2016 Softball

[LinusPF]

Taking a shot at the projected line up

2B Fritsch .242
CF Gyerman .326
C Hoffman .261
1B Mallarky .261
RF Wood .214
SS Taylor .425 (Community College)
LF Erikson .186
3B Kurtz .165
DH Pratt .239

Where are the runs going to come from? We're going to need some folks to break out!

 

[crankermo]

The team has some major injuries that have affected the starting lineup.

 

[SynergyHawk12]

The team has some major injuries that have affected the starting lineup.

That's not a good start. Serious injuries or minor that will only impact a weekend or two? Thx

 

[crankermo]

One, year long and others are up in the air currently.

 

[SynergyHawk12]

Thanks Cranker. Hopefully the year long injury can get a redshirt year. Not a great way to start the year.

 

[crankermo]

Thats the plan. It's a 6 month rehab post surgery

 

[SynergyHawk12]

Dang...sounds serious...thanks for the information....let's go Hawks!

 

[SynergyHawk12]

Great start...Hawks win 1-0

 

[crankermo]

Great start to the year. We need to keep the momentum. Still leaving way too runners on base for my liking

 

[SynergyHawk12]

I agree Cranker. Especially early we left too many on. Haven't seen Starkenburg yet. Great first game for Liz. Killian struggling with control but we're up 1-0 through 4. We need to get the bats going.

 

[crankermo]

We have to limit our walks and start getting some hits with runners in scoring position. I still think we will surprise some people but those things need to be cleaned up

 

[Row55]

Starkenburg being one of the injuries I take it

Otherwise, looks like almost the same on-field line-up from last season, aside from Taylor replacing Blank.

Thanks for the updates crankermo.

 

[crankermo]

There were going to be new faces but injuries took care of that.

 

[SynergyHawk12]

A bit of a disappointing opening weekend. Getting swept by Corpus Christi is not acceptable. It offsets the nice win over Louisville. Pitching appeared pretty good....no Starkenburg, must be injured. The offense was not impressive. Hopefully, they can find their bats in Chicago.

 

[LinusPF]

Pitchers hold opposition to a .198 batting average for the weekend (minus our ace) and we are STILL outhit. Three of those games came against bad teams from bad conferences. Sorry coach, momentum doesn't carry over from a good game or two nine months ago. Your momentum is now playing with the Chicago Bandits!

 

[crankermo]

Hitting definitely has to improve leaps and bounds. Very happy with the pitching overall but still too many walks.

If we hit ok this past weekend we go 4-1 and possibly 5-0. The hitters have to buy into the team concept and get those runners in.

 

[LinusPF]

Hitting definitely has to improve leaps and bounds. Very happy with the pitching overall but still too many walks.

If we hit ok this past weekend we go 4-1 and possibly 5-0. The hitters have to buy into the team concept and get those runners in.

What does that mean "buy in to the team concept"? Looper's using that phrase too. Sounds like Looper trying to insist she's a great coach, but that an attitude problem on the team is holding them back. Somehow I don't think that's the problem.

 

[crankermo]

Coach Schumann preaches having a team first attitude when it comes to hitting. Advance the runners and get em in. Don't go up there swinging for the fence. Do the small things.

QAB's is what matters. We had plenty of RISP this weekend and didn't get the job done. We've lost some of our power bats so we really need to focus on small ball more

 

[Row55]

I'd been wondering where we were going to play softball in Chicago in February. Turns out they built a jumbo version of FB's old inflatable practice dome, large enough for two SB diamonds.

http://www.rosemont.com/dome/

 

[Drmac22]

Rosemount Mn has one of these too. Two regulation ball fields. Its fun to play indoors like that . I think playing at the UNI dome is better, to bad Iowa didnt play this last weekend there.

 

[Row55]

Starkenburg pitched an inning yesterday, hopefully she's on her way back.

