelle Prong connected on a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to lead her squad to the win.
A day later, Iowa led No. 10 California 2-0 after four and a half innings, but the Golden Bears erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fifth to take control of the game.
Iowa is 0-3 against ranked foes this season having also dropped a game at No. 3/4 Georgia on Feb. 12.
SUPER UTILITY
Junior Katie Keim has played four different positions for the Hawkeyes this. The Missouri native played first base, third base and second base at the Red & Black Showcase in Georgia before seeing action at shortstop in both games in Tempe.
MASSEY SHINES IN FIRST CAREER START
Freshman Kayla Massey pitched a complete game shutout in the first start of her career, a 1-0 victory over Maryland on Feb. 11. The California native scattered four hits in seven innings, while striking out nine Terrapin batters.
BLAST OFF IN OPENING AT-BAT
Jenny Schuelke opened her senior season in grand fashion, belting a three-run first inning home run on Feb. 11 against Lipscomb.
MOVIN’ ON UP
A pair of Hawkeyes are among the career statistical leaders in school history. Junior Liz Watkins is tied for seventh with 17 career home runs. Senior Chelsey Carmody is tied for 10th in triples (10), 12th with 106 career runs scored and 196 hits and 16th in career doubles (30).
TEAM CAPTAINS
Senior Chelsey Carmody and junior Katie Keim were chosen by their teammates as the team captains for the 2011 Hawkeyes.
FIVE GAMES TO BE TELEVISED ON BTN
Five Iowa softball games will be televised live on the Big Ten Network this season. Hawkeye road games at Purdue (Apr. 3), the doubleheader at Minnesota (Apr. 13) and home contests against Northwestern (Apr. 17) and Penn State (May 8) will all be broadcast live.
YOUTH DOMINATED
The Hawkeyes have a youth-filled roster in 2011, as 11 of the 16 student-athletes are underclassmen. The Iowa roster is comprised of three seniors, two juniors, six sophomores and five freshmen.
TWO-TIME ALL-BIG TEN SELECTION RETURNS
Two-time all-Big Ten selection Liz Watkins returns behind the plate for her junior season in Black and Gold. Last season, Watkins was a second team all-Big Ten selection after batting .328 with seven doubles, five triples, five home runs and 26 RBI. As a freshman, Watkins was a third team all-Big Ten honoree, hitting .331 with nine jacks and 45 RBI.
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
For the first time since 1988, the Hawkeyes will have a new head coach in charge of the Iowa softball program. Marla Looper takes over the reigns as the Hawkeye head coach, coming to Iowa City from the University of Texas, where she spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach.
During her stint in Austin, Looper helped lead the Longhorns to nine NCAA Tournament berths, four Big 12 regular season titles and a pair of Big 12 Tournament championships.
Looper served as Texas’ pitching coach from 1999-2005 and mentored softball great Cat Osterman to the USA National Player of the Year Award in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Texas’ pitching staff led the nation in earned run average in three of Looper’s final four years as pitching coach, while Osterman led the country in 2003 and 2006 in both earned run average and strikeouts per seven innings.
FORMER HAWKEYE RETURNS TO STAFF
Four-year letterwinner Stacy Johnson (formerly Stacy May) returns to the Hawkeye coaching staff after wrapping up a stellar professional player career in the National Professional Fastpitch league.
Johnson, who started every game in her Iowa career, was a three-time NFCA all-Mideast Region selection for the Hawkeyes. In 2003, she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after leading the Hawkeyes to the regular season and conference tournament titles.
FREQUENT FLIERS
The Hawkeyes will be frequent fliers prior to opening their home season at Pearl Field on March 20. Iowa will rack up nearly 7,000 frequent flier miles (6,789) with trips to Georgia, Arizona, Florida, California and Florida (a second time).
TOUGH SCHEDULE IN 2011
The Hawkeyes will play a challenging schedule in 2011, as 12 of their opponents participated in the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Two of Iowa’s foes — Tennessee and Georgia — both advanced to the 2010 Women’s College World Series.
HAWKEYE TRADITION
Iowa has made four Women’s College World Series appearances (1995, 1996, 1997, 2001) and it has played in 16 NCAA Tournaments in school history. The 16 appearances are the second most in Big Ten history.
The Hawkeyes have won four Big Ten Conference regular season championships and two Big Ten Tournament titles.