Notes: at Maryland

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa softball travels to College Park, Maryland to take on the Maryland Terrapins in a three game series at the Terrapin Softball Complex. Game one will be Friday at 5pm CT, game two will be Saturday at 1pm CT, and game three will be Sunday at 11am CT.

LAST TIME OUT
The University of Iowa softball team fell to No. 20/21 Nebraska on Friday afternoon in game one of the three-game series at Bob Pearl Field, 12-0, in 5 innings. The Hawkeyes fell again in game two, 14-1, on Saturday afternoon.

Iowa upset Nebraska on Sunday afternoon in the finale of the three-game series. The Hawkeyes defeated to the Cornhuskers, 5-2. Junior Jalen Adams (16-5) got the start in the circle for Iowa. In her 19th start of the season, Adams threw her 11th complete game, fanning seven and walking two. Three different Hawkeyes registered a hit, with Sophomore Jena Young leading the way offensively going 3-for-3. Freshman Talia Tretton went 1-for-2 picking up two RBIs.

The Hawkeyes fell in their midweek match up against Illinois State, 2-1, in 10 innings on Tuesday afternoon.

SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
Head Coach Lauren Karn is in her second season at the helm of the Terrapins. Maryland is currently 3-10 in conference play, and on a seven-game losing streak. The Terrapins enter the contest coming off a series loss top Indiana in Bloomington, falling 20-10, 2-0, and 6-3. Two of Maryland's Big Ten wins came against Rutgers 11-7 and 4-1, and one to Purdue, 8-1. Sophomore LHP/outfielder Julia Shearer has the most starts in the circle for the Terrapins. Shearer has a 5.76 ERA and 12 starts on the season. Sophomore outfielder Bailey Muphy leads the way for Maryland in batter, posting a .350 average on the season. Murphy has started in 31 games and played in 34 so far this season. The Terrapins are second in the Big Ten in double plays with 16 (37th nationally).

IN THE B1G LEAGUES

• Redshirt junior catcher Desiree Rivera leads the conference and is ranked 19th nationally in runners caught stealing with 11 runners caught.
• Ace junior RHP Jalen Adams is second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally in victories (16). Adams also is second in the conference in innings pitched (130), and 11th nationally.
• Sophomore Jena Young is tied for third in the conference with four triples.

SOOJ THE STAR
Sophomore infielder Soo-Jin Berry was named one of Softball America's Stars of the Week of 3/24 after her standout game in Iowa's upset against then No. 5/6 UCLA. Berry hit two home runs in the game, the first muti-home run game of her career.

LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
The Hawkeyes have a team voted group of captains, called the Leadership Council. The select for the 2025 season include senior Tatianna Roman, Junior Jalen Adams, senior Rylie Moss, and redshirt junior Desiree Rivera.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Sophomore infielder Jena Young leads the Hawkeyes in batting average hitting .383.
• Sophomore infielder Soo-Jin Berry leads the squad with home runs (8) in RBIs (23).
• Outfielders Bennett and Roman each have a perfect fielding percentage. Roman has contributed 40 putouts and Bennett has contributed 56 on the year.
• Jalen Adams leads the pitchers with 130 innings pitched and 97 strikeouts.

STARTING STREAKS
Three Hawkeyes have started all 33 games so far this season; Devin Simon in right field, Jena Young in the middle infield, and Tory Bennett in center field.

HANNAH'S TEXAS TEAR
After posting 16 RBIs and three home runs across four games at the Lion Invitational, senior catcher Hannah Lindsay was named Big Ten Co-Player of the week on February 17. The Surprise, Arizona, native hit .667 in four-games at the Lion Invitational at East Texas A&M.

PLAYING THE BEST
The Hawkeyes are set to face eight different teams that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana Lafayette, Missouri, Penn State, Tennessee and UCLA.

BELIEVE THE (PRESEASON) HYPE
Adams, Berry and Young were named Big Ten Players to Watch for 2025.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Eight Hawkeyes hail from Iowa and California, three from Arizona and one each from Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada and Wisconsin. Iowa has one international athlete from Australia. The roster was comprised of eight freshmen, six sophomores, seven juniors, and five seniors. There are 18 returning letterwinners and eight newcomers.

NEW ERA OF THE B1G
The Big Ten welcomed four new schools to the conference, three of which will compete in softball for the 2025 season. Big Ten softball added NCAA tournament qualifiers Oregon, UCLA and Washington for softball. The Hawkeyes are set to host UCLA in their Big Ten home opener on March 22 in Iowa City.

UP NEXT
Iowa will travel to Ames on Tuesday to take on Iowa State for game one of the two game Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk  Series. First pitch is scheduled for 4pm CT. Iowa will then host Penn State for a three-game series at Bob Pearl Field. Saturday's game is scheduled for 5pm CT, Saturday's is 2pm CT, and Monday's is set for 5pm CT. Monday nights game will be on Big Ten Network.