Iowa softball second-year shortstop Soo-Jin Berry has been nothing short of outstanding this season.
Berry, who started 36 games in her freshman campaign, is batting for a whopping .380 average and has a team-high 1.127 OPS through 32 games. The Hawkeye shortstop also leads the team in home runs with eight and 23 runs batted in.
Berry has played a big role in Iowa’s success this season, not only statistically but also as a leader. While Berry is just in her second season, she and other younger teammates have stepped up into leadership roles this season.
“Any time you’ve got some of the youth pushing the older players, that kind of rejuvenates them,” interim head coach Karl Gollan said after the Hawkeyes swept South Dakota State on March 25. “It elevates everybody.”
With Berry coming off a very successful first year and earning a spot on the Big Ten Players to Watch list ahead of the season, she looked to maintain a solid work ethic.
So far, that has paid off.
“Just having the same work ethic that I did last year,” Berry responded when asked how she looks to maintain success at media availability on Feb. 12. “Pushing myself and my teammates [so] that we can all do better as a whole. If I succeed, that’s one thing, but having the whole team succeed is the bigger thing, and my job is to support that.”
Berry has been excellent defensively so far this season. The infielder has a .950 fielding percentage with 50 putouts and 45 assists in 100 total chances. The sophomore has been part of an Iowa defense that has just 34 errors in 881 chances with a .961 fielding percentage through 33 games.
This outstanding defense from Berry and crew has gotten high praise from both coach Gollan and the pitching staff.
“It helps,” Gollan said of the Hawkeye defense following the sweep of South Dakota State on March 25. “It saves wear and tear on their arms. It gives them the confidence to go right after hitters and not feel like they’ve always got to beat the bats, so it helps everybody.”
Iowa star pitcher Jalen Adams added her thoughts after the sweep of South Dakota State. “I trust my defense behind me 100 percent. It just allows me to throw my pitches and do my thing.”
The high expectations placed on Berry at the beginning of the season haven’t affected her at all this season. She was named to Softball America’s Stars of the Week on March 25 following a dominant performance against then-No.6 UCLA on March 22-23.
Berry went 4-for-7 with four runs batted in and two runs scored in the two-game set, which included a 7-4 upset victory in game two. Her outing against the top-10 Bruins was no shocker, since she knew there was no pressure for her coming into the season.
“I feel like I still have a job to support my team, so that doesn’t really change anything,” Berry said.