April 2013

Hawkeyes Complete a Successful Non-Conference schedule

Iowa Softball Newsletter

1

The Iowa Softball team completed

their pre season non conference

schedule on March 20 with a win on

the road over #21 ranked Kentucky.

The win was Iowa’s 5th over a ranked

opponent in the pre season. The other

four pre season wins came over #11

Louisville, #11 Louisiana-Lafayette,

#15 Stanford, and #24 Oregon State.

Even though Iowa dropped 3 games to

non-ranked opponents, the Hawkeyes

still consider the pre season a success.

Iowa finished the pre season with an

overall record of 19-8 and a record of

5-4 against ranked opponents, which

will greatly help Iowa’s chances of

making the NCAA tournament at the

season’s end.

After a successful pre season, Iowa

began their conference season with a

2

poor start. The Hawks were swept by

Minnesota in the opening weekend and

they dropped 2 of 3 to Wisconsin and

Nebraska the following two weekends.

They rebounded with a 2-1 series win

against Northwestern this past weekend.

Despite the rough start to conference, the

Hawkeyes are still in a good position to

move up the polls as the Big Ten appears

to be greatly improved from a year ago.

Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin are in

the top 25 while Iowa appears to be on the

brink of cracking the polls. Northwestern

remains a dangerous team, and Minnesota

is always a threat with Sara Moulton, one

of the nation’s top pitchers.

Iowa has several quality teams in the

conference remaining on their schedule

including Michigan, Illinois, and Penn

3

State. They also have non conference

games against in-state schools and

Missouri, who is currently ranked in the

top 10. With so many quality teams on

the remaining schedule, Iowa will

certainly have the opportunity to improve

their position going into the postseason.

Iowa’s postseason will begin with the Big

Ten Tournament held in Lincoln, NE.

The tournament will provide stiff

competition, as an NCAA automatic bid

will go to the winner. From there, the

Hawks hope to move on to the NCAA

tournament. Although Iowa is currently

in a good position to make the

tournament, the Hawkeyes will need to

put an end to their recent skid in order to

have a chance at a Big Ten Championship

and the NCAA tournament.

2

Pearl field gets new banners honoring

Iowa’s All-Americans

1

Iowa softball recently put up new

banners at Pearl Field honoring the

program’s All-Americans. Each of

Iowa’s 16 All-Americans are honored

on one of two banners. The first

banner is located on the outside portion

of the stadium along the 1st base line

(above, left). The pictures from left to

right are of: Lea Twigg (1997),

Jessica Bashor (2000), Kari Knopf

(1995, 1996, 1997), Kim Davis

2

(1993), Kristin Johnson (2002, 2003),

Brandi Macias (1997), Brittany Weil

(2009), and Katie Morgan (1993). The

second banner is located on the outside

portion of the stadium along the 3rd base

line (above, right). The pictures from left

to right are of: Debbie Bilboa (1996,

1997, 1998), Tasha Reents (1995),

Diane Pohl (1990, 1991), Christi

Hebert (1996, 1997), Lisa Birocci

(2003, 2005), Karen Jackson (1991,

3

1993, 1994), Alicia Gerlach (2001),

and Kristi Hanks (2000, 2001).

Iowa head coach Marla Looper is pleased

with the banners. “We wanted to find a

way to honor those individuals. It is a

statement that our recruits and current

players need to see and aspire to want to

become: to one day be put in the same

category of some of the greats in Iowa

softball history.”

3

Karen Jackson (1991-1994) Where is she now?

1

Resume: 3-time All-American (1991, 1993, 1994), 1991 Big Ten Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, 1994 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, 1st Team All Big Ten (1991, 1993, 1994). 3 year veteran of the NPF and NPF All-Star (1991). Hometown/Current Residence: Roseville, CA/Roseville, CA (moved back 3 years ago to be near her parents) Degree: B.S. Health Promotions Current Occupation: Owns her own softball and speed training facility called ‘All In Training’, Karen operates the softball training portion of the business. Since Graduation From Iowa: “After I graduated in 1994, I coached under Gayle Blevins at The University of Iowa for two years. Under Coach Blevins leadership, my first two years of coaching we made it to the WCWS, finishing in the final four.

