Softball Notes: Iowa State

LOOKING BACK

The University of Iowa softball team is coming off a 1-2 weekend against Indiana. The Hawkeyes dropped both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, falling 2-1 in Game 1 and 9-7 in extra innings in Game 2. Iowa rebounded Sunday, taking the series finale, 4-2.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE

The Cyclones enter the contest with a 27-18 overall record and a 7-11 mark in conference play. Head coach Jamie Pinkerton is in his ninth season at the helm of Iowa State and holds a 581-589 career record, with previous stops at Tulsa, Arkansas and Montana.

Iowa State is coming off a 2-1 series victory over BYU. The Cyclones defeated the Cougars, 14-10, on Friday behind a four-home run performance. Iowa State dropped Game 2, 6-5, before bouncing back with a 9-6 win Sunday to secure the series.

Reagan Bartholomew leads the team offensively with a .432 batting average, 13 home runs and 49 runs scored. In the circle, junior Lauren Schurman holds a team-best 3.91 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings pitched.

SCOUTING UNI

The Panthers hold a 22-19 overall record and sit fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 10-8 mark in league play. Head coach Ryan Jacobs is in his 19th season at the helm of his alma mater and is the winningest coach in UNI softball history, compiling a 553-395 career record. He has led the Panthers to four MVC regular-season titles and two NCAA regional appearances.

UNI is coming off a three-game series sweep at the hands of Southern Illinois.

Senior Kate Lappe and freshman Brynn Acton are tied for the team lead with 16 home runs apiece. Acton paces the team with 47 RBIs, while Lappe is slashing .415/.573/.941. In the circle, senior Anna Wischnowski has recorded 59 strikeouts and a 4.08 ERA in 96 innings pitched.

QUICK FACTS

• Serayah Neiss set a single-game career high with 9 1/3 innings pitched in Iowa’s 10-inning game against Washington.

• Iowa has already surpassed last season’s home run total (29), hitting 47 this year.

• Avery Sapp recorded her 200th career strikeout in the series opener against Illinois.

• Freshman McKenzie Leitgen’s six home runs are the most by an Iowa freshman since 2015.

• Leah McAnally is four RBIs shy of 100 for her career and has matched her 2025 home run total of six.

Iowa has posted 13 multi-home run games this season, including two five-homer outings (March 17 at Illinois; April 4 at Oregon).

• Serayah Neiss earned her 50th career win in Iowa’s 2-1 victory over Georgia Tech.

• Hawkeye pitching has recorded six complete games this season, with Neiss and Braylen Conlon each throwing two.

• Echo Mattiello recorded her first career four-hit performance in Iowa’s 4-2 win over Indiana.

WHAT A GAME

Iowa earned a 21-15 victory over Illinois in a historic performance. Notables include:

• The 21 runs are the second-most in program history (26 vs. Iowa State in 2012).

• The total marks the most runs scored by Iowa in a Big Ten game, surpassing the previous record of 19 against Penn State in 1997.

• The 36 combined runs are the most in an Iowa softball game.

• The Hawkeyes scored at least one run in every inning.

COMEBACK WARRIORS

• Eight of Iowa’s wins have come in come-from-behind fashion, including four walk-off victories.

• Iowa rallied from a 9-3 deficit against UConn. Trailing by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kiara Sipe delivered a two-run double to secure a 10-9 victory.

• McKenzie Leitgen hit Iowa’s first grand slam of the season in the bottom of the seventh against Army, lifting the Hawkeyes to a 7-6 walk-off win over the Black Knights.

• Brianna Johnson recorded two game-winning hits in a four-game span. She led Iowa to a 3-2 victory over Minnesota before delivering a two-run double in the Hawkeyes’ 4-3 win against St. Thomas.

IN THE BOOKS

• Serayah Neiss leads Iowa with 66 strikeouts and is 13 away from 400 in her career. She ranks 11th all-time among Hawkeye pitchers and is 10th in career wins with 50.

• Tory Bennett is 13th in program history with 35 career doubles.

COMING IN HOT

• Tory Bennett entered the 2026 season with one career home run and now has eight.

• Through three seasons, Avery Jackson had recorded two career home runs and has five this year.

• Devin Simon doubled her 2025 home run total, going from three last season to six in 2026.

• McKenzie Leitgen, Tory Bennett, Brianna Johnson and Devin Simon have all recorded their first career multi-home run games in 2026.

LEADING THE WAY

• Devin Simon leads the team in hits (48), stolen bases (17) and runs scored (35).

• Freshman Braylen Conlon owns a team‑best 4.30 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings. She is the only Hawkeye to throw a complete‑game shutout this season and has held opponents to a .239 average.

• Tory Bennett leads Iowa with eight home runs and ranks second with 34 runs scored. The senior is slashing .290/.369/.558.

• Sophomore Kiara Sipe paces the Hawkeyes with 31 RBIs, including 10 in the series sweep of Illinois.

B1G NUMBERS

In the Big Ten Conference, Iowa ranks third in doubles (73), fifth in sacrifice flies (20) and fifth in stolen bases (43).

• Kiara Sipe ranks second in the conference with 15 doubles.

• Devin Simon’s 17 stolen bases rank her third in the Big Ten.

• Serayah Neiss has the 10th-most victories in the conference with 10.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

Seven Hawkeyes softball players hail from Iowa, five from California, three from Arizona, two from Illinois, and one each from Utah, Massachusetts, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida, Oregon and Ohio. The team also includes one international player from Australia. The roster is made up of five seniors, six juniors, four sophomores, one redshirt sophomore, eight freshmen and one redshirt freshman. Iowa returns 11 players from its 2025 roster, including 10 letterwinners, and welcomes 14 newcomers.

PLAYING THE BEST

The Hawkeyes face 10 teams that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Mercer, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska, Oregon, UConn and Washington

NEW YEAR, NEW STAFF

• Stacy May-Johnson, who is in her first season as Iowa’s head coach, brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience -- six as a head coach -- to the program. The Nevada native has posted a 148-141 record in stops at Utah Valley and Fresno State. Before returning to Iowa, May-Johnson was head coach at Fresno State for four seasons. She led the Bulldogs to 37 wins and a runner-up finish in the Mountain West Championship.

• Bobby Alvara joins the Hawkeye staff after serving as May-Johnson’s pitching coach at Fresno State. 

• Fran Strub joins the program after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Boise State.

• Ally Miklesh joins the staff after one season as an assistant coach at Indiana.

UP NEXT

Iowa travels to Lincoln, Nebraska April 24-26 to face No. 4 Nebraska for a three-game conference series. All three games will be streamed on B1G+.

SEASON TICKETS

Reserved chairback season tickets are $55. General admission season tickets are $40 for adults and $15 for youth. Single-game tickets are $10 for adults and $3 for youth.

Tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com/tickets, by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS, or at the University of Iowa Athletics Ticket Office at the North entrance of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.