March 10, 2007
Sunnyvale, CA – The University of Iowa softball team split two games Saturday at the National Invitational Softball Tournament (NIST). Iowa lost to Cal Poly, 6-0, but rebounded with a 2-1 victory over Santa Clara. Junior Emily Nichols collected one hit against Cal Poly and two hits against Santa Clara to extend her hitting streak to 23 games.
Santa Clara took a 1-0 lead in the third inning of game two when a Hawkeye error led to a run. Iowa responded with a two-run fourth inning to earn the win. Sophomore Colleen McGlaughlin started the rally with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Senior Jenna Spratt then took McGlaughlin’s place at second and moved to third on a fly ball. She scored on a Santa Clara error off the bat of sophomore Rachel West to tie the game at 1-1. West scored the go-ahead run off an RBI single by junior Stephanie Ackerson later in the inning.
Nichols finished 2-4 to lead Iowa at the plate.
Freshman Amanda Zust threw a complete game two-hitter in her seventh win of the season. Zust struck out seven and walked three.
Cal Poly scored two runs in the first, third and fourth inning for the 6-0 win. The Mustangs took advantage of three Hawkeye errors in each scoring inning.
Nichols, Spratt and sophomore Erin Riemersma each collected a hit against Cal Poly.
Ackerson threw four innings in the loss, allowing four earned runs on six hits and struck out one. Freshman Katie Brown threw two innings of relief.
Iowa finishes the NIST Sunday against San Jose State at 1:30 p.m. Game time is listed as central.