Errors were the difference in Wednesday’s game in Ames as the Iowa softball team lost to Iowa State, 7-3. The Hawkeyes are now 16-13-1 on the year, and the Cyclones improved to 22-13 with the win.

Iowa catcher Liz Watkins hit two solo home runs, but the Iowa defense affected the scoreboard early in the contest. Iowa had four errors in the game, which led to the Cyclones scoring four unearned runs.

Iowa State scored three runs in the first inning, and the Hawkeyes failed to catch the Cyclones after that.

Senior Lindsey Digmann nabbed the other RBI for Iowa, plating freshman Johnnie Dowling with a single.

Pitcher Amanda Zust picked up the loss for the Hawkeyes, falling to 9-6 on the season. Iowa State’s Rachel Zabriskie pitched a complete game to improve to 18-7 on the year.

Iowa will begin a six-game home stand on Saturday, welcoming Indiana to Pearl Field at 2 p.m.

— by Ian Martin