April 26, 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 returns home for a mid-week doubleheader against Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon at Pearl Field. The first game of the series is slated to begin at 3 p.m., while the finale will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one.
During the opening game of the doubleheader, the concession stand will offer $1 hot dogs and $1 drinks. Coupons will be handed out at the ticket windows to each ticketed fan. Admission to Pearl Field is $3 for adults. There is no charge for youth (high school age and younger) or UI students with a valid student ID.
LIVE STREAMING
Wednesday’s doubleheader will be streamed live at www.bigtennetwork.com via a “Student U” broadcast. Kyle Hughes and Dan Wallace will call the first game, while Mack Baker and Brendan Ferguson will call game two. Game one is slated to re-air on the Big Ten Network at 1 p.m. Thursday, while game to will be broadcast at noon on Friday.
LISTEN LIVE ONLINE
Fans can follow the Hawkeyes online via the All-Access page at hawkeyesports.com. Rob Brooks, the voice of Iowa softball, will call the action live at all home and away events for the remainder of the season. Hawkeye All-Access is a subscription service that charges $9.95 per month.
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.
FOLLOW IOWA SOFTBALL ON TWITTER
Hawkeye fans can follow the University of Iowa softball team on Twitter: @iowasoftball.
A RECAP
The Hawkeyes split a two-game series at No. 1 Michigan last weekend in Ann Arbor. Iowa won the opener, 4-2, behind a strong pitching performance by sophomore Chelsea Lyon. Lyon allowed two runs and struck out seven UM batters in the complete game. The Hawkeyes were in a prime position for a road sweep, as they entered the bottom of the seventh inning with a 2-0 lead. Michigan, however, plated three runs in its final at-bat to salvage a series split with 3-2 win.
THE OPPONENT
The Badgers enter Wednesday’s doubleheader coming off of back-to-back series splits against Minnesota and Illinois. Last weekend, Wisconsin dropped a 4-2 eight inning decision against Illinois before rebounding for a 2-1 win in Sunday’s finale. The Badgers are 24-19 overall and 4-8 in the Big Ten this season.
Wisconsin boasts a .265 team batting average on the year. Two Badger players are hitting above .300 with Jennifer Krueger leading the way with a .365 mark, while Mary Massei is batting .353. Karla Powell and Shannel Blackshear have nine and eight long balls, respectively, and the duo are tied for the team lead with 24 RBI.
Cassandra Darrah is UW’s top pitcher, posting a 13-7 overall record and a 2.68 ERA. The freshman has 15 complete games and three shutouts on the season, while striking out 96 batters in 146 innings.
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
? Iowa has dominated the all-time series against Wisconsin, posting a 37-7 record in 44 games. The Hawkeyes have won the last six meetings against the Badgers, including posting 1-0 and 14-1 (5) victories last season.
? The Badgers are in ninth place in the Big Ten with a 4-8 overall record. UW’s victories have come against Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota and Illinois. Both Penn State and Indiana swept the Badgers.
LYON TABBED AS BIG TEN PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Chelsea Lyon was tabbed as the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week April 25 after leading Iowa to a 4-2 victory over No. 1 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Broken Arrow, Okla., native struck out seven Wolverine batters in the contest, while allowing two runs on eight hits in the complete game victory. The honor is the first of Lyon’s career.
HAWKEYE BIG TEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Junior Liz Watkins was tabbed as the Big Ten Player of the Week April 18 after leading the Hawkeyes to a 3-1 record in games against Minnesota and Northwestern. The catcher finished the week with a .625 batting average with seven RBI and four runs scored.
Watkins earned the accolade the first time on March 28 after hitting .714 with six RBI and six RBI and three runs scored in Iowa’s series sweep at Ohio State. The catcher went 4-for-4 in the opener with three RBI before tallying her fifth straight hit on a three-run long ball to send Iowa to the sweep. It was Watkins’ second career honor.
Senior Stephanie Ochoa was the first Hawkeye honoree March 21 after hitting .612 to lead the Hawkeyes to a 4-2 record. The California native went 4-for-4 in a game at No. 11 Tennessee, which were a career high in hits. She then closed out the week going 5-for-6 with four runs and an RBI in the doubleheader sweep of South Dakota.
