The Iowa softball team broke its seven-game losing streak after a successful start to the Dr. Christine Grant Classic in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes won the first matchup of a two-game set against Georgia Tech on Friday night before falling to the Yellow Jackets and then South Dakota State on Saturday. Iowa is now 22-19 on the season.
Pro-level performance from Iowa pitching
The Hawkeyes’ 2-1 win on Friday was their first since March 24.
Fourth-year Serayah Neiss starred in the circle, traversing all seven innings after retiring the first nine batters she faced. The Fresno State transfer finished with five hits allowed and five strikeouts.
Neiss also earned her 50th career win at the collegiate level and her 10th with the Hawkeyes.
Offensively, Iowa’s leadoff batter got on base in each of the first two innings, but struggled to put one across home plate until the third inning.
Third-year Devin Simon and fourth-year Tory Bennett reached base on singles before Simon was tagged out at that plate on a fielder’s choice from second-year Kiara Sipe.
With two outs and runners on third and second, Leah McAnally delivered in the clutch. She lined a deep single, scoring both Sipe and Bennett to give Iowa a lead it would never relinquish.
Though Iowa got the win, the Hawkeyes struggled at the plate, offensively striking out 12 of their 25 at-bats Friday.
“Coach is always pretty positive, and she usually tells us it’s just one game and to flush it,” redshirt second-year Nailyn Marshall said. “We knew we were a bounce-back team and could come back even stronger the next game.”
Saturday sweep
After a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay to start Saturday’s game, the Hawkeyes suffered an 8-0 loss to the Yellow Jackets in six innings.
Worries of whether the rain delay may have affected the Hawkeyes’ preparation for the game were easily dismissed.
“No, honestly, I think the rain delay only made us more hyped and ready to compete,” Marshall said. “Also, coming off of Friday, we wanted to come in and play with our foot on the gas.”
Iowa’s offensive struggles continued in Saturday’s loss as they faced the same pitcher from Georgia Tech, Madalyn Johnson. This time around, the Hawkeyes struck out six of their 20 at-bats, but only collected one hit with a double from Simon late in the fifth inning.
“She is a very talented pitcher, thinks we are a great offense, and it was a fight the entire game with her,” Marshall said. “We gave it our all today and left it all out there on the field, and sometimes it doesn’t go our way.”
Defensively, Iowa also struggled with pitching. First-year Braylen Colon earned the 11th start of her career and split the game with third-year Avery Sapp. The two combined faced 31 batters, giving up four home runs, four doubles, and four walks in the loss.
First-year Carly Brewer got the starting nod in the following game against South Dakota State and pitched a career-high six innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs. The Hawkeyes secured a 2-1 lead in the fifth off a double from Marshall, but the Jackrabbits forced a tie in the next inning and then retook the lead in extras off a solo home run from shortstop Bria Rebel.
The Hawkeyes continue action on Sunday, April 12, in a rematch against the Jackrabbits. Action begins at 12:30 p.m. at Bob Pearl Field and can be streamed on Big Ten Plus.