 

[crankermo]

We gotta gets the bats rolling. Should never lose to teams like IUC

 

[hawkaholic]

We gotta gets the bats rolling. Should never lose to teams like IUC

I obviously have not seen the softball team play yet this year but the last several years it was obvious we did not have the talent to be in the top half of the BIG. It looks like that is still the problem. Looper may be a good person, even a good coach, but she has proven to either not be a good recruiter or not be able to evaluate talent or both. I have been involved with fast pitch softball for 30+ years both as a men's fast-pitch player and a HS softball coach. I don't claim to be a know it all as far as women's college softball is concerned but I can sure see that our talent level is not going to take us where we were under the Blevins regime.

 

[LinusPF]

I obviously have not seen the softball team play yet this year but the last several years it was obvious we did not have the talent to be in the top half of the BIG. It looks like that is still the problem. Looper may be a good person, even a good coach, but she has proven to either not be a good recruiter or not be able to evaluate talent or both. I have been involved with fast pitch softball for 30+ years both as a men's fast-pitch player and a HS softball coach. I don't claim to be a know it all as far as women's college softball is concerned but I can sure see that our talent level is not going to take us where we were under the Blevins regime.

I've rooted (am rooting) for Looper. She took the job when no one else would. But Megan was the last of Blevin's recruits, and with her gone I'm afraid these are the Iowa teams we can expect as long as she is the coach. Unfortunately the person responsible for this mess just signed a five-year extension. I don't have much confidence that there is going to be change soon.

 

[SynergyHawk12]

Wow...getting shut out by Loyola and Lipscomb is no good. I thought with our schedule this year we'd have a shot at being .500. It looks like that won't happen (although it's still early). I agree with Linus. As long as Looper is the coach we have no chance of being good. Hopefully, with Barta's extension he'll feel he has the freedom to make a change. I hope the Hawks can turn things around, but I have no faith in Looper.

 

[hawkaholic]

The problem that Barta has is with the current situation going on with the civil rights investigation it would be hard to fire Looper even if we go winless the rest of the season. PS - I know we won't go winless but you get my point.

 

[SynergyHawk12]

3-7 against the teams we played is unacceptable. Does anyone know how long Looper has on her contract?

 

[Row55]

At least we scored in the final game. Looks like Looper is at least trying lineup changes. Kurtz seems like a nice defensive 3B but was batting .000, so Misel is getting a shot. Appears that Erickson spent the game on the bench also. Had been wondering how patient Looper was going to be with her this season. She's played a lot of innings but her bat hasn't been adequate for a corner outfielder on a team trying to climb out of the cellar. Not to pick on these two, as I'm sure they've put in their work and are trying, but got to try to find a spark somehow, especially that we now have 22 players on the roster.

 

[Row55]

The problem that Barta has is with the current situation going on with the civil rights investigation it would be hard to fire Looper even if we go winless the rest of the season. PS - I know we won't go winless but you get my point.

This had been my opinion also, but another 40-loss season (and it looks like that's a possibility at this point) would maybe provide enough on-field justification for a change.

 

[73chief]

The problem that Barta has is with the current situation going on with the civil rights investigation it would be hard to fire Looper even if we go winless the rest of the season. PS - I know we won't go winless but you get my point.

Can you image Gary firing a lesbian head coach from a women's sports program under the current cloud hanging over the athletic department and then attempting to hire someone legit to take over. That would be a dumpster fire. Looper's job is about as close to guaranteed as you can get in today's college coaching world. At least until her contract runs out in 2018.

Looper was way overrated when she was given the job and has proven to be in way over her head in every aspect of the job. Terrible recruiter, terrible game tactician, terrible developer of talent, especially at the pitching position which was supposedly her calling card.[/QUOTE]

 

[LinusPF]

Yes Looper is terrible. But don't be too tough on her. The sorry state of the program rests completely on Barta's shoulders. No one would take the head coaching job after the way he treated Blevins. Looper took the job when no one would and I'm sure she's trying the best she can.

