Softball heads for Carolina

The Iowa softball team will travel to the East Coast to compete in the Coastal Carolina Invitational.

The team will face Georgia Southern three times and Coastal Carolina twice during the three-day event.

The team previously competed in the Total Control Sports Invitational, winning its first game but dropping its last four.

Its struggles in the tournament, much like its opening series, were lack of execution offensively and defensively.

“We had to chances to score,” Iowa head coach Marla Looper said in a release. “We left way too many runners on base. We have to take care of the ball in the circle, at the plate, and defensively. We handed them 2 of their 3 runs.

“We just didn’t execute when needed to along the way, and we had plenty of chances to do so.”

Iowa’s team ERA, 2.11, is now the second-lowest ERA in the Big Ten. That dropped from its previous 2.25 in opening weekend. Opposing batters are hitting .235 against Iowa’s pitchers, the fourth lowest average in the conference.

— by Mario Williams