Things are going pretty well for Northern Iowa left-hander Jake Hansen as of late. The sophomore southpaw was named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week last week after throwing a gem April 4 against Illinois State. In the Panthers’ 3-0 victory, Hansen pitched a complete-game shutout. He allowed just one hit, and struck out 12 Redbird batters in the process. Eleven of those 12 victims went down swinging.

“All my pitches were working for me that game,” Hansen said. “I was getting the curveball over for strikes early in the count, then being able to spot up my fastball and changeup. I guess I was just on that day.”

Hansen was “on” for nearly the entire summer of 2003, pitching for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League. Despite just one year of collegiate experience under his belt, the diminutive lefty quickly emerged as one of the staff aces. In his first start of the summer campaign, Hansen tossed five shutout innings to earn his first victory. On the second cycle through the rotation, he threw six scoreless innings to move to 2-0. From there, he kept on rolling. At midseason, he was named to the NWL Southern Division All-Star game.

Known to teammates as “The Snake,” Hansen finished the summer with a 5-1 record and a league-leading 1.23 earned run average. That ERA also ranks as the second best in NWL history. His five wins set a new Mallards franchise record.

“On the field, I learned how to pitch people better,” Hansen said of the summer. “I learned how to spot up a little bit better. Off the field, I got to know people, got some good friends from schools far away. It was just a good experience.”

The season finally came to a close with a first-round loss to the eventual league champion Wisconsin Woodchucks in the NWL playoffs, a season that Hansen will not easily forget. Over 136,000 spectators came through the gates of the Duck Pond at Warner Park, and at season’s end, the left-hander was named to the prestigious Post-Season All-Star team.

“Just the people are great fans, and they always give you a great showing there,” Hansen said. “It’s just a great atmosphere. Fans get loud and it’s fun to play there.”

Hansen’s current pitching arsenal includes a fastball, curveball and a changeup.

“[I’m] crafty if I’m on: spotting up, getting ground balls, getting a couple strikeouts here and there,” he said.

Standing at a listed 5-foot-10 and weighing in at 160 pounds, Hansen does not look like the prototypical strikeout pitcher. Though he is not likely to overpower anyone, Hansen has his own methods of racking up Ks. In a Northern Iowa-leading 33.0 innings this season, Hansen has registered 32 strikeouts, and last summer he struck out 59 NWL hitters in 58.2 innings.

“I think just mixing up pitches well and having a good strikeout pitch, which is my changeup mostly,” he said. “It looks like a fastball to hitters, and then they swing early and miss a lot.”

Hansen may be recording even more strikeouts in his second season in a Mallards uniform, as he will be throwing to a familiar face: Northern Iowa catcher Nate Trumm. Hansen’s collegiate-battery mate, Trumm has signed on for a summer tour in Madison. He got a slight taste of life in the Northwoods League in 2003, filling in on the team’s initial road trip while regular catchers Troy Harp and Javi Sanchez were finishing up their seasons at Middle Tennessee State and Notre Dame, respectively.

In his brief stint on the team bus, Trumm hit .309 and put up an on-base percentage of .500.

“It’s going to be great having Nate there,” Hansen said. “I know he’s going to block balls in the dirt for me and be a good receiver and throw out runners when I need it. He’ll just be an all-around catcher for me.”

After winning the South Division first half championship last year, Hansen and the 2004 Mallards have their eyes set on bigger and better things for this summer. The bulk of last season’s pitching staff will be back, including San Jose State’s Corey Cabral, Butler’s Jon Olson, Baylor’s Cody Hall, Texas’ Kyle Yates and Iowa Western’s D.J. Roshone.

“Hopefully we can get to the Northwoods League championship and win it this year,” Hansen said.

After the summer of 2003, there was not a trace of doubt in Hansen’s mind that he would be returning for another go-round with the Mallards.

“I knew for sure I wanted to go back there,” he said. “Oh, yeah, I’m really excited.”