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2018 Softball

"Word is out that she has been floating the idea that she can't compete because of facilities. Same argument the coach at ISU used."


I would be shocked if Iowa's facilities are approaching elite in status. (I live far away.) But are they adequate to be competitive? I have heard a new playing field would be helpful. But watching the game at NW, their stadium is less than impressive and they have done some good things! How long does the "Blevins" factor linger? Recruits today were in what... 3rd grade, back then?
 
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r448chlpo said:
"Word is out that she has been floating the idea that she can't compete because of facilities. Same argument the coach at ISU used."


I would be shocked if Iowa's facilities are approaching elite in status. (I live far away.) But are they adequate to be competitive? I have heard a new playing field would be helpful. But watching the game at NW, their stadium is less than impressive and they have done some good things! How long does the "Blevins" factor linger? Recruits today were in what... 3rd grade, back then?
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IMO they are adequate. The playing surface on all diamonds in the complex look great to me. The place is in good repair. Don't know what the locker room situation is. AFAIK they share an indoor practice facility with baseball and the marching band. Not a lot of seating, and it can be difficult to see action along the near foul line due to how the stands are constructed. Parking would be inadequate if seating were expanded. Flooding from the Iowa River is always a risk. Definitely modest compared to the better programs in the SEC, BXII, and even B10, though comparable to most of the PAC12 diamonds I've seen on TV. Baseball's situation is more urgent IMO, where many teams have access to very nice minor league stadiums.
 
Hopefully we sweep this weekend and then, I think, we can avoid a fifth straight 30 loss season.
 
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The loss to the powerhouse Boilers ;) drops us into 11th. Looks like there were a couple of nice defensive plays by Thompson at 2nd. Don't know why Schnieder isn't the regular RF.

Doocy starts game 2, gives up 3 runs and is pulled, now on the third pitcher of the 1st inning, down 4-0. Man, this Purdue team is tough! ;)
 
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Six runners left on base in three innings by the Hawkeyes. Out of frustration, I decided to check to see how many games the Hawkeyes have been limited to 2 or less runs, answer 25! Doocy must be ill or have an injury as she has been way off her last couple appearances!
 
Not meaning to pile on but the "wheels" have really come off the wagon! 3 fielding errors in the top of the fifth. Hawkeyes on the verge of being run-ruled by a team which has won only 12 or 13 games coming into this weekend! I hope Purdue, which looks like a top ranked team today, realizes this is fool's gold!
 
Strange looking game from the gametracker. No Rozier again, no Schneider. Riding pulled after facing one batter (?), then leaving Shaw in to get pummeled. 2 of the errors on Bogar. Monteer getting lots of playing time despite a BA in the low .100s last I looked.

And Bogar looks at strike 3 to end the game in 5. Loss gives Doocy a losing record for the season at 13-14.
 
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I feel for Doocy.

IMO, it is very difficult to be a talented pitcher on a pathetic offensive team. If they are less than perfect, they know the chances of winning is almost nil. Pressure weighs on them. Once they make a mistake , they lose concentration because they think they kept the team from winning.

Kayla Massey was 1st team all BIG 10 as a sophomore. Her final 2 years were very frustrating for her because she knew she had to be close to perfect to keep her team in the game. They were worse offensively even though Megan Blank hit .420. Her exasperation was noticeable. I talked to her dad and he said the same. I look at the roster those years and shake my head. There were people starting every game that had no business being on any D1 roster.
 
Looking toward next year. The team has a solid middle infield with Bogar and Thompson. Kilian is good at 1st. 3rd seems to be open. Maybe move Kilian back to 3rd and put Cantu at 1st.

I believe Rozier and Libby could rotate at DP and C. Monteer and Schneider return in the outfield. After them, most people have played very little.

The woman transferring in from Kirkwood recently hit 4 HRs in a game. When they played here last fall, I thought that she could play D1. She pitched and played 3rd. She'll have to get in better shape.

