Swinging for turnaround

IOWA CITY - You may be surprised to learn winning more games is not the only goal for the Iowa softball team.

Recruiting more Iowans has become a priority for the Hawkeyes, who opened the 2015 season on Friday an are coming off their first losing season in more than a decade.

With only two Iowans on the roster, the team is noticing a drop off in more than just recognition and attendance.

'You know, we've recruited a bunch of Iowans - they just haven't chose to come to Iowa,” head coach Marla Looper said. 'I think that Iowa hasn't been at the top of the (Big Ten) conference in a while and they've chosen other conference schools to go to and we've got to get that feel and that want to be a Hawkeye back in our state.

'It's our goal. It is kind of small, but I also know I'm not going to have 20 (Iowa) kids on the roster. We do have a few that I think can definitely contribute and play a major role in our future.”

Included in those whom Looper expects to contribute in the future is Solon native Kara Misel. A sophomore and team captain, Misel is expected to compete for playing time at third base this year. She takes pride in representing her home state.

'It's something that is definitely very special,” she said. 'Coming from Solon, 15 minutes away from here, I watched the Hawks my entire life, and now to be able to put on that jersey it's the best feeling ever to know that every single day I'll go through everything as a Hawkeye.”

Ankeny native Shayla Starkenburg - the team's other Iowan - is producing right now for Iowa. She threw her first no-hitter on Saturday against Southern Utah in a 2-0 win and was two outs away from a second straight Sunday in another complete-game win, 6-0 against Green Bay. She also is happy to represent her home state, but said a roster showcasing other parts of the country is no surprise to her because many play in a warmer climate and practice year-round.

But that doesn't mean the softball season in Iowa doesn't have its own advantages, she said.

'A lot of people from different states, when they play during the school year they have other things to focus on, like classes and schoolwork, where in Iowa the summer is all softball,” she said. 'So I have always been able to just wake up, go to softball, go to bed, go back and play softball. I think it's awesome.”

As for now, the team looks to become a more prominent contender among the Big Ten.

Iowa opens against Drake at the UNI-Dome tournament in Cedar Falls.

'We're indoors, so we're playing on a surface that we're used to practicing on,” Looper said. 'We're going to get some good opponents to open up our weekend and eliminate a lot of extra travel that we're going to eventually take in the next few weeks, so we might as well start close to home.”