2

I then left coaching and played in the NPF. In 1999, I started coaching under Head Coach Sandy Pearsall at the University of Louisville. I was fortunate to be apart of the inaugural program for 5 years. My daughter, Jayden Kay Jackson, was born on my 30th birthday, July 2, 2002. She is my greatest accomplishment for sure!!! Ironically, Jayden is not a softball player. She is very athletic, runs track, & made it to the Junior Olympic Nationals last year in the long jump, finishing 34th in the nation. For those of you who really know me she is way more athletic than me! I'm super proud of her. I've stayed in coaching & sports ever since running indoor training facilities and marketing baseball & softball at Wilson Sporting Goods Co. Recently, I opened up an indoor 6500 square foot facility with my partner, N'namdi LeBlanc. He runs the speed & agility training while I manage the softball training. I'm very

3

thankful and blessed to have a job that I love, be my own boss, and to give back to young softball athletes.” Favorite memory from Iowa:  “My favorite playing memory from Iowa would be post season at FSU my Junior year. We didn't make it to WCWS but we battled hard. I have many memories of team events, traveling, but having Coach Blevins as a coach and mentor is the best thing I got out of being at Iowa. She taught me to be a hardworking, strong, independent, and dedicated woman. She taught me so much about the game and I'm thankful I can pay it forward in my current position.”

Iowa Softball Newsletter 4

1

Most of you have heard of Iowa

softball’s top athletes: Megan Blank,

Kayla Massey, Johnnie Dowling, and

several others. These names are in the

box scores after every game and some

of them will end up in Iowa’s record

books. But you will likely never hear

the name Sam Valentine. Valentine, a

senior from Centerville, IA, has not

played much and she will not be in any

record book. She is not the best catcher

or hitter or even the fastest runner, but

it is her heart that is her greatest

contribution.

Valentine joined the Hawkeyes as a

walk-on in the fall of 2009. After

learning several positions as a freshman

and even trying her hand at slapping,

Valentine was unsure where she would

fit in in the years to come. The answer

came to her quickly in the summer after

her freshman year. One of the two

Hawkeye catchers transferred home,

leaving Iowa with only one catcher, so

Valentine requested to become a

2

catcher. The request was not an effort

to find her way into the lineup, but

rather to fill a gap that needed filling.

Valentine began catching bullpens right

away and often stayed after practice to

improve her blocking skills. None of

this yielded playing time, but Valentine

was content to work hard and to help

improve those around her. She does not

see much time behind the plate in games

but her contribution as a catcher could

not be more impactful.

Valentine not only found her niche in

the bullpen but also in the weight room.

Valentine is one of Iowa’s strongest

athletes and she propels the team in the

weight room daily. Valentine learned in

her sophomore year to push harder and

to expect more of herself and those

around her. Her teammates began to

look to her to show them how to work

hard.

After Valentine’s newfound success in

the weight room, she suffered a big

setback: a torn ACL in the summer

Valentine Embodies Hawkeye Heart

3

following her sophomore year. Rather

than remove Valentine from the weight

room, Marla Looper requested that

Valentine rehab in the weight room

during team lifting sessions. She

participated in as many lifts as possible

and rehabbed her knee at other times. It

came as no surprise that six months after

her surgery, she was back to 100%.

Although she still did not see much

playing time as a junior, she began to help

her team in a new way; by picking

pitches. During the course of the season

the Hawkeyes tallied several hits,

including two home runs on change-ups

that were called out by Valentine.

Valentine worked hard through her

junior year and into her senior year to

earn her current role as a pinch runner.

She continues to pick pitches and her

positive attitude is as infectious as ever.

She loves coming to the field every day

and everyone loves to be around her.

Valentine embodies everything about

Hawkeye heart: selflessness, hard work,

great attitude, and teamwork. Although

the record books will not show her

greatness, she has left her impact on Iowa

softball.