Iowa softball falls to Ohio State, loses sixth consecutive game
The Hawkeyes dropped game two of their series to the Buckeyes, 6-4, on Saturday at Bob Pearl Field.
Iowa batter Sophie Maras hits a ball during a softball game between Iowa and Ohio State at Bob Pearl Softball Field in Iowa City on Friday, April 15, 2022. The Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes, 7-3.
April 16, 2022
Iowa softball’s losing streak moved to six games on Saturday afternoon as the Hawkeyes lost game two of their series against Ohio State, 6-4, at Bob Pearl Field.
Pitcher Breanna Vasquez picked up her 11th loss of the season in the defeat, giving up eight hits and five runs (four earned) in five innings of work.
Iowa tallied seven hits overall in the contest, and sophomore center fielder Brylee Klosterman went 2-for-3 at the plate. Shortstop Sophia Maras got on base in all four of her plate appearances as well, taking three walks and notching one hit in the loss.
“Offensively, you know, Sophie did a great job at the plate taking three walks, and she had opportunities to, and then coming up with a big hit,” head coach Renee Gillispie said. “Brylee, again, was just solid at the plate and getting good contact out there, but we’ve got to get those timely hits.”
Ohio State starting pitcher Allison Smith improved to 7-2 in the circle on Saturday. Smith gave up six hits and four runs, striking out five batters in six innings. Buckeye catcher Taylor Pack went 2-for-3 while hitting her first home run of the 2022 season.
Big Picture
Iowa moved to 18-22 overall and the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten record fell to 1-12 in 2022. Iowa has also lost its fourth consecutive Big Ten series of the season. The Hawkeyes have yet to win a conference series in 2022.
Iowa is currently ranked last in the Big Ten Standings, with Michigan State is slotted one game ahead with a 1-11 record in conference play.
Stat of the Day
In the defeat, Iowa left 11 runners on base, struggling to turn hits into runs.
“Right now that’s the key, I mean, we’re getting runners on which we weren’t doing before, so we’re getting past that first bar of getting the runners on,” Gillispie said. “But now, it’s being able to execute and get that timely hit. And we’ve had a couple of good hits that they made great plays on but we’ve got to have one through nine more constantly.”
What’s Next
Iowa will take on Ohio State in game three of the series at noon on Sunday at Bob Pearl Field. The game will be streamed on BTN+.