To quote one classic winter-holiday song, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

No, not only because it’s March Madness (my bracket is busted, anyway). It’s the time of year when days get longer, the weather gets warmer, and Hawkeye athletes take to the diamond for softball and baseball.

As a former baseball player in my high-school days, this time of year always gives me an extra pick-me-up (the sound when the ball hits the bat reminds me of how rarely I heard that sound when I was at the plate and how frequently it occurred when I took to the mound). But I digress.

What gave the Iowa softball team an extra boost on Sunday was finally having the opportunity to play at home.

Although it looked like a winter wonderland during the two days prior in Iowa City, the weather cooperated for the Iowa softball team and the couple hundred fans packing Pearl Field for the home-opener against South Dakota.

The homecoming couldn’t have come at a better time. The Hawkeyes’ consensus was that they were thrilled to be home.

It’s hard to blame them. The Hawkeyes should join the frequent-flier program with all the traveling they have endured. They could cash in those miles for some big-time prizes.

Playing at home simply gives a team a sense of familiarity, both on and off the field.

Knowing the way the ball rolls in the infield dirt, how the ball bounces in the outfield grass, and how to play the outfield fence can give a player an immense sense of comfort that cannot be equaled when playing on the road.

Having an immaculately groomed field and the hometown crowd behind you doesn’t hurt, either.

“It’s big to be able to roll down the street from Coralville and be in your own complex,” Iowa head coach Gayle Blevins said.

With 25-consecutive road games to open the 2010 campaign, which spanned five states and 10,046 miles, combined with the graduation of legendary Iowa pitcher Brittany Weil, the Hawkeyes resembled a team seeking its identity.

The team lost numerous close games, and Blevins cited disappointment in her pitching staff, while senior cocaptain Katie Brown said she was extremely unhappy with the team’s overall performance.

But the Hawkeyes have since figured it out, winning five of their last six games. Thanks in part, Brown said, to being back home at Pearl Field and discovering who they are as a team.

“We figured that we have to be a team that’s going to scrap and claw from the first pitch to the last pitch,” she said.

While it was the first time I and many others had seen the Hawkeyes play this season, they looked much better than the .500 team they’ve been in the early part of this season. Hawkeye home runs soaring out of the park, combined with two mercy-rule games and a no-hit performance by senior Amanda Zust has Iowa flying high at the right time as the Big Ten schedule quickly approaches.

Blevins has never had a Hawkeye team finish below .500 during her tenure as head coach, and this season should be no exception.

If Iowa plays the rest of the season the way it did on Sunday, there’s little doubt this will be another memorable year for the Hall of Fame coach’s squad.