Around three years ago, Shayla Starkenburg was thrown into the bullpen with catcher Holly Hoffman.

They didn’t really know each other, but they were expected to learn how to communicate with each other better than anyone else on the field.

Starkenburg, a redshirt junior from Ankeny, was just a freshman at the time. She had had plenty of success in high school: 5A Pitcher of the Year, first team all-state, 31-0 record, a 0.58 ERA, 222 strikeouts, and she led her team to a state title, all in her senior year.

Hoffman was on the team when Starkenburg joined the Hawkeyes. However, the catcher was relatively new, too. She graduated from high school a semester early to redshirt and practiced with the team in 2012.

When she started practicing with the Hawks, Hoffman had a lot to learn. As a catcher, she was put with numerous pitchers on the squad and had to learn everything about them — how they pitch, what pitches they like to throw, and how to effectively communicate with them.

Hoffman started to settle into her role during her redshirt freshman season. She got used to the pitchers, especially Kayla Massey. The fall of 2012 brought a new crop of freshmen, including Starkenburg.

The two didn’t know each other, but they were going to spend the next four years 43 feet away from each other most of the time. It didn’t take too long for the two to form a bond.

“When you work all the time with each other in the bullpen, you start to form a relationship and a bond that is almost irreplaceable,” Starkenburg said. “We’re together almost every day, and we just vibe together really well.”

The past two summers, Starkenburg and Hoffman both played for a traveling team from St. Louis as a way to stay on the field while they weren’t in-season for college ball.

“The travel ball team we played for a was a lot more relaxed,” Starkenburg said. “We would just hop on the field and start playing … It was a really nice way to get to know each other outside of Iowa softball and a good way to spend some more time together.”

While she’s happy the two have a strong connection, Iowa head coach Marla Looper has been trying for three seasons to get the two to be more serious when they are together. She has been more successful this year.

The sixth-year head coach allows the game to be completely in the pitcher’s and catcher’s hands. Rather than calling the pitches herself, Looper has Hoffman do the job.

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“I feel as though all the players should be able to play the game for themselves,” Looper said. “If I’m in the dugout dictating every move, then I’m playing the game and they’re not … It forces them to be really in tune with the game. They get four years to play the game collegiately, so I want them to actually play.”

As Hoffman’s and Starkenburg’s relationship has developed over the years, so has their ability to be straight-up with each other.

Hoffman is no longer worried about saying what she needs to say to Starkenburg on the field. She can point out what Starkenburg is doing wrong: little things such as release point, her drag foot, or leaning too far forward during her windup.