By Jacob Miller
After having no success in their first two games against Ohio State, the Iowa softball team on Sunday was able to steal the third game away from the Buckeyes, salvaging part of the weekend set.
In that game, the Hawkeyes were first to score in the second inning with 1 run, but Ohio State responded quickly scoring 1 in the bottom of the second and another in the third. That gave the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth and put them in a spot they were used to most of the three-game series — ahead.
The score did not change until the top of the sixth, when Iowa’s bats finally came alive and did some damage against the Buckeye pitching staff.
Iowa opened up the inning with freshman McKenzie Schneider hitting a solo home run over the left field fence to tie the game. Then after two runners got on base, fellow freshman Lea Thompson stepped up to the plate and hit a 2-run double into left field to give Iowa a 4-2 lead, the final score.
“It was nice to see us put up a few more hits up today,” head coach Marla Looper said in a release. “It looked more like the Hawkeye team that we have seen the past few months. We continued to fight, scrap, and claw, and eventually we got on a roll. We also took care of the ball defensively. It was nice to see that fight come back today.”
Clutch hits late in the game were a welcome sight for the Hawkeyes, who haven’t always gotten that late-inning production.
The Hawkeyes had double-digit hits (10), which has been rare for the team all season. Iowa spread the love offensively as well, with eight different players knocking at least one hit. Unfortunately, Iowa was unable to find its mojo batting until it was too late in the series.
They lost the first game, 3-1, and the second, 6-0.
In their two losses to Ohio State, the Hawkeyes combined for only 5 hits, which makes it hard on a team that is on the bubble for making the Big Ten Tournament. It did, however, look as though they are headed in the right direction, since they doubled that number in the final game.
It is the theme of the season, but if the Hawkeyes can get the bats going right away in their Big Ten series finale against Northwestern on Friday, then they will have a shot to make it into the Big Ten Tournament. If not, it will likely be the end of their season.
