As we head into May, it is worth taking a look at the beautiful month of April. Iowa finally emerged from the long and cold winter, and the birds finally started to chirp.
Those same birds didn’t chirp for Iowa softball, however; the month of April did not fare well for head coach Marla Looper’s team. Iowa softball posted a 4-12 record.
Spring fortune struck the Iowa softball team early in the month. The team started April 4-1, but soon losses started accruing. A loss to Nebraska soon spiraled into three-straight losses to Minnesota. Before anyone knew it, Iowa had lost 10 in a row. Its fourth loss came by the hands of Western Illinois, which had a 14-21 record at the time.
The lone bright spot for the team came in a series sweep of Wisconsin. Iowa’s stud sophomore pitcher Allison Doocy led the Hawkeyes through the Badgers, allowing just 3 runs in 14 innings of work. Teammate Lauren Shaw pitched second game of the series and held the Badgers to just 3 runs.
Hawkeye bats also lit up in the series. In one of their most productive series of the season, Hawkeye sluggers tagged on 8 hits in each of the three games. They swept the series with scores of 3-0, 4-3, and 5-3. Then the offense suddenly went quiet.
But what didn’t work for Iowa softball? It sure wasn’t Doocy. Although she was unable to match her earlier performances this season against the likes of Texas A&M, Arizona State, Baylor, and Michigan, Doocy still held a 2.33 ERA, and allowed just .283 walks per inning throughout the month of April.
Two crucial facets of a great softball team lacked in Iowa’s April performances: hitting and fielding.
Iowa is not strong-hitting team. This is nearly a fact at this point in the year. This season, Iowa is second-to-last in the Big Ten with a .227 batting average. Over the month of April, the team averaged just 5.69 hits per game. Opponents, however, averaged 9.25. Looper’s squad had a .223 batting average throughout the month. Opponents averaged .337.
Run production was also a major downfall for Iowa softball. The team was outscored by its opponents, 60-20, over the 14 games. This has been seen all season, as well.
Of the eight teams Iowa faced in April, every single one was able to hold Iowa to 1 or fewer runs in a game, including Western Illinois.
Theoretically, defense wins championships. Sadly, the Iowa softball team cannot prove this. Errors riddled the month of April. Looper’s squad played clean games just four times in the month’s 16 games and averaged 1.56 errors per game.
The month of April clearly was not pretty for Iowa. Now that it’s May, a change in month may mean a change in playing. The Hawkeyes will take on Purdue Friday through May 6 at Pearl Field after a seven-game roadh stretch for their last series of the regular season.