Hawkeyes Open B1G Play at Indiana

March 23, 2016

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa softball team opens Big Ten play in Bloomington, Indiana, this weekend. The Hawkeyes begin a three-game set with the Hoosiers with a 5 p.m. (CT) contest on Friday. The series continues with a 12 p.m. (CT) game on Saturday, and concludes with an 11 a.m. (CT) contest on Sunday.

WATCH IT LIVE
All three games will be streamed live online via BTN Plus. To see if your cable package gives you access to BTN Plus contest, sign up for BTN Plus or learn more about it, visit btn2go.com.

LISTEN/FOLLOW ALONG
Live audio is available on Hawkeye All-Access at hawkeyesports.com. Play-by-play annoucer Austin Bramley will call the action. Live stats are also available on the softball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
For an inside look at the Iowa softball program and access to exclusive coverage, follow @IowaSoftball on Twitter and “like” the official page on Facebook, facebook.com/iowahawkeyessoftball.

SCOUTING INDIANA
•Indiana owns a 16-10 record on the season.
•Three Hoosiers are hitting above .300 this season, including: sophomore outfielder Rebecca Blitz (.367), junior utility Erin Lehman (.308), and sophomore utility Aimilia McDonough (.306).
•Freshman right hander Tara Trainer (8-6) and freshman southpaw Josie Wood (8-4) each have eight wins in the circle for the Hoosiers. Trainer leads the team with a 1.89 ERA in 81.1 innings, while Wood owns a 2.58 ERA in 84.0 innings.
•The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers have faced three common opponents this season. Indiana beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6-2, on Feb. 27, and edged out UIC, 3-2, on March 18. The Hoosiers host Indiana State for a nonconference match-up on Wednesday afternoon.

THE SERIES
•The Hawkeyes own a 62-36-1 advantage in the all-time series.
•The teams last met in 2014. Iowa won the three-game series, 2-1, in Bloomington, Indiana.

IN THE RANKINGS – B1G
Four Big Ten teams appear in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Division I Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll released on March 8. No. 2 Michigan and No. 22 Minnesota are ranked within the top 25, while Ohio State (23) and Nebraska (12) are receiving votes.

TAKING ON THE BEST
•Seven of Iowa’s 2016 opponents are coming off a 2015 NCAA Tournament appearance. •Iowa is scheduled to play 15 games against those opponents this season.
•The teams include: Louisville, Texas, Nebraska, Northwestern, Missouri, Indiana State, and Minnesota.

22 STRAIGHT
Junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey has reached base successfully in 22 straight games. The Park Ridge, Illinois, native leads the team in runs scores (21), triples (3), home runs (4), RBIs (17), total bases (47), slugging percentage (.671), on base percentage (.473), walks (14), and stolen bases (8).

.300+
Five Hawkeyes are hitting .300 or better on the season. Freshman Mallory Kilian leads the team with a .359 clip. Sophomore Katy Taylor (.333), senior Haley Hansel (.333), redshirt junior Sammi Gyerman (.319), and junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey (.314) are all hitting above .300.

KILIAN COMES THROUGH IN HONOLULU
•Freshman Mallory Kilian led the team with a .333 clip in five games at the Rainbow Wahine Classic from March 16-19.
•Kilian plated the game-winning run with a single up the middle against Texas on March 16.
•The Fort Dodge, Iowa, native recorded her second home run of the season against Hawaii on March 18. The blast tied the game in the top of the seventh inning.

POWER SURGE
After registering 11 extra-base hits in all of 2015, junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey has hit 14 in just 24 games this season. The Park Ridge, Illinois, native leads the team in home runs (4) and triples (3), and ranks second on the team in doubles (7) this season.

SUCCESS IN THE CIRCLE
•Iowa posted a team ERA of 1.21 in five games at the Rainbow Wahine Classic from March 16-19.
•Elizabeth Wiegand posted a 0.55 ERA over 12.2 innings in Honolulu. The junior allowed just one earned run and did not surrender a free pass in that span. She was credited with the complete-game shutout win over Texas on March 16.
•Redshirt junior Shayla Starkenburg posted a 1.87 ERA over 15.0 innings in Hawaii, while sophomore Ashley Yoways registered a 1.75 ERA over four innings.
•Freshman Erin Riding and Starkenburg combined for a two-hit shutout against Hawaii on March 19. Each hurler surrendered one hit in the contest.

INCREASED SPEED
•After stealing 18 bags in all of 2015, Iowa has swiped 33 bases in 24 games this season. •Iowa is 33-for-38 on the base paths this season.
•Junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey leads the team with eight stolen bases, while junior Claire Fritsch and sophomore Katy Taylor each have six.

TAYLOR SHOWS SPEED
•Katy Taylor is 5-for-6 in stolen bases this season.
•The sophomore transfer has stolen two bases in one game two times this season (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 14 and Lipscomb on Feb. 20).
•The Owasso, Oklahoma, native has registered 23 hits on the season. Sixteen of her 23 hits are infield singles.

