Iowa softball split action last weekend, managing to get a 4-1 win against the Liberty Flames while dropping a game to Southern Illinois, 4-2. The Hawkeyes are now 4-3 overall.

In game one, Iowa found itself in a hole as Southern Illinois scored three runs in the second inning, taking advantage of three Hawkeye errors. Iowa would eventually gain some momentum in the fourth inning, as an RBI double off the bat of first-year Devin Bowman put the Hawkeyes on the board.

Immediately following Bowman’s RBI double, fourth-year Sammy Diaz managed to get a single and move into scoring position, eventually scoring Iowa’s lone run of the game. Iowa finished the game with four hits and four errors.

In game two against Liberty, Iowa jumped to an early 2-1 lead at the end of the first inning. First-year Soo-Jin Berry led this early spark with an RBI triple and was later batted in by fourth-year Brylee Klosterman.

Iowa added two more runs in the fifth inning from a pair of RBI singles. First-year Jena Young and Diaz were credited with RBI singles. Liberty responded in the fifth inning with one run, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Hawkeyes, who won, 4-2. Iowa finished with eleven hits and two errors.

Two seemed to be the lucky number for second-year pitcher Jalen Adams. Throwing a complete game and picking up her second win of the season against the Liberty Flames, Adams managed to allow two runs on two hits, alongside two strikeouts.

The remaining games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday were canceled due to inclement weather. Iowa was set to face Kansas, Coastal Carolina, and University of California Riverside.

“We can play with anybody. Our first game was not the greatest against Southern Illinois … Just to show that we could compete and win against Liberty was huge,” Head coach Renee Gillispie said.

This weekend the Hawkeye softball team is off to Florida again for the University of North Florida/Jacksonville University Tournament.

In preparation for this weekend’s tournament, Gillispie’s game plan was very simple.

“Just playing our game. We cannot get ahead of ourselves or worry about the teams we are facing,” Gillispie said. “Just making sure we are clean in the way we play.”

Iowa is set to play the University of North Florida (6-3), Jacksonville University (3-7), and Harvard University (0-0).

With multiple freshmen seeing considerable playing time early in the season, Klosterman and Diaz reflected on the importance of their leadership roles.

“Helping them through the struggles, congratulating them on their successes, and being someone they can go to,” Klosterman said about the key to developing team success.

Gillispie, Diaz, and Klosterman made it very clear what the goal was for the team this year — a Big Ten Championship.

“I want that ring,” Diaz said.