UP NEXT
The University of Iowa softball team travels to San Diego, California, for the Torero Classic. The Hawkeyes open with matchups against South Dakota State and DePaul on Friday at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. respectively. They then face UC Riverside at4 p.m. and San Diego at 9 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Oregon State at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
NLSN ALL-Tourney Team
Sophomore Grace Banes and freshman Tristin Doster were named to the 2022 Northern Lights/Southern Nights Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Doster, a Fort Dodge, Iowa, native hit .459 on the weekend while slugging .857. In Iowa’s win over Liberty the freshman hit her first career grand slam. She tallied six RBIs and scored three runs.
Banes, a Kansas City, Kansas, native hit .429 while slugging .615 in the Hawkeyes’ four games. She notched an RBI in each game. In total she had five RBIs and scored four runs.
Roster Breakdown
Seven Hawkeyes hail from Iowa, seven from California, three from Indiana, two from Missouri, and one from Kansas, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. The roster is comprised of nine freshmen, seven sophomores, three juniors and three seniors. There are 11 returning letterwinners and 11 newcomers.
Transferring in
The Hawkeyes added two transfers for the 2022 season. Senior Breanna Vasquez comes to the Hawkeyes from Central Florida. Vasquez appeared in 51 games over three seasons for the Knights. Vasquez has a career 2.16 ERA and 19-11 record. Junior Sophia Maras comes to the Hawkeyes from DMACC after being named the 2021 NFCA Player of the Year. She led the NJCAA in six major offensive categories (including runs (105), hits (117), home runs (29), RBI (92), total bases (234), and walks (40).
Scouting SDSU
Head Coach Krista Wood enters her seventh season at SDSU. SDSU has a .331 on base percentage and slugging percentage of .471 in 2022. Sophomore infielder Lindsay Culver ranks third nationally in doubles, putting up four this season. Sophomore pitcher Tori Kniesche ranks first in the Summit League conference in strikeouts, totaling 17.
Scouting DePaul
Head Coach Tracie Adix-Zins enters her fourth season at the helm of DePaul softball. Their four wins hail from defeating Valparaiso, Western Michigan, St. Thomas and Murray State. Former Iowa pitcher Sarah Lehman now pitches for the Blue Devils. She holds a 2-0 record with 15 strikeouts. DePaul totes a batting average of .330. Sophomore third baseman Nicole Sullivan has an RBI total of seven this season.
SCOUTING UC Riverside
Head coach Nikki Palmer is entering her sixth season at UC Riverside. UC Riverside has a batting average of .255 and a slugging percentage of .398. UC Riverside finished the 2021 season with a record of 7-26. Eighty percent of their team returns from last season, with the addition of four freshmen.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
MJ Knighten is entering her second season as the head coach of the Toreros. She is also the youngest active NCAA D1 coach and the first black female head coach for USD Athletics. The Toreros put up a record of 13-29 in 2021. San Diego hits a batting average of .266 and a slugging percentage of .353.
SCOUTING OREGON STATE
Laura Berg is entering her tenth season as the head coach of the Beavers. Oregon State put up a record of 20-26 in the 2021 season, with a conference record of 7-17. The team has an overall batting percentage of .331 with a slugging percentage of .592.
PLAYING THE BEST
The Hawkeyes face 10 different teams that made the NCAA tournament in 2021. Eastern Kentucky, Liberty, Kentucky, South Dakota State, Wichita State, defending national champion Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa State, Northwestern, and Northern Iowa.
PROGRAM RECORD IN 2021
Iowa won a program-record 26 conference games in 2021. The previous record was 22 wins in 1997.
EVERYDAY STARTER
The Hawkeyes return three players who started every game a season ago for the Hawkeyes. Grace Banes, Nia Carter, and Riley Sheehy started all 44 games for the Hawkeyes.
B1G BATS ARE BACK
The Hawkeyes return 86 percent of their hits, 84 percent of their home runs, and 84 percent of their RBIs from 2021.
ALL-BIG TEN
The Hawkeyes return two players who received Big Ten Honors. Loecker was named second team All-Big Ten. Loecker and Brylee Klosterman were both named to the All-Freshman team.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Hawkeyes compiled a 10-6 record at Pearl Field in 2021. Under Renee Gillispie the Hawkeyes are 18-16 at home (since 2019).
TOUGH OUT
Junior Nia Carter returns for the Hawkeyes. In 2021, she ranked as the toughest batter to strikeout in the Big Ten (23.7 K Average). She ranked 38th in the country.
MOVE ‘EM OVER
Senior Riley Sheehy returns after being ranked 54th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten in sacrifice bunts per game (0.20) in 2021.
DON’T RUN ON THE HAWKS
The Hawkeyes tied for 11th in the country in 2021 with 17 runners caught stealing. They trailed only Rutgers and Boston College for most among power five schools. The Hawkeyes ranked first in the Big Ten with a stolen base allowed percentage of .685. Marissa Peek caught eight attempted base stealers.