April 22, 2014
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PLAY BALL
University of Iowa softball travels to Ames, Iowa for the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series contest against rival Iowa State. The game is set to begin at 4 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday, April 23.FOLLOW ALONG
UI softball fans can follow along with the game through live audio available on the softball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com. Play-by-play announcer Rob Brooks will call the action. A link to live stats is also available on the softball schedule page. For in-game updates, follow @IowaSoftball on Twitter and “like” Iowa Hawkeyes Softball on Facebook.SERIES HISTORY
? Iowa leads Iowa State in all-time meetings, 32-28-1.
? The Hawkeyes have won four of the last five meetings, including last season’s game, 8-3, at Pearl Field on May 1, 2013.
? The Cyclones last defeated Iowa on April 18, 2012 by one run, 4-3.IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES HISTORY
? The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series began in 2004-05 and is in its 10th season.
? Iowa State leads the 2013-14 series, 13-10. The softball game will be the final competition between the schools this season.
? The Hawkeyes defeated the Cyclones in women’s soccer, football, wrestling and women’s swimming and diving. Iowa fell to Iowa State in volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s basketball, men’s basketball and women’s gymnastics. Academic points have yet to be awarded.
? Iowa has won the series five times, while Iowa State has won it on four occasions.CYCLONE FORECAST
Big 12 Conference member and Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series rival Iowa State owns an overall record of 20-22 and a conference mark of 1-8. The roster is comprised of five freshmen, two sophomores, six juniors and five seniors. Ninth-year head coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler leads the Cyclones, and she is assisted by Lindsey Ubrun and Brittany Weil-Miller. Six starters have batting averages above .300 including, Brittany Gomez (.403), Aly Cappaert (.377), Lexi Slater (.368), Rachel Hartman (.364), Jorden Spendlove (.339) and Sarah Hawryluk (.333). Pitcher Katie Johnson has a team-high 17-15 record, 3.90 ERA, 33 appearances, 31 starts, 19 complete games, four shutouts, 185.0 innings pitched and 126 strikeouts.A FAMILIAR FACE
Cyclone assistant coach Brittany Weil-Miller played collegiate softball at the University of Iowa from 2006-09. She is the most recent Hawkeye All-American, as the pitcher earned NFCA Second Team honors in 2009. Weil-Miller continued to play softball following graduation for the Akron Races (NPF) from 2009-10. She was the team’s second pick of the second round.Wiel-Miller is a nine-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, three-time Iowa MVP and one-time NFCA National Pitcher of the Week who threw five career no-hitters, including a perfect game. She ended her Iowa career ranked first in games pitched (183), innings pitched (1,011.2), complete games (110) and strikeouts (1,083). She is also tied for first in career wins (99) and tied for third in career shutouts (40).
LAST WEDNESDAY
The Hawkeyes topped No. 13/15 Missouri twice in front of their home crowd at Pearl Field on Wednesday, April 16. Iowa used a three-run second inning to pull ahead of the Tigers, 3-1, and were able to hold Missouri scoreless in the remainder of the game to collect its second win over a ranked team this season. Kayla Massey recorded the complete game win in the circle. She held the Tiger offense to four hits and one run. Brianna Luna drove in two runs, while Whitney Repole plated one.Iowa battled back-and-forth with Missouri in game two and came out on top with a 13-9 final victory. The Hawkeyes used season-highs in runs scored (13), RBIs (13), home runs (2) and doubles (6) to earn the sweep and their third win over a ranked program of the season. Kaitlyn Mullarkey was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and her first career home run. She drove in the first runs of her career, collecting four RBIs. Whitney Repole went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double. She drove in three runs. Eight of nine Hawkeye starters recorded a hit in the win. Micaela Whitney recorded the win in the circle. She threw the final 2.1 innings in relief and limited the Tigers to one hit and one earned run.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Junior Megan Blank owned the top spot with an Iowa career batting average of .413 prior to the start of the 2014 season. She is currently ninth in career doubles (39), tied for 10th in career triples (10), 11th in career RBI (106) and 16th in career home runs (14). Senior Kayla Massey is also ranked in several career categories. She is fifth in complete games (82), seventh in innings pitched (693.2), eighth in appearances (125), ninth in wins (51) and strikeouts (413) and 16th in home runs (14).IN PURSUIT OF 100
Fourth-year head coach Marla Looper has a career coaching record of 97-99 (.495). She is just three wins from achieving her 100th win as a head coach. Seniors Brianna Luna, Kayla Massey and Michelle Zoeller and Looper’s coaching staff of Adrianna Baggetta, Stacy May-Johnson and Chelsey Carmody have been a part of each one of her career wins. Iowa recorded 27 wins in 2011, 27 wins in 2012, and added 30 wins in 2013. The team’s 30 wins last season was the highest win total since 2009 when the Hawkeyes posted a 42-19 mark.NATIONALLY SPEAKING
? As a team, Iowa ranks eighth nationally in double plays per game (0.50), 42nd in triples per game (0.24) and 99th in doubles per game (1.26).
? Alyssa Navarro is 47th in sacrifice hits per game (0.23).
? Megan Blank is 56th in triples (3) and 83rd in triples per game (0.08).CONSIDERING CONFERENCE ONLY
? Iowa is currently eighth in the Big Ten standings with a 6-11 record.
? Megan Blank leads the conference in triples (2) and assists (43). She is also third in fielding double plays (5) and seventh in hits (20).
? Kayla Massey leads the league in innings pitched (71.2). She also ranks second in looking strikeouts (20) and games started (10), fifth in opponent batting average (.236) and strikeouts (47), sixth in earned run average (2.25) and seventh in appearances (10).
? Kaitlyn Mullarkey leads the conference with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. She is also sixth in putouts (92) and ninth in chances (95).
? Claire Fritsch is fifth in sacrifice bunts (4) and assists (33), and eighth in steal attempts (5).
? Brianna Luna ranks second in total plate appearances (63) and third in at bats (55).
? Alyssa Navarro is third in sacrifice bunts (5).
? Erin Erickson is seventh in at bats (51).
? Shayla Starkenburg is eighth in looking strikeouts (10).
? Michelle Zoeller ranks second in assists (40).ON DECK
Iowa softball continues its road swing with a three-game, Big Ten series at Indiana, April 25-27. The series begins with a 4 p.m. (CT) Friday contest, continues with a 12 p.m. (CT) Saturday game and concludes with a 12 p.m. (CT) Sunday game.HAWKEYE TRADITION
Iowa has made four Women’s College World Series appearances (1995, 1996, 1997, 2001) and played in 16 NCAA Tournaments in school history. The 16 appearances are the second most in Big Ten history, and the four WCWS appearances equal the second most in conference history. The Hawkeyes have won four Big Ten Conference regular season championships (1989, 1997, 2000, 2003) and two Big Ten Tournament titles (2001, 2003).