March 14, 2004
SAN JOSE, CA – The University of Iowa softball team took third place at the National Invitational Softball Tournament with a 3-0 shutout of No. 20 Arizona State Sunday. The Hawkeyes are now 12-8 on the year. Arizona State fell to 27-12.
Sophomore hurler Ali Arnold continued her excellent season with a two-hit shutout of the Sun Devils. Arnold (7-4) struck out six and walked just one.
The offensive star for the Hawkeyes was sophomore third baseman Kylie Murray. The sophomore from Des Moines was 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and a pair of runs scored.
Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Amanda Hentges. Natalie Johnson scored on the play.
Murray’s two-run bomb in the bottom of the sixth gave Arnold the only cushion she needed, and she cruised to the win. The Hawkeyes are now 2-1 against Arizona State on the season, splitting a pair of games with the Sun Devils at the Louisville Slugger Classic.
The Hawkeyes will play a doubleheader against Sacramento State Wednesday starting at 4 p.m. central.