By Mario Williams
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It was a quiet first few innings of softball between Iowa and Northern Iowa.

Eventually, however, the bats started clicking, and things got interesting. In the end, the Hawkeyes were able to capture a 6-3 win.

“We just finally made the adjustments we needed to,” Iowa head coach Marla Looper said after the game. “We needed to put the ball in play, because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Junior Claire Fritsch was the first batter for the Hawks in the first inning and got things going with a single. Junior Sammi Gyerman followed with another to the right side of the field.

Those were Iowa’s only hits until an explosive fourth inning that began with Northern Iowa pitcher Bailey Lange hitting two batters.

Things went downhill quickly for the Panthers after that, because Lange was clearly rattled. She was pulled for Chelsea Ross after a Sarah Kurtz RBI single gave the Hawkeyes the first run of the game.

“We would’ve like scoring right away, but I think we transitioned and attacked,” junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey said. “Our dugout got pumped up when a lot of our hitters got hit. We just took that to the plate and scored a bunch of runs.”

The pitching change didn’t do much for the Panthers, at least in the fourth. Ross was eventually able to get out of the inning but not before an wild pitch, an error, a Mullarkey double, and a single from Sammi Gyerman gave Iowa a 6-0 lead.

The Hawkeyes were able to capitalize with the bases loaded and runners on base. It’s something they have struggled with this season, and if this is a sign of things to come, it’s very good for Iowa.

“The winner of a game usually makes the first adjustment,” Looper said. “I’d like to have gotten the other ones in earlier. We got more chances, and we just have to capitalize on them all the time.”

Junior Shayla Starkenburg’s performance in the circle, throwing five scoreless innings, kept the Panthers in check. The Panthers finally got after her in the sixth inning, stealing home and scoring 2 runs.

Sophomore Kennedy Bailey was the star of the inning, popping a single into center field to plate 2 runs.

After Bailey’s hit, Starkenburg was pulled in favor of Ashley Yoways, who used a strikeout and pop fly to get out of the inning.

“Shayla had a really good game once she kind of settled in,” Looper said. “She got out of a couple of jams, which was good to see. She buckled down, and she took care of business.”

Yoways started the top of the seventh inning after Iowa failed to get any insurance runs. After allowing a single and a walk, Yoways was pulled for sophomore Erin Riding, who didn’t allow a hit or a runner to score.

“I like that kind of pressure,” Riding said. “Knowing that my team was behind me helped out a lot. I knew I had to get my job done.”

Follow @marioxwilliams for Iowa softball news, updates, and analysis.