The Iowa softball team closed the Dr. Christine Grant Classic with a 7-4 loss in its rematch with South Dakota State on Sunday afternoon. The Hawkeyes now see themselves on yet another losing streak, with three close losses over the last two days.
“These games were really close, meaning it’s a pitch here, a hit there, and so we need to keep looking at ways we can get better,” head coach Stacy May-Johnson said. “We are not throwing in the towel, so we need to find where we can be a little cleaner to push us to the other side of these outcomes.”
The Hawkeyes used all four of their pitchers to withstand the Jackrabbits’ strong offensive attack. Freshman Braylen Conlon logged her 12th career start and faced the first rotation of batters, giving up only one run in the first two innings.
But her replacements of freshman Carly Brewer and junior Avery Sapp could not contain the Jackrabbit batters, giving up a combined six runs off nine hits, three walks, and one home run.
“It’s day three, it’s Sunday, this is not uncommon to see more runs scored on Sunday, the swing rates are higher too,” May-Johnson said. “It was a day that we knew coming into that we may need to use more arms than we did earlier in the weekend.”
Beyond the pitching struggles, Iowa also had some uncharacteristic mistakes in the outfield, with some balls dropping due to possible miscommunications and playing too deep.
“There are a couple of balls that dropped that we need to make plays on, and with our outfielders playing at the fence and seeing the balls drop, it should be a no-brainer with a team we know is not as powerful as we are,” May-Johnson said.
Despite the outcome of the game, Iowa actually led early, putting the first run on the board in the bottom of the second off a smart baserunning decision.
With sophomore Kiara Sipe on third base and Brianna Johnson on first, coach May-Johnson called her base runners to run a safety squeeze. Johnson successfully held up the Jackrabbit infielders with a steal attempt, allowing Sipe to score, and with no one covering second, Johnson found herself also safe and in scoring position.
“It’s always in our arsenal, it’s never going to go away, and it’s something we pride ourselves on being able to beat you in a variety of ways,” May-Johnson said.
Though Iowa would not score again until the fifth inning, after some small ball bunts, sac flies, and two much-needed doubles, the Hawkeyes walked three runners across home plate.
The score would remain tied at four, only for South Dakota State to add three more runs in the sixth.
Leading the Hawkeyes offensively Sunday was Sipe, who went 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, an RBI, and scoring one of the four Iowa runs herself. Days like Sunday, not just for Sipe, but for her teammates, are something the Hawkeyes need to capitalize on to get back to the winning side.
“It’s just a domino effect, one person gets a hit, everyone needs to just keep following that up with the same energy, and eventually the defense of the other team will start messing up, allowing for more hits,” Sipe said.
Also on display Sunday was the masterful decision-making of Iowa’s coaching staff on challenges. The Hawkeyes were able to wipe two impactful plays off the scoresheet from the Jackrabbits with successful challenges of runners on first base leaving early.
“My assistant coaches are always looking for ways to get that extra edge, and seeing things like that helped us stay with them today, being able to take those big plays away and shift them into our momentum,” May-Johnson said.
Up Next
The Iowa softball team, now at 22-20 this season, returns to Big Ten play at home next weekend for a three-game series with Indiana. Game one is set for Friday at 6 pm on Big Ten Plus.
“We are going to go back to practice and focus on the small things and just stay together as a team, as a group,” Sipe said. “It’s a fighting game, especially in conference play; we just have to keep trusting each other both defensively and at the plate.”