By Ian Murphy | [email protected]

The temperature dipped to the mid-50s, and the Iowa softball team’s bats felt the chill against the Missouri Tigers in a double-header on Tuesday at Pearl Field.

The Tigers beat the Hawkeyes, 7-1 and 11-4.   

Iowa head coach Marla Looper said the cold hitting was a product of Missouri’s strong pitching, especially the ability of Danielle Baumgartner to change speeds.

“Until we get really good at being able to deal with off-speed pitching, we’re going to struggle a little bit,” Looper said.

The Hawkeyes were outhit by the Tigers 21-9 over the two games and at times struggled to advance base runners.

Even more troubling for the Hawkeyes were the combined 6 errors.

Iowa had 4 errors in the second game, and although all the Missouri runs were earned, the Hawkeyes allowed base runners to either advance or reach base on those errors, though none of the runners scored.

“I think the field was playing differently today,” Hawkeye junior Claire Fritsch said. “There were just some fundamental errors today.”

Those errors included throws from the catcher to second base and a pair of errors from the shortstop.

Missouri, No. 19 in the USA Today coaches’ poll, is now 31-12, has the No. 12 RPI, and was every bit as tough as advertised on Tuesday.

As good as Missouri was, the combination of errors and hitting doomed the Hawkeyes from the start of the second game. Iowa scored 1 run in the first inning and seemed poised to make the game competitive, trailing just 2-1 at the top of the second.

The Tigers, however, erupted for 5 runs over the next two innings. Missouri stymied Iowa’s comeback bid — a 3-run fourth inning — by tallying 4 more runs in the seventh and final inning to put the game out of the Hawkeyes’ reach.

“We definitely could have done better at the plate. We didn’t score that many runs,” junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey said. “The balls that we did hit sometimes went to people, and sometimes it just didn’t fall for us.”

The errors wouldn’t have made the difference, because the Tiger’s Emily Crane had a pair of 2-run home runs, but giving up free bases, on errors or otherwise, sunk the Hawkeyes.

Junior Elizabeth Wiegand pitched 5.1 innings, giving up 7 runs, all earned, on 9 hits. Senior Shayla Starkenburg threw 1.2 innings of relief, giving up the other 4 runs on 4 hits.

The Hawkeyes have struggled all season, and those struggles were apparent on Tuesday.

Errors, a lack of run production, and giving up opportunities all cost the Hawkeyes an opportunity at an upset. The Hawkeyes dropped to 12-30 on the year with the pair of losses.

“You don’t give a team like that more opportunities,” Looper said. “We had a chance to at least maybe only give them one bag or get an out when there’s only one runner on.”

Follow @ianfromiowa on Twitter Iowa softball for news, updates, and analysis.