Iowa softball finished with a 2-2 record at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Raleigh, North Carolina, from Feb. 17-19.

The Hawkeyes took down North Carolina State, 11-2, on Feb. 17 behind the bats of junior Denali Loecker and senior Nia Carter.

Loecker smacked her second home run of the season against North Carolina State. Iowa’s win over the Wolfpack lasted just five innings as the Hawkeyes put up eight runs in the fourth frame.

On Saturday, the Hawkeyes split two games, defeating Syracuse, 7-0, and dropping an extra-inning affair to N.C. State, 3-1, in eight innings.

Against the Wolfpack, Iowa was unable to get the job done despite another home run from Loecker, and nine hits to N.C. State’s five.

Iowa left eight runners on base in Saturday night’s loss.

On Sunday, Iowa was downed, 11-4, by Syracuse even though they collected 10 more hits.

Iowa head coach Renee Gillispie told reporters she was not discouraged by the two losses at a media availability session on Feb. 21.

“The hitting was still there for us, we had [10] hits in that last game against Syracuse,” Gillispie said. “We just didn’t have the clutch hits when we needed them. We need to make sure we take care of business and minimize big innings from the opponent, and our pitchers need to be more aggressive and go after the batters.”

The weekend’s outcome shifted the Hawkeyes’ record to 6-3 on the year.

Hawkeye senior Sammy Diaz hit her first career home run in the final game of the weekend against Syracuse.

“It was amazing to just go around the bases and see my teammates’ faces,” Diaz said. “It was the best feeling that I’ve had so far here at Iowa, for sure.”

Diaz added seven putouts in the first Syracuse matchup to further fuel her stellar weekend.

Looking forward

The Hawkeyes travel to Palm Springs, California, this weekend to participate in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 24-26.

Iowa kicks off the competition with a 5:30 p.m. showing against Bethune Cookman on Friday. The two teams faced off previously at the FAU Classic on Feb. 10, as the Hawkeyes waltzed away with an 8-0 victory in just five innings.

Iowa will then face off against No. 1 UCLA at 10 p.m. The Bruins received all 25 votes for the first place ranking in the most recent edition of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, and they stand 12-0 on the year.

On Saturday, the Hawkeyes will take on Cal-Berkeley at 2:30 p.m. and Cal State-Northridge at 5 p.m. Iowa will conclude the weekend’s five-game stretch with a matchup against Oregon State at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Loecker said the Hawkeyes look forward to the challenges they will face this weekend, particularly the top-ranked Bruins.

“It’s going to be nice to face top teams like UCLA,” Loecker said. “It’ll show us where we’re really at as a team, especially since last weekend was a little up and down. It’ll be nice to go out as a team and fight, I’m really looking forward to it.”