After a groundout to Hawkeye second baseman Jena Young brought in a run for South Dakota State in the top of the second, she looked to get one back when it was her turn at the plate.
Her single into center field brought in two runs and gave the Hawkeyes a 2-1 lead. That two-RBI base hit would pay dividends for the Hawkeyes as they wouldn’t look back from there — going on to claim the 7-1 victory in game one of the doubleheader against South Dakota State at Bob Pearl Field in Iowa City on Tuesday..
Young brought in another run for the Hawkeyes in the fifth, getting hit by a pitch to extend the Iowa lead to 6-1. Young finished game one 2-for-3 with a team-high three runs batted in.
In game two, Young was hitless through her first two at-bats with a strikeout and flyout. But she didn’t let those first two plate appearances affect her as she ripped two singles in the fourth and sixth innings to finish 2-for-4 in the second contest — a 4-2 win.
Young also played perfect defense, helping the Hawkeyes get through both games without recording an error. Young has just three errors on the season and boasts a .970 fielding percentage.
“She’s a ball player,” head coach Karl Gollan said about Young after the game. “That’s just Jena being Jena, so I just get out of her way and let her do her thing.”
Coming off a 4-for-4 batting performance from Young in the Hawkeyes’ upset win over No. 5 UCLA on Sunday, Young didn’t seem to miss a beat as she went a combined 4-for-7 across both games on Tuesday, driving in three runs.
After an emotional victory over ranked UCLA just a couple of days prior, Young knew she and the Hawkeyes needed to keep the focus on the next game.
“We just knew we had to play good softball,” Young said. “That game doesn’t matter if we don’t do well the rest of the season, so we just had to keep it going. We’ve got a lot of season left, so we just need to keep our bats going.”
Young was listed on the Big Ten Players to Watch list at the beginning of the season after a magnificent first year where she was a first team All-Big Ten and first year All-Freshman selection.
At this moment in the year, it may not seem like the pressure has affected her, but early on in the season, it certainly looked that way.
Young had a very slow start to the campaign, recording just one hit in 16 at-bats through the first five games. Young then went on a tear, going eight for her next 15 in the next four games to get back on track.
The second-year second baseman has been on fire ever since.
“No, I know that I am a good hitter,” Young said when asked if there was any change to her approach. “I just stayed within myself, and Coach Karl [Gollan] helped with just keeping it simple, and he got me prepared better.”