Notes: Hawkeyes Head to Texas for the Lion Invitational

THIS WEEK

The University of Iowa softball team travels to Commerce, Texas to compete in the Lion Invitational. The Hawkeyes will play Abilene Christian and East Texas A&M on Friday and Saturday, followed by SIUE on Sunday.

WATCH/FOLLOW LIVE

Both games against East Texas A&M will be on ESPN+, the remaining three will be streamed for free, linked on hawkeyesports.com. Fans can follow along for live updates via Twitter @IowaSoftball.

LAST TIME OUT

The Hawkeyes opened the 2025 season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic where they went 2-3 with wins over Kennesaw State and Marshall. All three of Iowa’s losses came to top-25 teams. Iowa was led offensively by senior Tatianna Roman and junior Tory Bennett who hit .500 and .385, respectively. Junior Jalen Adams picked up both wins and had a 0.00 ERA in 14.0 innings pitched. She had a career-high 10 strikeouts against Kennesaw State to open the season. Freshmen Allyssa Ramos, Brianna Johnson, Arlette Caravaca, Talia Tretton and Sofia Elliott all made their collegiate debuts. Roman was named to the all- tournament team.

SCOUTING ABILENE CHRISTIAN

Head Coach Jo Koons enters her first season leading the Wildcats. This will be the ACU Wildcats 12th season at the NCAA Division I level. The Wildcats lost the bulk of their offense from last year’s team that finished 16-32 overall (8-18 and 9th in the Western Athletic Conference). In the Wildcats opening weekend, they were led offensively by freshman Taylor Haywood who hit .417 with three RBIs. In the circle, senior Lina Russo had two starts and finished the weekend with a 3.77 ERA in 13.0 innings of work.

Scouting EAST TEXAS A&M

Head Coach Brittany Miller enters her third season at the helm of the Lions. Miller was a pitcher at the University of Iowa, earning the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year award twice and being named to National Fastpitch Coaches Association Second Team All-America. The Lions went 9-45 overall last season and 2-22 in Southland Conference play. In the opening weekend, Emma Rodrigues led the Lions hitting .500 with one home run. Kate Houser in the circle had a 2.33 ERA in two starts and picked up 14 strikeouts.

Scouting SIUE

Head Coach Ben Sorden is in his third season at the helm of SIUE softball. SIUE finished last season with a 19-35 record and a 10-17 record in Ohio Valley Conference play in 2025. The Cougars feature seven seniors and seven true freshmen on the 2025 roster. SIUE will face fellow Big Ten opponent Rutgers in the Lions Invitational before playing Iowa in their final Sunday game. The Cougars had five hitters hit over .300 in their opending weekedn. Former Hawkeyes Anna and Emma Henderson are both seniors on the Cougars roster. Emma went 2-1 in the circle opening weekend with a 1.24 ERA with 10 strikeouts.

UP NEXT

Iowa heads to Miami, Florida Feb. 21-22 for the FIU Panther Invitational hosted by FIU. The Hawkeyes will face Lafayette and FIU twice on Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.