OFFENSIVE JUMP
The Hawkeyes have enjoyed a jump offensively from 2015 to 2016 under first-year hitting coach Jake Schumann. The Hawkeyes have improved in each of the following categories (2016 mark-2015 mark) through the first 24 games of the season:
•Runs Scored: 95-81
•Triples: 4-1
•Home Runs: 9-7
•Walks: 78-47
•Strikeouts: 109-128
•On Base Percentage: .346-.320
•At-Bats: 637-594
•Hits: 159-150
•Total Bases: 222-207

AROUND THE BIG TEN
•Hawkeye pitchers have struck out 49 batters looking this season — the second most in the Big Ten. •Iowa ranks fifth and sixth in the conference in stolen bases (33) and steal attempts (38), respectively. •The Hawkeyes rank seventh in the conference with 78 walks.
•Iowa is tied for eighth in the Big Ten in triples (4).
•Junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey is tied for second in the Big Ten with three triples.
•Mullarkey also ranks seventh in slugging percentage (.671), 10th in on-base percentage (.473), 14th in total bases (47), and is tied for third in hit by pitches (7), eighth in walks (14), and 12th in stolen bases. •Redshirt junior Sammi Gyerman and Mullarkey rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in doubles.

SCHMIEDERER SLAM
Angela Schmiederer registered the game-winning grand slam against Lamar on March 6. The sophomore entered the game as a pinch hitter in the top of the fifth. After singling and scoring a run, Schmiederer remained in the game Iowa’s offensive player. An RBI fielder’s choice and the game-winning grand slam followed. She registered a career-high five RBIs on the afternoon.

GYERMAN HEATS UP IN TULSA
Sammi Gyerman hit .571 in four games at the Tulsa Tournament on March 5-6. The redshirt junior registered eight hits in 14 at bats. Four of her eight hits were doubles. Gyerman plated all four of Iowa’s runs in a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Lamar on March 5, including a three-run double and a walk-off sacrifice fly.

THREE’S COMPANY
Three different Hawkeyes went deep against Lamar on March 6. Senior Whitney Repole hit her first home run of the season — a solo shot — in the top of the third inning. Sophomore Angela Schmiederer registered the game-winning grand slam in the top of the seventh, while junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey capped off a sixth-run seventh inning with a two-run blast.

SIX-RUN SEVENTH LEADS HAWKEYES TO VICTORY
Tied 8-8 going into the seventh inning, the Hawkeyes plated six runs to earn a 14-8 victory over Lamar on March 6. Sophomore Angela Schmiederer hit the game-winning grand slam, while junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey added a two-run blast in the inning.

STARTERS RETURNING
The Hawkeyes return 16 letterwinners, eight starters, and three pitchers from a team that finished 19-40 overall, and 8-15 in the Big Ten last season. Sophomores Allie Wood, Cheyenne Pratt, and Sarah Kurtz, juniors Kaitlyn Mullarkey and Claire Fritsch, redshirt junior Sammi Gyerman, and seniors Holly Hoffman and Erin Erickson each spent time in the starting lineup last season. Redshirt junior Shayla Starkenburg started 38 games in the circle and led the Hawkeyes in every pitching category last season.

THE DUGOUT
The Hawkeyes re-launched their blog, The Dugout, for the 2016 season. The blog will reach out to fans and provide them with the opportunity to connect with the student-athletes, coaches, and staff who work hard every day to make the Hawkeye softball program a success. The Dugout aims to deliver unique insight into the lives of the Iowa softball team. Each week, The Dugout will feature a different softball student-athlete. To see the latest post, visit hawkeyesports.com.

NEWCOMERS
•Junior transfer Elizabeth Wiegand joins the team after spending two seasons with UT Martin. Wiegand appeared in 26 games with 21 starts for the Skyhawks in 2015. She led UT Martin in ERA (2.94), wins (12), appearances (26), starts (21), complete games (16), shutouts (3), innings pitched (135.2), and strikeouts (63) as a sophomore.
•Sophomore transfer Katy Taylor joins the Hawkeyes after spending a season at Labette Community College. Taylor helped the Cardinals to a 38-16 overall record and a Region VI Championship. She led the nation in stolen bases (89) and paced the Cardinals in hits (76), doubles (10), triples (3), walks (21), batting average (.435), and on base percentage (.485).
•Freshmen Erin Riding (pitcher), Mallory Kilian (pitcher/utility), and Brooke Rozier (catcher/utility) will all make their Hawkeye debuts in 2016.

STAFF UPDATES
•Jake Schumann joined the Iowa softball staff on Aug. 5, 2015. Schumann will handle the Hawkeye offense. He joins the staff after spending last season as the associate head coach at Ole Miss. He has also served as the head coach at Florida International (2011-14), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2007-11), Texas A&M-Kingsville (2003-07), and Carl Albert State College (2001-03).
•Former Hawkeye Rachel West is Iowa’s new volunteer assistant coach. West appeared in 202 games for the Hawkeyes from 2005-09. The Burlington, Iowa, native still stands as one of the best base stealers in program history. West swiped 86 bags during her four-year career — a mark that ranks fourth in program history.
•Sharon Palma is in her first year as the director of operations for the Iowa softball program. The Grand Rapids, Michigan, native came to Iowa after spending the 2014 season as an assistant coach at Ole Miss. A former professional pitcher for the Carolina Diamonds in the National Pro Fastpitch League, Palma has also spent time as an assistant coach at Florida International (2014) and IUPUI (2013), and a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan State (2012).

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). Iowa holds a 1278-809-5 (.612) record in 38 seasons.

SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets are now available for the 2016 Iowa softball regular season. Reserved seats are available for $20, while general admission season tickets are $15, and faculty and staff tickets are $12. Single game tickets are also available for $5. Youth, ages 18 and younger, can attend games free of charge.

To purchase season tickets, visit the UI Athletics Ticket Office inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, call 1-800-IA-HAWKS, or visit hawkeyesports.com.

ON DECK
The Hawkeyes open their home slate with a midweek game against in-state rival Drake on March 30. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. (CT) from Bob Pearl Field.

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