The Iowa softball team battled through five games over the weekend, emerging with a 3-2 record at the Campbell Softball Tournament in Buies, North Carolina. The Hawkeyes posted wins against Radford and split with Campbell, winning, 10-4, and falling, 8-2. Iowa fell to Miami (Ohio), 4-1, to finish out the tournament. 

The Hawkeyes are now 10-4, posting a winning record in all three of their tournaments so far this season. 

“There were a lot of positives to take away from this weekend,” Iowa head coach Stacy May-Johnson told HawkeyeSports. “We saw growth in different areas, and our team continues to show resilience. We’ll learn from this and keep building as we move forward.”

Hawkeyes roll past Highlanders 

The Hawkeyes opened the weekend strong, earning an 11-3 win over the Highlanders in the first matchup of the weekend.  

Senior Tory Bennett paved the way early with a grand slam to center field in the second inning, followed by a three-run homer from sophomore Kiara Sipe in the third.  

Despite the Hawkeyes’ early lead, the Highlanders responded with a quick three runs to finish out the inning, making the score 7-3.  

Iowa held onto its lead, adding four runs in the seventh inning. Junior Avery Sapp earned the win in relief, pitching 4 2/3 innings with two strikeouts and no walks.  

Early deficit costs Hawkeyes in loss to Camels  

In the Hawkeyes’ second matchup of the day, they fell to an early 2-0 deficit when the Camels scored two runs in the first inning. Sipe found a quick response, doubling and advancing on her teammates’ single to bring the score to 2-1.  

Senior Serayah Niess entered in the second, but the Camels responded with a grand slam, eventually adding two more runs later to secure an 8-2 win.  

“Going 1-1 shows we’re capable, but we have to find a way to sustain that level for a full day,” May-Johnson said. “We have an opportunity to come back tomorrow and be better.” 

Hawkeyes repeat win over Highlanders  

The Hawkeyes started the next day strong, opening with a 4-0 win in their second game against the Highlanders.  

Niess began the day on the mound, allowing zero runs and only four hits through four innings pitched. She leads the team with 26 strikeouts over 34 innings pitched.  

The momentum continued on offense with McKenzie Leitgen and Bennett leading the way. Solo home runs as well as doubles from both the first-year and the senior helped keep the Hawkeyes ahead.  

“Our offense was able to compete and battle through seven innings against Radford,” May-Johnson said. “It was nice to see our pitchers throw a combined shutout, and the defense was there to back them up.”  

Early loss followed by Hawkeye victory  

The Hawkeyes rebounded to split with the Camels in their second game of the day.  

Iowa struck first with back-to-back doubles in the top of the first. Campbell quickly responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame, making the score 3-1.  

First-year Phoenyx Silva recorded her first-career home run in the fourth inning with a blast to right field. Iowa then broke the game open, scoring six runs in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 8-4.  

The Hawkeyes scored two more runs before eventually bringing in Neiss for relief. She notched two strikeouts and a groundout to seal the victory over Campbell, 10-4.  

Hawkeyes rally falls short in finale  

After a slow start to their final game of the tournament, the Hawkeyes trailed for the entirety of the game, eventually falling, 4-1, to Miami (Ohio).  

The Redhawks scored on a double early in the second inning, securing a 1-0 lead. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Hawkeyes returned the favor with an RBI single from Leitgen, who ranks second on the team with a .394 batting average and first with a 1.520 OPS.

The Redhawks scored three in the bottom of the frame. Bennett posed as the tying run with two outs in the seventh, but grounded out to end the game.  

Up Next 

Iowa travels to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to take on McNeese State at 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 26. The Hawkeyes will then compete in the LSU Invitational, where they will have four games over the upcoming weekend against Memphis, Nicholls State, and LSU.