Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/794112
135 not basketball, and Mullarkey yearned for an op- portunity to return to the diamond at first base. She wanted to do it as a Hawkeye. "I focused so much on basketball and worked hard to get recruited (in high school)," Mullarkey said. "Soball was fun and relaxing. I played soball my whole life and it was one of the other sports I loved doing. e summer before I came here I said I was going to work out and try out for the (Iowa) soball team when I arrived." Her first season in 2014, Mullarkey played in 33 games and batted .204 in 54 at-bats. Adjustments were made aer what she called a transition year; Mullarkey needed more work to develop her game. Offensive production increased to .261 with 11 extra-base hits as a sophomore and .286 with 23 extra-base hits and nine home runs as a junior. She stole 13-of-15 bases in 2016. "She has been consistent," Looper said. "A lot of times you get someone who is hot, but they are streaky. e building of her confidence has allowed her to be consistent and one at-bat is not her whole season; one error at first base is not the whole sea- son or the whole game. at allows her to be con- sistent and be a leader. Now she has become more of a vocal leader than she used to be when she just went and played." Mullarkey is majoring in sports management with a human relations minor and an entrepreneurship certificate. She dreams of being a college coach and will get experience this summer as an assistant for the West Branch (Iowa) High School soball program. In the near future she aims to lead the Hawkeyes for five games at the Judi Garman Clas- sic in Fullerton, California, from March 2-4. And in the meantime, "Chip" will continue to feast on steak burrito bowls with no beans, mild salsa, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.