March 16, 2008
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DeLand, FL – The University of Iowa softball team defeated Cornell, 6-5 in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader at the Stetson Spring Classic. Iowa moves to 17-6 with the win.
Iowa jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Junior Rachel West tallied an infield single and then stole second base. Junior Colleen McGlaughlin followed with a walk and senior Emily Nichols singled to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed West to score the first run and a sacrifice fly from senior Summer Downs scored McGlaughlin.
The Hawkeyes increased their lead to 5-0 in the third inning. Freshman Chelsey Carmody tripled and Rachel West then tapped a bunt back to the pitcher. The entire Cornell infield charged the ball and throw to first was not in time. West then hustled to second base with no one covering the bag. Both runners scored on an RBI single up the middle by Nichols. Downs then collected an RBI single, scoring Nichols for the third run of the inning.
Cornell responded in its half of the third with a three-run home run from Elise Menaker. It was just the second home run that junior Brittany Weil has allowed all season and the first earned runs she had allowed on the weekend.
Downs helped Iowa get an important run in the fifth inning for a 6-3 lead. She singled to start the inning and hustled to second on a Cornell error. Downs then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Katie Brown and slid safely under a tag off a ground ball by freshman Jenny Schuelke.
Cornell cut the Hawkeye lead to one run at 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth, but that would be as close as the Big Red would get. Sophomore Amanda Zust relieved Weil in the fifth inning and kept Cornell off the scoreboard to help Iowa get the win.
Five Hawkeyes finished with two hits while Nichols and Downs each had two RBI.
Weil improved her record to 11-5, throwing four and two-thirds innings. She gave up three earned runs on five hits while striking out five. Zust tossed two and one-thirds innings of relief to get her second save of the season.
Iowa will face host-school Stetson at approximately 5 p.m. (CDT) Sunday in its final game at the Stetson Spring Classic.