May 22, 2005
LINCOLN, NE – The University of Iowa softball team was defeated by the Washington Huskies, 2-0 in the final round of the NCAA Region 16 Softball Tournament. The Hawkeyes ended the 2005 campaign with a 50-14 overall record.
Washington broke the scoreless tie in the top of the sixth. Kathy Fiske led off the inning with a single and after a Lisa Birocci strikeout, back-to-back singles allowed the Huskies to take a 1-0 lead. After a great play by Iowa shortstop Stacy May for the second out of the inning, Birocci walked Jacki Hansen and Dominique Lastrapes followed with her fourth hit of the game, scoring Kaiyln Ellinger for a 2-0 lead. Kylie Murray threw out Caitlin Noble at home for the final out of the inning.
The Huskies threatned early in the game, but great defense allowed the Hawkeyes to maintain the shutout. After a leadoff single in the second by Lastrapes, Birocci surrendered a walk and hit a batter to load the bases with two outs. Fiske roped a ball up the middle, but May made another great play and stepped on second for the force out and the Hawkeyes escaped the inning.
Great defense by Mindy Heidgerken kept the game scoreless in the fifth. Hansen drove a ball to deep center field to lead off the fifth, but Heidgerken made a running snow-cone catch for the first out of the inning. After a Lastrapes single with two outs, Heidgerken caught another fly ball to end the inning.
Jenna Spratt recorded Iowa’s only hit of the contest, slapping a single down the third base line in the third.
In her final game as a Hawkeye, Lisa Birocci threw six and 1/3 innings and recorded four strikeouts. She ended her illustrious career at Iowa with a 29-9 record. Ali Arnold threw 2/3 innings of relief for Iowa.
Birocci, Arnold and May were named to the all-tournament team. May recorded a .583 batting average in the regional tournament, collecting seven of Iowa’s 11 hits and scored all three runs in the tournament for the Hawkeyes. Birocci ended the 2005 Regional Tournament with 25 strikeouts while Arnold was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.
“We had a hard time hitting Boek,” Head Coach Gayle Blevins said. “Lisa did a great job in the circle and our defense got us out of a lot of jams. I’m really proud of our kids and they way they fought in this tournament. It’s hard to go on the road and this regional was tough for everyone, but we came back and did a great job. I’m very pleased with our effort.”
The 2005 Hawkeyes were just the third squad in school history to record 50 wins in a season.