In a season many thought was over early on, the Iowa softball team has put together a run that has resulted in a Big Ten Tournament appearance.
The team is not perfect by any means, but it has a unique opportunity to either make a huge run or crumble in the first round.
The Hawkeyes do a lot of things right and have a lot to look forward to this weekend and the following season, but there are also some glaring issues that could hold this team back from making a big run in the tournament.
Team batting average: .217
Now that the season has almost concluded, it is safe to say that Iowa’s batting has been subpar this season.
The Hawkeyes not only have the worst batting average in the Big Ten, they are last in almost every significant batting category. This team struggles to get hits consistently and it is a major weakness, especially against more talented teams. Iowa’s batters cannot continue to depend on their pitching to get them out of a jam.
There have been flickers of hope all season of what the batting could be, but it simply does not happen often enough. If Iowa loses in the first round, it will be because the hitters failed them.
Team ERA: 2.89
On the flip side, Iowa’s pitching has been superb this season.
Senior Shayla Starkenburg and freshman Allison Doocy have done a fantastic job all season.
Starkenburg leads the team with an ERA of 2.37, and Doocy is not far behind with an ERA of 2.80. Both Starkenburg and Doocy are top 15 in the Big Ten with their ERAs (eighth and 14th).
Iowa’s team ERA average is the fifth best in the Big Ten and one of the most consistent. The Hawkeyes have never had to worry about pitching all season, and it is the reason that Iowa was able to turn the season around.
The consistency in the circle is the cornerstone of the Hawkeyes. If Starkenburg and Doocy are flawless in the tournament, the Hawkeyes will have a chance to advance to the later stages.
52 sacrifice bunts
It may be an obscure stat that could be overlooked, but it needs to be noted.
Iowa leads the Big Ten in sacrifice bunts, and the next highest is Northwestern with 40 sacrifice bunts. The team with the lowest number is Minnesota with 13.
If this still does not seem significant, turn the current standings upside down. As of now, only two of the top seven teams are not on the lower end of sacrifice bunts. This raises the question: Do sacrifice bunts lead to victory?
Based on Big Ten teams, it would point toward no. Iowa is the worst team in the Big Ten when it comes to batting, but the one category they lead in is sacrifice bunts. Suspect hitting and solid pitching has gotten Iowa into a lot of low-scoring games, and it has resorted to small ball in many of those games.