HAWK TALK

March 2016

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137 8, she started playing select ball and traveling for games in central Texas. At the age of 12, Fritsch competed on diamonds in Dallas and San Antonio. "As I got older, the further across the country we would travel," she said. "It has been fun to watch her grow," Looper said. "She isn't overly vocal or a bouncy thing on the infield. She gets the job done, is very matter-of- fact, black-and-white, go get your job done. at has allowed her to go up to the next level." In 19 games this season, Fritsch is batting .316 with six RBIs. She has benefitted from first-year assistant coach Jake Schumann's quest for QUABs -- quality at-bats. "Do anything you can to put the ball in play and get on base -- even if you hit a shot at somebody -- that is still a great at-bat," Fritsch said. "An error to get you on first is still a quality at-bat. Anything to put yourself in a good position offensively for your team is the most important thing." In five games at the Coastal Carolina Invitational from Feb. 26-28, Fritsch batted .400 with seven runs, six hits, and five walks. She also stole three bases and had just one fielding error. In a season-opening win against Louisville, Fritsch collected the Hawkeyes' first hit of the season and promptly stole second base. rough the first four games she batted second, fih, and cleanup in the lineup and hit .500 with a run and four RBIs. Moving positions in the field or batting order is nothing new to Fritsch. "She got shied around to a lot of positions with her club team and rolled with it," Looper said. "She never played third base, got thrown there and started playing like she had been there forever. When you see a player like that who can adapt, adjust, and compensate you know they will probably thrive at the next level." A year ago the Hawkeyes shined late, defeating Northwestern , 8-6, at Pearl Field before knocking off Rutgers and Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Fritsch would like to extend this season even further. "As a team I would love to make it past the Big Ten Tournament," Fritsch said. "Our schedule is set up for us to play extremely well."

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