DMACC is #1 in the nation and 42-0. I think they have about 4 people who could come in and be better than people they replace. Jacobsen is the best CC pitcher (she also swings the bat) in the nation. Guy is solid and speedy. They have one player from Burlington who has hit .520 for the year. Another player from KS has hit well (.420 and 12 HRs) also. Could be quick replacements for whoever is coaching next year. They may not be superstars, but it would be difficult to be worse than some on the team.
 
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Row55 said:
Strange looking game from the gametracker. No Rozier again, no Schneider. Riding pulled after facing one batter (?), then leaving Shaw in to get pummeled.
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Riding gave up a HR, walked a batter and hit the next one before she was pulled. Shaw was not 'pummeled'. She got us out of a jam in the first. She then pitched three scoreless innings and in the fourth, three of the first four hitters she faced got on on with errors. None of her runs were earned.
 
LinusPF said:
Riding gave up a HR, walked a batter and hit the next one before she was pulled. Shaw was not 'pummeled'. She got us out of a jam in the first. She then pitched three scoreless innings and in the fourth, three of the first four hitters she faced got on on with errors. None of her runs were earned.
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OK, thanks for the correction. But in a blowout, I'd be inclined to pitch Yoways or maybe Ihle, and save Shaw for the Sunday game.

I saw where Blevins was at the game as part of Alumni Day, I thought it was gracious of Looper to offer and of Blevins to accept. But I have to wonder what was going through Blevin's mind watching that sh*t show
 
Bum Leer said:
Looking toward next year. The team has a solid middle infield with Bogar and Thompson. Kilian is good at 1st. 3rd seems to be open. Maybe move Kilian back to 3rd and put Cantu at 1st.

I believe Rozier and Libby could rotate at DP and C. Monteer and Schneider return in the outfield. After them, most people have played very little.

The woman transferring in from Kirkwood recently hit 4 HRs in a game. When they played here last fall, I thought that she could play D1. She pitched and played 3rd. She'll have to get in better shape.

DMACC is #1 in the nation and 42-0. I think they have about 4 people who could come in and be better than people they replace. Jacobsen is the best CC pitcher (she also swings the bat) in the nation. Guy is solid and speedy. They have one player from Burlington who has hit .520 for the year. Another player from KS has hit well (.420 and 12 HRs) also. Could be quick replacements for whoever is coaching next year. They may not be superstars, but it would be difficult to be worse than some on the team.
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I believe UNI has a couple of DMACC kids on their roster; one is their LF Roby, who is hitting almost .400 and was well over that for most of the season. Speaking of UNI, I presume we can now say the Iowa-UNI game postponed from Apr 4 won't be made up.
 
Jacobsen from DMACC is going to Ole Miss. SO once again Iowa lost out on a pitching from here. Juco is hard to figure out as the hitters go. Lots of Big numbers but the pitching is hit and miss. The top teams have good pitching but the other schools are sometimes terrible. So having huge HR numbers might be a little inflated in JUCO and will probley not transfer over to the D1 level. There are plenty of players that could play at d1 schools though. and It is smart to recruit them. As far as Looper being gone. I agree, she is probley out. It will be another woman coach Here when they do hire a new one. Only One male coach in the B10.
 
I would be OK with a good female coach - I'm still in amazement what Allister accomplished at Minnesota, and she was hired at the same time as Looper. And Trachsel is doing well up there so far (despite the fluke loss to Penn State WTF), plus the Clones were much improved in her single season there. Whoever it is needs to have a resume with demonstrated recruiting prowess.

There is a thread on Ultimate College Softball where some poster (and some of them are cranks) claims that Hutchins and what he calls the "B10 old girls club" have got the B10 AD's intimidated into maintaining the status quo. He has not yet explained how they do this, but presumably by threatening sexual discrimination lawsuits. OTOH, it would not surprise me if Barta has been told privately that the U of I doesn't want any more legal problems and bad publicity from disgruntled female coaches/employees, and to conduct himself accordingly.
 