TAKING DOWN NO. 1
The Hawkeyes posted their first victory over a top-ranked team since the 2005 season when it downed No. 1 Michigan, 4-2, April 23 in Ann Arbor. It was also Iowa’s first victory over a ranked foe since the 2008 campaign when it topped No. 18 Long Beach State in the NCAA Regional in Iowa City.
HAWKEYES RECEIVING VOTES
Iowa is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. The Hawkeyes have four points, which puts them in a tie for 29th place with BYU.
It is the first time Iowa has received votes since the 2010 USA Today/NFCA Top 25 preseason poll.
TABLE SETTER
Junior Katie Keim has been a catalyst at the top of the Iowa line-up, as she is riding an eight game hitting streak. During the stretch, Keim has five mult-hit games, and she connected on her first home run of the season April 24 at No. 1 Michigan.
During the hitting streak, Keim is Iowa’s top batter, going 14-of-31 at the plate to post a .452 batting average. Her batting average has gone up 45 points from .241 to .286.
OCH’S STREAK REACHES 12
Senior Stephanie Ochoa has a hitting streak of 12 games dating back to March 27 at Ohio State. The first baseman has 18 hits in 44 at-bats during the stretch for a .409 batting average. Ochoa has four multi-hit games in the 12 games, including a 3-for-4 outing in the 4-2 win at No. 1 Michigan.
WATKINS MATCHES CAREER HIGH
Junior Liz Watkins matched her career high in home runs when she belted her eighth and ninth jacks of the season in the 9-7 victory over Northwestern on April 17. The catcher, who is tied for eighth in the Big Ten in homers, also hit nine long balls during her freshman season in 2009.
Watkins’ nine home runs are tied for the seventh most in a single season in school history. Emily Nichols holds the top two totals (16/12), while a quartet of individuals are tied for third with 10.
BIG INNING HAWKEYES
Iowa plated eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to rally from a 7-1 deficit to beat Northwestern, 9-7, on April 17. The Hawkeyes scored the eight runs despite coming up with just two hits in the inning. It was the most runs for the team since plating nine at Wisconsin last season.
Iowa has plated five or more runs in seven innings this season. The eight runs are a high for a single inning, while the squad has scored six runs on three occasions (vs. Idaho State, vs. South Dakota, vs. Michigan State).
SWEEP YOU VERY MUCH
The Hawkeyes have posted three series sweeps in Big Ten Conference play. Iowa opened league play with a road sweep at Ohio State before doing the same in home se.ries over Michigan State and Northwestern. It was the Hawkeyes’ first sweep over Northwestern since the 2004 season.
GUNNIN’ EM DOWN
Junior Liz Watkins has thrown out 16 base runners this season, which is the most in the Big Ten. In the series against Northwestern, the catcher gunned down three Wildcat base runners. Entering the weekend, NU had been caught only three times the entire season (67-70).
LYON HURLS A ONE-HITTER
Sophomore Chelsea Lyon pitched one of the best games of her Hawkeye career in leading Iowa to a 2-1 victory at Minnesota on Wednesday evening. The Oklahoma native allowed a single hit – a third inning solo home run – in the complete game victory.
In the doubleheader against the Golden Gophers, Lyon pitched 9.1 innings in the circle, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts.
BATS EMERGE AT PEARL
The Hawkeyes erupted for 17 hits in the 9-8 victory over Michigan State in the series finale at Pearl Field. The 17 hits were the most for the team since Feb. 25 (at FGCU – 18 hits) and the second most for the squad in a game this season. The hit total are also the most in a conference game.
GAINING THE EARLY ADVANTAGE
The Hawkeyes have jumped on opponents early in games this season, out scoring the opposition 42-22 in the first inning alone. Iowa has gone on to post an 22-7 record when scoring first.
WATKINS GETS 100TH CAREER RBI
Junior Liz Watkins’ 100th career RBI was one she won’t soon forget. After all, it came in the unlikeliest of fashions in the 2-1 road win at Minnesota. Iowa’s power-hitting catcher pushed a bunt in between the third baseman and pitcher, allowing Stephanie Ochoa to cross the plate for what turned out to be the game-winning run.
