Mama and the Hawkeye

Andrew Rosenthal
Jul 21, 2017 · 5 min read

Stacy May-Johnson strides to the plate to the tune of “Let’s go Mama!” chants pouring out of the first base dugout. It’s her first appearance at the plate in five years.

Once in May-Johnson’s shoes, Megan Blank joins the fun with her teammates.


Upon arriving at Bob Pearl Softball Field for her first practice as an Iowa Hawkeye, Megan Blank sat in the team huddle and listened to her coaches introduce themselves — then second-year head coach Marla Looper and assistant coach Adrianna Baggetta get their time before the wide-eyed freshmen turn their attention to May-Johnson, then in her second year as an assistant at her alma mater.

The two-time Cowles Cup champion and 2008 NPF MVP returned to Iowa City as a graduate assistant coach in 2007 and later returned for the 2011 season, tasked with reshaping the Iowa offensive attack.

“… I am really excited for the season and think all of you are a really good group of girls,” May-Johnson said. “Go Hawks!”

A minute later, Looper breaks the huddle and sends the Hawkeye infield to its positions to take fielding reps. Blank positions herself at first base and May-Johnson stands at the plate with a bat and ball in hand.

“I guess I drew the short straw,” Blank said. “I was extremely intimidated.”

The intimidation of instruction coming from a softball legend didn’t deter Blank, who shined on the diamond in her first season. As a freshman, she paced the team in batting average, slugging percentage, hits and on-base percentage.

“From the first day she stepped on campus you could tell (Blank) was going to be special,” May-Johnson said. “Even when she was 18–19 years old, I figured she’d be playing in (the NPF) someday.”

Blank showcased more of the same in her sophomore campaign, but needed to work through a few hiccups in her junior season. As she struggled through a self-described “slump,” May-Johnson pulled Blank aside during a practice.

“She just kind of pulled me aside one day and was like, ‘Megan, you’re just trying too hard right now. You need to calm down, you’re going to be fine and you don’t need to do everything.’”

A fresh and current coaching mindset from an active member of USA Softball shaped May-Johnson’s style on the diamond. She implemented the concept of continued learning of the game, even for the players who seemed to have it all figured out at times, Blank included.

“(Both May-Johnson and Blank) would tell you the more they are around like-minded ballplayers that are constantly learning about the game, they are growing,” Looper said. “Even at the ages that they are, experiencing, they are still growing and learning.”

May-Johnson left the Iowa staff after the 2014 season with a coaching opportunity at Louisville available.


Blank concluded her career with the Hawkeyes as one of the program’s all-time great hitters. She broke or tied five school records and finished in the top 10 in 12 statistical categories.

“She was not a person that wanted to be in the middle of the spotlight,” Looper said. “She wanted to play the game right, play the game well and play it with her team and have a team around her.”

Following her senior season, Blank went undrafted but attempted to continue her softball career by attending open tryouts for the Bandits. A few days later, she signed her first professional contract with the team.

Blank made her debut in Chicago a memorable one, ripping the game-winning RBI in the Bandits’ home opener against the Akron Racers. An instrumental part of the team’s 2015 and 2016 championships seasons, she became a crucial name penciled into the lineup card.

“(Blank’s) game is so reproducible and I think the thing that keeps people in this league for a long time is passion, intensity and the ability to bring consistency,” May-Johnson said of Blank’s first two seasons at the professional level. “I think she brings that, so she’s fun to watch.

A second consecutive championship didn’t lead to a calm offseason, however. After the Village of Rosemont took ownership of the Bandits in February 2017, immediate changes were enacted.

The Bandits introduced a fresh coaching staff, led by Florida assistant coach Sharonda McDonald, a new financial plan and a revamped roster highlighted by the return of a Bandit legend.

On February 24, marking the end of five seasons away from playing the game, May-Johnson came out of retirement for the second time and signed with the Bandits ahead the 2017 season.

“When I was given this opportunity, it was something where as long as I had the support of my husband and my family, it was a no-brainer,” May-Johnson said. “I just love softball. I love to play, I love to coach, I love everything about it. It’s a passion.”

Blank, who returned to Iowa as a graduate student manager this past season, ran into May-Johnson in a game against Purdue after hearing the news that the former player-coach relationship would be turning into one of teammates.

“It’s kind of weird to call your former coach by her first name,” Blank said. “I was joking that she’d be playing third and I would call her ‘Coach Johnson!’ from across the field.”

Marking her return to the game after five years, an ecstatic May-Johnson faced the new challenge of getting game-ready physically.

“It’s just been a big process over the last three months to get myself to a point where I’m physically ready,” May-Johnson said. “If you had seen me on the first day of practice, it wasn’t pretty.”

For May-Johnson, it’s an everyday battle where she is constantly asking herself, “Can I still do it? Do I still have it?” The mental capacity to play a full season is a struggle that every athlete faces — away from the game for five years or not.

As someone who’s spent nearly her whole life being around the sport, she speaks with her teammates as a motherly figure — hence, “Mama.”


For the first time in five years, May-Johnson is back in left side of the batter’s box, awaiting a pitch from Akron’s Sara Groenewegen. Her opposition is more than one decade younger.

After “Turn Around” by Jonny Lang plays from the loudspeakers, May-Johnson takes a changeup low for ball one. The next pitch comes in from Groenewegen and it’s dumped into left field for a single, scoring Emily Carosone.

May-Johnon’s lone plate appearance in her 2017 debut drove the ultimate game-winning run. The first one to greet her on the field after the 9–4 win is her daughter, Corrie.

“Did you see your mommy win?” outfielder Emily Allard asks a giggling Corrie.

“The girls really made this fun,” May-Johnson said. “It was a special thing.”

In Looper’s eyes, the team chemistry the Bandits bring reflects the selfless way Blank played at Iowa and the mentality May-Johnson holds about the game, whether playing third base or coaching in the dugout.

One thing is for certain — there’s a sense of Hawkeye legacy on the turf at The Ballpark at Rosemont.

This article was published on www.chicagobandits.com on June 26, 2017

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Andrew Rosenthal

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