March 7, 2008
Riverside, CA – Junior Brittany Weil and sophomore Amanda Zust combined to throw a no-hitter against Utah Valley in Iowa’s opening game at the Amy S. Harrison Classic Friday. The Hawkeyes came away with a 6-0 win, improving their record to 11-5 overall.
“It was great to get a shutout from our pitchers today,” Head Coach Gayle Blevins said. “We played more aggressively, both offensively and defensively. We kept pressure on them during the entire game, which is something we want to do. We had a lot of quality at-bats today and I really thought Summer got us rolling with her double. This was a good win today and our overall focus, from the field to the dugout, was fantastic.”
Iowa’s pitching staff turned in an impressive performance against the Wolverines. Weil picked up the win, throwing four innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. Zust tossed three innings of relief, striking out three with no walks. The staff threw 101 total pitches, 63 for strikes. Only four Wolverines reached base, two off walks, one off a hit batsman and one on a fielder’s choice. No Utah Valley runner made it past first base.
“It was great to get an early lead and keep them playing from behind,” Weil said. “Our offense did a great job giving us runs to work with.”
“This was a good win and one we needed,” Zust said. “It was fun to watch our offense keep pushing runners. I thought Brittany did a nice job to start the game and I just wanted to come in and slam the door.”
Iowa struck first with three runs in the second inning. Junior Erin Riemersma drew a two-out walk and scored on a double by senior Summer Downs that hit the left field fence. Senior Emily Nichols followed with a walk and sophomore Taylor Leichsenring blooped a single to left field to load the bases. Freshman Chelsey Carmody then hit a fly ball to center that was dropped, allowing Downs and Nichols to score.
Riemersma made the score 5-0 in the third with a two-run home run to left field. Junior Colleen McGlaughlin reached on a fielder’s choice and later in the inning, Riemersma smacked her third home run of the season.
Nichols started the fourth inning with a solo home run for a 6-0 Hawkeye advantage. The Portland, OR, native now has 35 career home runs.
Iowa returns to action Saturday at the Amy S. Harrison Classic. The Hawkeyes will face UC Riverside at 1 p.m. and Buffalo at 3 p.m.
Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.