The Iowa softball team returned to Bob Pearl Field for a three-game weekend series with No. 16 Washington. The Hawkeyes fell all three days, despite three extra innings in Sunday’s game against the Huskies.
Iowa moved to 21-13 and 5-7 in conference play with the three losses.
Here are three takeaways from Iowa’s second home conference series of the season.
Struggles in game two
After falling 16-7 in game one of the series on Friday, Iowa saw zero offense in Saturday’s game two. The Hawkeyes were shut out, 10-0, in a six-inning no-hitter. The last time Iowa failed to earn a single hit in a game was on March 20, 2022.
Iowa had seven hits in game one of the series, but even with 17 at-bats, the Hawkeyes could only earn two walks and a hit by pitch.
The offensive struggles were not the only issue in game two for Iowa, as the defensive side saw an all-time low as well. The Hawkeyes made four errors through the first three innings, giving up six of the 10 runs by the end of the third.
“It’s not like we make a lot of errors, so that was quite uncharacteristic,” head coach Stacy May-Johnson said. “To better ourselves, some of it is putting the right players on the field and just going back to making the plays we have been making all year.”
Iowa pitchers struggle with Washington’s strong offense
In total, the Iowa pitchers gave up 36 runs off 37 hits and 15 walks across the three-day series to Washington’s strong offense. The Huskies also recorded six home runs over the weekend.
Iowa used its four key pitchers throughout the weekend series. Hawkeye ace Serayah Neiss threw three innings on Friday and nine innings on Sunday. She recorded six strikeouts and gave up four walks, 20 hits, and 13 runs.
“Serayah did a great job, she changed speeds a lot, kept them off balance and uncomfortable,” May-Johnson said. “Washington is a really good offensive team, maybe even a top ten nationally team, so for her to stay competitive through all the runs tells you a lot.”
Game three offensive rebound
Despite the struggles and blowout losses, the Hawkeyes showed up Sunday ready to play like it was a series-deciding game. Iowa led early after an effective small-ball offense from Hawkeye batters.
Third-year Devin Simon led off for Iowa Sunday, earning a single in her first at bat. Following her was fourth-year Tory Bennett and second-year Kiara Sipe, each using a successful bunt to get on base. The Hawkeyes would use two more bunts to score two runs in the first.
“It was kind of just do anything we can, move the runners, bat them in, and score some runs,” first-year Mariah Meyers said.
Included in Iowa’s early lead was a two-run home run from fourth-year Avery Jackson in the second inning. Jackson’s fourth of the season and sixth of her career helped boost team morale.
“It’s always awesome to hit a homerun, especially at Pearl Field,” Jackson said. “I saw what Mariah did in her at bat, and I just went up trying to hit a gap shot, and it just happened to go over the fence.”
Up Next
The Iowa softball team moves to 21-13 and 5-7 in conference play as they hit the road next weekend with a three-game series on the West Coast against No. 17 Oregon. Game one is set for Friday, April 3, at 8 pm CT.