THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa softball travels to College Park for a three-game series at the Maryland Softball Stadium. Friday’s game begins at 5 p.m. (CT). Saturday’s match is set for 1 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is slated to start at 11 a.m. All three games will be streamed on B1G+ ($). Jerry Kiwala will have the call for the Hawkeye Radio Network which can be heard on YouTube.
VS MARYLAND
| Maryland’s Record | 15-15 |
| Series History | Maryland leads, 7-6 |
| First Meeting | 3/4/99, Iowa, 3-0 |
| Last Meeting | 3/14/21, Iowa, 4-3 (8) |
| Head Coach | Mark Montgomery |
| Venue | Maryland Softball Stadium |
WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW LIVE
All three games will be streamed live via B1G+, a paid subscription service. The radio broadcast can be heard on the Hawkeye Radio Network. Fans can follow along for live updates via Twitter @IowaSoftball.
SETTING REORDS
Nia Carter tied a school record with five hits against Houston (3/18). She went 5-for-5 on the day to match Christy Herbert (1995), Brandi Macias (1996), and Liz Watkins (2012).
B1G KID STATS
Nia Carter ranks second in the Big Ten and 23rd in the nation in batting average (.457). She is second in the Big Ten in hits (41) and second in on base percentage (.515).
Carter ranks 22nd among active DI players with at least 250 career at bats with a .387 batting average.
MARCH MADNESS
Carter hit .442 with seven runs scored and seven RBIs in the month of March.
She had a .482 OBP and a .944 OPS.
DOING IT ALL
Denali Loecker has started the season 9-4 in the circle with a 2.67 ERA. Loecker also has four home runs and 14 RBIs.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Head coach Mark Montgomery enters his third season at the helm of the Maryland program. Last weekend Maryland opened its conference play against Penn State, finishing the weekend 2-1. Maryland has put up two wins against ranked opponents, #24 Liberty, and #17 Missouri. Maryland ranks second in the Big Ten conference in stolen bases per game (2.27).
TERRAPIN STAT LEADERS
AVG – Mackense Greico (.366)
H – Megan Mikami (31)
HR – Mackense Greico (4)
RBI – Mackense Greico (18)
SB – Jaeda McFarland & Ruby Butler (9)
ERA – Courtney Wyche (3.50)
W – Trinity Schlotterbeck (7)
HITTING #900
Head coach Renee Gillispie won her 900th career game on Feb. 27 against Cornell. Gillispie ranks 19th among active coaches in D1 and 38th all-time in total wins (907).
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.
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.
The Hawkeyes are 3-3 in those games.
TGIF
In the 11 games that the Hawkeyes have played on a Friday this season they have an 8-3 record.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
Iowa has a 14-0 record when tallying more hits than it’s opponents. The Hawkeyes are 12-1 when holding their opponent to two runs or less. Iowa is 15-2 when not allowing a home run to opposing batters.
TAKE A LEAD AND KEEP IT
The Hawkeyes have a 13-2 record when they score before their opponents. Iowa is 14-2 when leading after the fourth inning. The Hawkeyes have scored a total of 78 runs and average 2.68 runs in the first four innings.
EVERYDAY STARTER
The Hawkeyes return three players who started every game a season ago. Grace Banes, Nia Carter, and Riley Sheehy started all 44 games for the Hawkeyes.
Carter, and Brylee Klosterman have started every game for the Hawkeyes so far this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Hawkeyes compiled a 10-6 record at Pearl Field in 2021. Iowa is 431-222-1 all time at Pearl Field.
PROGRAM RECORD IN 2021
Iowa won a program-record 26 conference games in 2021. The previous record was 22 wins in 1997.
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.
TRANSFERING 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. 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).