The Iowa softball team has only one tournament left before it heads into the beginning of its conference schedule March 25, when the Hawkeyes will play three games at Indiana.

The Hawkeyes are off to a very similar start this year as they were last season.

So far, the Hawkeyes have gone 6-13, their exact record after the first 19 in 2015, through their four road trips to Corpus Christie, Texas, Rosemont, Illinois, Conway, South Carolina, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

There are some things going well for the team, but there are also a few things that could be improved as the season progresses.

What’s gone right?

The absence of Megan Blank from the lineup was a potential issue. Last year as a senior, Blank hit .442, batted 40 runs in, and tacked on 36 runs scored.

Through the first 19 games, though, that does not seem to be a big issue.

So far, five Hawkeyes with more than 20 at bats are hitting over .300. Four of those five — Sammi Gyerman, Katy Taylor, Kaitlyn Mullarkey, and Claire Fritsch — have more than 50. Only Blank and Gyerman hit that well last season.

Another key for Iowa is that pitching has greatly improved this season. By the end of the 2015 season, the team’s ERA was 6.73. So far in 2016, the pitching staff has nearly cut that number in half, down to 3.47.

Junior transfer Elizabeth Wiegand from Tennessee-Martin has been the go-to so far. The Moscow Mills, Mississippi, native has pitched 52.1 innings through 12 games, posting a 3-3 record.

Two more additions to the pitching staff have helped to improve things for the Hawkeyes. Freshmen Mallory Killian and Erin Riding have put in time in the circle this season as well.

What’s gone wrong?

Perhaps the biggest issue, one that has been noted by head coach Marla Looper, is that the Hawkeyes leave a lot of runners on base. Although batting has been proficient, the team is not getting the timely hits it needs to score runs.

The Hawks average 6.79 runners left on base per game. In two games, they have reached double digits for that number. They average 4.21 runs per game.

Although Iowa has gone 3-6 over the past two road trips, the team has been scoring better in the most recent part of the season; 56 of its 80 runs have come in the nine most recent games.

The issue in these games, though, has been errors; Iowa committed 14 during that stretch. Eleven were in games the team lost.

While the pitchers’ ERAs are relatively low, the errors made during games have given up unnecessary runs that have caused numerous Iowa losses.