Watkins, who has 35 RBI this season, has 11 multiple RBI games this season, which includes four three-RBI and one four-RBI game. The Illinois native is the 11th player in Iowa history with at least 100 RBI, ranking 10th with 106 driven in.
TEAM TIDBITS
? The Hawkeyes are a perfect 7-0 in the friendly confines of Pearl Field this season.
? Senior Jenny Schuelke hit her fourth and fifth home runs in back-to-back games against Iowa State and Michigan. She now has 15 career long balls.
? Senior Chelsey Carmody has hit safely in 36-of-41 games this season. The shortstop, who had a 25-game hitting streak to start the season, has a team-leading 13 multi-hit games. Carmody missed the Michigan State series due to personal reasons.
? Junior Liz Watkins has caught every inning and every pitch at the catcher position this season. She and fellow junior Katie Keim are the only two Hawkeyes to start every game.
? Senior Stephanie Ochoa is seventh in the Big Ten with a .413 batting average.
? Iowa is aggressive on the base paths, as the squad has 57 stolen bases on the season, which are fourth most in the Big Ten.
? Iowa batters have been plunked 32 times this season. Junior Liz Watkins overtook Johnnie Dowling for the team high (10) after being hit three times April 16 against Northwestern.
? The Hawkeyes are batting .272 as a team with runners in scoring position.
? Sophomore Chelsea Lyon has gone the distance to register complete games in 13 of her last 16 starts.
? Freshman Kayla Massey has allowed four hits or fewer in seven starts this season. Massey has 12 complete games and three shutouts on her resume.
IN THE CIRCLE
Iowa’s two pitchers — Kayla Massey and Chelsea Lyon — have shared the duties in the circle this season. Massey is pacing the team with a 2.91 ERA, while posting an 12-7 record with 13 complete games and three shutouts. Lyon, meanwhile, is 14-10 on the rubber with a 3.29 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 140.1 innings.
Massey tossed a four hitter with nine strikeouts in her first collegiate start against Maryland on Feb. 11 in Georgia.
WATKINS TIES ASSISTANT COACH
Junior Liz Watkins tied assistant coach Stacy (May) Johnson on the Iowa career home runs list with her two long balls against Northwestern on April 17. Watkins now has 23 career home runs, which is tied for fourth in the record books. Watkins is two long balls shy of moving into sole possession of third place all-time, trailing only Colleen McGlaughlin (24), Alicia Gerlach (29) and Emily Nichols (37).
3 HAWKEYES, 4 HITS
Three different Hawkeye players have posted perfect 4-for-4 games at the plate this season. Chelsey Carmody accomplished the feat against Liberty on March 12 in Florida, Stephanie Ochoa went 4-for-4 at No. 11 Tennessee, and Liz Watkins went 4-for-4 in the Big Ten opening win at Ohio State.
MULTI-HIT HAWKEYES
Eleven different Iowa players have tallied at least one multi-hit game this season. Senior Chelsey Carmody leads the squad with 13 multi-hit games, including three contests with at least three hits. Katie Keim and Stephanie Ochoa both have 12 multi-hit games, while Liz Watkins has 10 on the year.
HAWKEYES WIN STETSON CLASSIC
Iowa posted a 4-1 record to win the round robin formatted Stetson Classic Mar. 11-13 in DeLand, Fla. After opening the tournament with a loss to Liberty, the Hawkeyes won four straight games, including beating Liberty, 4-3, in the championship game.
MOVIN’ ON UP
A pair of Hawkeyes are among the career statistical leaders in school history. Below is the breakdown.
Liz Watkins
t4th – Home runs – 23
10th – RBI – 106
Chelsey Carmody
6th – Hits – 228
7th – Runs – 125
8th – Batting Average – .340
9th – At-bats – 671
t10th – Triples – 10
12th – Doubles – 33
TEAM CAPTAINS
Senior Chelsey Carmody and junior Katie Keim were chosen by their teammates as the team captains for the 2011 Hawkeyes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.