The University of Iowa’s softball team went out to the Easton Invitational in Fullerton, California this weekend to be the fifth team in the tournament.  The field of Iowa’s opponents included CSU-Bakersfield, the host school Cal-State Fullerton, #24 Oregon State and #16 Stanford.

Instead of getting to play the unranked teams in a warm-up fashion for the ranked teams, the Hawkeyes went head first into the gauntlet and opened up the tournament on Friday afternoon with #16 Stanford.  Coming into the game the Cardinals had won 1o of their last 11 games and pitcher Kelsey Stevens had been one of the hottest pitchers in the country.  The Hawkeyes scored six runs in the fifth inning and added two more later as they were able to squeak out the upset, 7-6.

Iowa took that momentum into its Friday night game, against their other ranked foe, Oregon State.  The Hawkeyes once again got the bats going, plating nine runs on eight hits and Chelsea Lyon got her sixth win in the circle as the Hawkeyes got another upset 9-3.  It seemed as though Iowa was just getting warmed up for Saturday.

Saturday morning the Hawkeyes were set to face Cal-State Fullerton on their home field.  Kayla Massey pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout and added two RBIs to lead the Hawkeyes to a fourth straight victory, 7-0.  After the final pitch of that game, all that stood between Iowa and a weekend sweep was CSU-Bakersfield.

Saturday night brought Lyon back to the circle.  A four-run second inning was the catalyst to yet another Hawkeye victory and the Hawkeyes left California with another tournament title.  Iowa is back for practice for the week on a five-game winning streak and is now 3-2 on the season against ranked teams.

The Hawkeyes head out to the Miken Invitational in College Park, Maryland this week.  They will face St. John’s University and play the host school and future Big Ten conference opponent Maryland on Friday.  Saturday will bring Radford University and the Hawkeyes’ first conference game, against Ohio State.

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The Hawkeye Softball team hosted its annual “Meet The Hawks” night on January 29th at the Indoor Practice Facility.  This year was the first time the event was held in the new facility and also the first time the event featured drills for younger players.  The event opened with the team running through defensive drills for the fans present.  After the team went through its paces, the players separated to their appropriate stations and started running the drills for the numerous girls that came to learn the basics from the best.  The evening concluded with a player autograph and photograph session.

“We easily tripled our crowd this year,” Iowa softball head coach Marla Looper said, “adding the drills was a great move.  Years before it was just a hob nob with the boosters.  I like this format a lot better.”

On the 12th of February the Iowa Baseball team hosted its fourth annual Steak Fry at the Bella Salla Event Center in Tiffin.  The event featured a catered meal by Chef Mickey, a silent auction, team autograph/photograph opportunities, a live auction, and comments by head coach Jack Dahm.  Up for auction were items like MLB ticket packages, autographed jerseys and golfing packages.

“This is the first time we’ve had the event on anything but a Sunday, so the number has been down a little, but the night has still been a success,” Dahm said.  “We’re excited about the upcoming season.”

The Iowa baseball team begins its 2013 season in Clarksville, TN and the softball team continues its season in Denton, Texas this weekend.  Both programs will have their home openers here in Iowa City in March.

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