I agree Looper's going no where until after next year at the earliest. Not only wouldn't Barta fire her given the ongoing investigation, he has to know replacing her with a decent coach would be impossible. Barta has to realize no woman in her right mind would want the job. And (again given the civil rights investigation) I really don't think Barta is going to hire the first-ever male Big Ten softball head coach.

 

[Drmac22]

There were lots of coaches around that would have taken the Iowa Job after Gayle left maybe not the TOP coaches but some up and comers for sure.. I think They took Marla because she had past with a big program like Texas and she was Cat's pitching coach. I think they hoped to catch lighting in a bottle with that Hire and it didnt happen. Iowa and Barta will not be able to do a thing about letting her go no matter how bad this team is because of that lawsuit. I think Looper has this year and next before she will have to worry. I hope she can turn it around. She is working on the pitching which is where I would start. Now she needs to recruit offense. We will see but I see Iowa losing around 20-25 games this year because we cannot score runs and timely hit. Pitching I think will keep us close. I look at UNI, they are tearing it up. They hit terrific and are very competitive. They should have beat Nebraska if not for a break down in the last innings.
On a side note about M Looper but My daughter has been to many Iowa Camps and One camp Looper was throwing front toss to her and the girls taking BP. She hit her twice throwing front toss, not hard but just not good at doing it. My Daughter was like.. Dang The head Coach for Iowa can't even throw front toss. haha. I said well she has assistance to do that. She said. She was not always a head coach and YOU throw way better front toss then she does Dad. haha I found that funny and maybe a little telling..

 

[73chief]

Yes Looper is terrible. But don't be too tough on her. The sorry state of the program rests completely on Barta's shoulders. No one would take the head coaching job after the way he treated Blevins. Looper took the job when no one would and I'm sure she's trying the best she can.

I agree Looper's going no where until after next year at the earliest. Not only wouldn't Barta fire her given the ongoing investigation, he has to know replacing her with a decent coach would be impossible. Barta has to realize no woman in her right mind would want the job. And (again given the civil rights investigation) I really don't think Barta is going to hire the first-ever male Big Ten softball head coach.

No, I agree. The demise of this program is 100% on Barta. He is well on his way to doing the same with Field Hockey.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

I don't think the lawsuit will affect anything further but it certainly gave her this year.

 

[LinusPF]

I don't think the lawsuit will affect anything further but it certainly gave her this year.

You may be right. But I don't see Barta buying out the last two years on her contract the end of this year. Too pricy. Best we can hope for is a player or parent getting pissy. For Barta that matters more than on-field performance.

 

[hawkaholic]

I see the Hawks lost two today and are 4-10 so far playing teams that you have never heard of and would have to use Google to see if they are even D1 ( besides Louisville). Those that thought our pitching was maybe better than the last couple of years will be happy to know we only gave up 20 runs in our two losses to Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina.

 

[73chief]

I see the Hawks lost two today and are 4-10 so far playing teams that you have never heard of and would have to use Google to see if they are even D1 ( besides Louisville). Those that thought our pitching was maybe better than the last couple of years will be happy to know we only gave up 20 runs in our two losses to Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina.

This team will be lucky to get to 15 wins and that is only because we don't have to play Michigan this season. We would struggle to win the Iowa Conference.

 

[73chief]

You may be right. But I don't see Barta buying out the last two years on her contract the end of this year. Too pricy. Best we can hope for is a player or parent getting pissy. For Barta that matters more than on-field performance.

Her buyout is only $100,000, so that really isn't much of an issue. The issue will be the optics of firing a lesbian head coach from a women's team under the current legal cloud hanging over the department. A parent getting pissy is probably the best thing that could happen to initiate a change. If it was good enough to get rid of the coach with the second most career wins in college softball history, it might be good enough to get rid of 2nd tier pitching coach.

 

[crankermo]

WOW

 

[SynergyHawk12]

4-11. Yikes. I'm not sure if we'll get to double digit wins. I thought with our schedule this year that we had a chance at going .500.