Douglas High School alumna Talia Tretton fires a pitch for the University of Iowa this spring. Tretton had a 3.39 ERA in 119.2 innings, recording 96 strikeouts.
Talia Tretton’s freshman season with the University of Iowa softball team has been noteworthy.
But the two-time Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year said she didn’t expect to be a major piece of the Hawkeyes success this soon.
“I worked super, super hard in the fall and our offseason stuff to try to find any opportunity that I could to get myself in the lineup,” said Tretton, who graduated from Douglas High in 2024. “For the first couple of weeks I wasn’t in it, but I didn’t care. I was still doing everything I could. I was just hoping at one point I could get an opportunity to show what I could do and when the opportunity came I just took it and went with it.”
As the Hawkeyes ready for the Big Ten tournament this week, Tretton has played her way into an everyday spot.
PRIME SPOT
Tretton got her first start against No. 10 Tennessee in early February. She recorded three strikeouts in her first appearance and followed with outings against Texas Tech and Missouri.
Feb. 14 against East Texas A&M, Tretton fired a seven-inning, two-hit shutout where she struck out nine hitters.
One week later she pitched another complete game shutout against Lafayette.
She’s had a couple of tough outings in Big Ten Conference play but progress didn’t stall.
In her final start of the regular season May 3 at home against Rutgers, Tretton allowed four hits and one walk while striking out eight. It was her fifth outing where she did not allow an earned run.
Her ERA is 3.39 in 119.2 innings with 96 strikeouts.
When not pitching, she has been a staple at first base. In 95 at-bats, Tretton had 17 hits, which included four doubles, a triple and two homers. April 27 at Michigan State, Tretton hit a grand slam.
“I kind of felt like I was seeing her relatively well,” said Tretton of the Spartan pitcher. “She threw kind of my favorite pitch and I kind of pulled it.”
The main difference between playing first base in high school and in the Big Ten is her depth, saying she plays deeper with every aspect of the game moving at a quicker speed.
She finished the season with a .179 batting average.
“I definitely feel like I am settling in a little bit more and trusting my abilities,” Tretton said. “I am seeing better pitching and its kind of cool. I like it. I love to hit.”
POSTSEASON STRETCH
Iowa has had several coaching changes this year but has rallied around acting head coach Karl Gollan. Tretton said the team’s confidence has been boosted under Gollan, as well as her belief in herself.
“They feel more confident and a lot of that comes from the coach that we have right now. I feel like he has given us a different mindset and giving us the confidence that we have this year,” said Tretton. “That’s been really good for a lot of us. That’s a testament to how well we are doing right now.”
Iowa enters this week’s Big Ten tournament as the No. 6 seed, opening against No. 11 Penn State today.
A win means the Hawkeyes would be back in action Thursday against No. 3 Nebraska. The Huskers won 2-of-3 meetings in the regular season.
Tretton and the Hawkeyes are hoping their performance this season – and in the Big Ten Conference tournament – will earn them a spot in the Division I softball championship tournament. Iowa’s RPI as a team is top 50, which puts it in a favorable position.
In the Big 10 tourney, the Hawkeyes could run into No. 1 Oregon, which features Carson High grads Kedre and Kailee Luschar.
“It would be super, super cool to see them and potentially play them,” said Tretton. “During breaks and stuff we’ll hit together and I’ll throw to them.”
(Talia Tretton makes a catch at first base for Iowa this spring. / Courtesy Hawkeye Sports)