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Titanhawk2 said:
I wonder if Barta has ever pursued her to coach?
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Don't know, but she was one of Blevins' players. The way Blevins was pushed into retirement was noticed in the softball community, and did not sit well. My guess is she would not have come to Iowa under those circumstances. Whether she would now I don't know. She coached at Purdue (ironically) from '94 to '03 with a 314-255-2 record, not bad but not dominating either.
 
icardinal said:
I don't follow softball except for what you all post here. My thought on Looper is that nothing short of a complete dumpster fire of a season will bring about Barta firing her.
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She didn't get fired after 2016. 13-39 overall and 3-20 in the B10. o_O
 
Row55 said:
Don't know, but she was one of Blevins' players. The way Blevins was pushed into retirement was noticed in the softball community, and did not sit well. My guess is she would not have come to Iowa under those circumstances. Whether she would now I don't know. She coached at Purdue (ironically) from '94 to '03 with a 314-255-2 record, not bad but not dominating either.
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She didn't play for Blevins, but Blevins may have given her a coaching opportunity.
 
You are probably right. I remember her well - a slightly scrawny, cannon-armed 3B, but I don't remember anyone but Blevins coaching in that time. However, Bruggeman won her last letter in 1987 while Blevins first coached the Hawks in '88, so the evidence is that my memory is faulty. :)
 
Is Looper less capable than Barta? I don’t know the answer to that question. At this point (Looper’s contract having expired), it would be unfair to ask her to stay on as her ability to recruit (such as it is) would be hamstrung by the absence of a multi year deal. He has let this play out. He should have something cooked up already. If he simply throws the door open to ask for applications and gathers a committee together for a routine search, I will be very disappointed!!!
 
Pretty sure all state schools have to go through a standard application process and 'search', but yes, hopefully Barta started his homework and recruiting a long time ago. I assume that's how he was able to get Shymansky.
 
Just saw a Sports Illustrated article about Mich. Two freshman pitched a combined no-hitter. One was from West Des Moines. Another Iowan that Looper let get away. Although she probably didn't even try for her...
 
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twindman said:
Just saw a Sports Illustrated article about Mich. Two freshman pitched a combined no-hitter. One was from West Des Moines. Another Iowan that Looper let get away. Although she probably didn't even try for her...
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But......Iowa girls don't want to go to Iowa, so why recruit them? Atleast that is what Looper more or less said in the Gazette article.
 
Iowa runs off Purdue pitcher Sydney Bates in three games last weekend: 1
Wisconsin runs off Purdue pitcher Sydney Bates in the first inning today: 3

:D
 
LinusPF said:
Iowa runs off Purdue pitcher Sydney Bates in three games last weekend: 1
Wisconsin runs off Purdue pitcher Sydney Bates in the first inning today: 3

:D
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Her ERA was just under 5 and they scored 1 run in 3 games.
 
Daily Iowan stat of the day was...

Iowa softball ranks last in the Big Ten in 8 categories: BA, Slugging Pct., OBP, runs, RBIs, doubles HRs and walks.

LAST

What's bad is they are better than a couple of past years.
 
Bum Leer said:
Daily Iowan stat of the day was...

Iowa softball ranks last in the Big Ten in 8 categories: BA, Slugging Pct., OBP, runs, RBIs, doubles HRs and walks.

LAST

What's bad is they are better than a couple of past years.
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Shocking that they beat Ohio State 5-1.
 
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Great win. Doocy was extraordinary.

Coach was correct when she said the tournament is a new season and anything can happen in one game.

Northwestern tonight. Doocy threw a 2 hitter against them. Great pitching always gives a team a shot.
 
Frankly, during and after the Purdue weekend, I thought the team had decided tp "mail it in" and was just willing to get the season over with. After the first inning homerun last night, I thought the team would just quit. Very impressed with the effort given last night. Doocy was simple outstanding, Thompson has a great ability to make things happen and the whole team deserves a lot of credit for their performance. A little luck, yes, but that just opened the door, you still have to walk thru the door.
 
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