The Hawkeyes traveled to Champaign this past weekend to face the Fighting Illini in their first Big Ten series.

Despite Iowa’s recent struggles, they ended up winning the series 2-1. The Hawkeyes move their record up to 7-14, while Illinois drops to 15-9.

The first game went to extra innings before Iowa pulled out a victory. Senior Kayla Massey pitched nine solid innings in the circle and struck out 4 en route to her third victory of the year.

The come-from-behind victory brought a lot of momentum to the team going into a double-header the next day.

The Hawkeyes offense got the day started when they beat the Illini in a 10-7 shootout. Senior Brianna Luna scored 3 runs and tallied 2 hits in the victory. The defense also remained strong by giving up no errors.

In the second game of the day, the Hawkeyes couldn’t pull out the sweep and the Illini grabbed a victory, 4-3. Massey took the loss despite pitching a good game with 3 strikeouts and 3 earned runs.

“We didn’t ever die out,” fourth-year head coach Marla Looper said in a release. "We continued to battle through each game. I am proud of them for getting two of three.”

— by Jack Rossi