Though Iowa softball got six hits in its home opener against Indiana Friday, the Hawkeyes only put one run across the board in a 4-1 loss that took nine innings.

The Hawkeyes had their best inning offensively in the fourth, when first baseman Denali Loecker got a one-out walk and designated player Kalena Burns hit a single. Sammy Diaz came in to pinch run for Burns. With runners on first and second, catcher Marissa Peek hit a single to bring Loecker home.

“It felt pretty good to hit it in front of the home stadium,” Peek said, who was playing in her first game at Pearl Field. “I was just trying to put a ball far in play for my team to score a run.”

Iowa had its chances to get on the board in that inning but couldn’t do so. While having runners at second and third with two outs, Diaz attempted to steal home plate on a passed ball, but she was thrown at the plate to end the inning on what head coach Renee Gillispie called a bad jump.

It was in the third inning when Iowa got its first baserunner on board when second baseman Aralee Bogar hit single that she advanced to second on because of an error by the shortstop. Third baseman Ashley Hamilton walked after that, but then the Hawkeyes left them on the bases as the next three batters committed outs.

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In the fifth inning, right fielder Nia Carter singled with two outs but was caught stealing second to end the inning. Loecker was left stranded in the sixth after a walk.

After stepping up as a pinch hitter in the seventh, Lindy Milkowski hit a single and was replaced by a pinch runner, Zoe Schulte. Schulte advanced to second on a wild pitch but couldn’t score. The Hawkeyes got a runner to first in the eighth but that didn’t work as well. Following giving three runs in the top of the ninth, the Hawkeyes went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

In total, the Hawkeyes left six runners on base throughout the day compared to the Hoosiers’ three.

“A couple baserunning mistakes,” Gillispie said. “We’ve been struggling with this all season long. We get a leadoff on, we get runners in scoring position, then getting that clutch hit has been our struggle. We had the right people at the plate at the right time, and I think they get a little anxious on trying to do too much.”

Indiana made two pitching changes throughout the game, but that resulted in only two pitchers pitching on the day. Emily Goodin started and pitched the first three innings, and then Amber Linton started the fourth. With two outs in the seventh, Goodin was put back in on the mound and finished the game.

“We knocked her out and then when brought back in that should have fired them up and we just didn’t take advantage of that,” Gillispie said.

Carter extended her hit streak to six games with her single Friday.

The Hawkeyes (10-7) still have three games left in their series against the Hoosiers to improve their bats, with a doubleheader next on Saturday that starts at 1 p.m. on BTN+.