Iowa softball’s senior pitcher Sarah Lehman looked strong through eight innings.

In the ninth, Indiana’s hitters figured her out.

After pitching eight innings of one-run ball, the score was tied at one heading into the ninth. Lehman gave up two consecutive home runs – a two-run shot to Indiana’s right fielder Aaliyah Andrews and a solo round trip to Hoosier first baseman Annika Baez – which tacked three runs on to Indiana’s total at the top of the ninth inning.

“I think [Indiana] just caught up to it,” Lehman said. “I’m sure I was getting tired, but I think they just caught up to it, and that happens.”

Freshman catcher Marissa Peek served as Lehman’s battery mate through all nine innings and was the calming sense while Lehman was struggling on the mound.

“I just tried my best to calm her down,” Peek said. “It’s not [Lehman’s] fault, she had eight great innings, so I just felt like [Indiana] had good hits on good pitches.”

Iowa didn’t respond in the bottom of the inning, bringing the final score to 4-1, giving the Hawkeyes a loss in their first game at Pearl Field in almost two years. With the loss, Iowa falls to 10-7 on the season. 

“I don’t mind when teams beat us,” head coach Renee Gillispie said. “But when we give those games away, it’s the worst feeling in the world. We will have to make some adjustments for tomorrow’s game.”

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Lehman is no stranger to long pitching bouts – out of the Hawkeyes 17 games so far this season, she has started and completed seven of those contests, amassing a 5-3 record over that span.

But the coaching staff noticed Lehman’s weariness through the end of the game, especially as she pitched two extra innings.

“She was throwing really well,” Gillispie said. “I think she wore out a little bit at the end. Her miles per hour went down a little bit on her pitches, so they were able to time her up a little bit better than they did earlier on… she hit a high of 68 [miles per hour] and in the later innings, she was about a 63. It’s a lot of games, a lot of innings.

“There weren’t any major things that we need to change. But we will be working on her changeup to keep hitters off balance.”

Iowa softball relies on a trio of senior pitchers for the majority of duties on the mound — Lehman, southpaw Lauren Shaw, and right-handed Allison Doocy. The three have combined to be the pitcher of record in all but one matchup this season.

On Saturday, the Hawkeyes and the Hoosiers will meet again for a doubleheader at Pearl Field, beginning at 1 p.m. Shaw and Doocy will take the mound for the two games, which will be streamed on BTN+.

Gillispie aims to not use Lehman at all in the doubleheader, so she can rest for a probable start in the series finale against Indiana Sunday at 2 p.m. 

“Hopefully, we can save Sarah to Sunday,” Gillispie said. “And she’ll be back up to 100 percent.”