Feb. 18, 2007
Tempe, AZ – Junior Emily Nichols hit two solo home runs to help Iowa defeat Idaho State, 10-4 in the final day of the Littlewood Classic. Iowa plated its 10 runs on 11 hits and scored at least two runs in five of the seven innings.
Iowa came out of the gates firing, plating four runs in the bottom of the first. Nichols belted a solo home run to start the inning and senior Jenna Spratt followed with an infield single. Spratt then stole second and scored off an RBI single by junior Summer Downs. Sophomore Colleen McGlaughlin hit a deep double that hit the top of the right field fence to put two runners in scoring position and Downs scored on a groundout by senior Sami Baugh. McGlaughlin crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to center field by sophomore Quinn Morelock.
The Hawkeyes tacked on two more runs in the second for a 6-0 lead. Freshman Lindsey Digmann reached on an error and moved to second on a single by Nichols. Spratt then sacrificed the runners to second and third and both scored on a single by Downs.
Idaho State trimmed Iowa’s lead to 6-4 in the third with a two-RBI double by Christine Shollenberger, an RBI single by Amanda Stachowsky and a sacrifice fly by Merissa Jannsen.
Iowa increased its lead to 8-4 in the bottom of the fifth. Baugh started the scoring with a walk and sophomore Callie Adreon took her place at first. Adreon then stole second and took third on a dropped third strike. Junior Stephanie Ackerson then hit an RBI single to score Adreon, and freshman Taylor Leichsenring entered the game as a pinch-runner. Senior Mindy Heidgerken followed with a bunt single, and a hustling Leichsenring moved to third and later scored on a wild pitch.
Nichols put the Hawkeyes up 9-4 in the sixth with her second solo home run of the game. Spratt gave Iowa a 10-4 advantage when she scored on a sacrifice fly by McGlaughlin. Spratt reached first on an error, stole second and moved to third on a Downs single.
Nichols led Iowa at the plate, finishing a perfect 4-4 with two home runs and two RBI. Downs went 3-4 with three RBI.
Ackerson improved her record to 3-1 with the win. She threw a total of five innings and allowed zero runs on four hits while setting a career-high with seven strikeouts. Freshman Amanda Zust threw one and two-thirds innings and struck out two while freshman Katie Brown threw one-third of an inning in middle relief.
Iowa travels to Louisville, KY, next weekend for the Red and Black Tournament. Iowa faces Kent State to open the tournament Saturday at 10 a.m. central time.