May 16, 2009
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ATLANTA, GA – The University of Iowa softball team ended its 2009 season with a 3-1 loss to Boston in the Atlanta Regional of the NCAA Tournament late Saturday night. The Hawkeyes end their season with a 42-16 overall record.
“We had our chances tonight, but just couldn’t get it done,” Head Coach Gayle Blevins said. “I was really proud of how our team fought the entire game, especially in that last inning. We could have just quit, but we didn’t. We kept fighting until the end of the game. We had some situations where things just didn’t go our way, and it’s a tough way to end the season. I am very proud of our effort tonight.”
Boston took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, when Brooke Hudson hit just her third home run of the season. With two outs in the frame, Hudson took the first of her at-bat and took it over the left field fence.
The Terriers increased their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Back-to-back singles started the sixth inning for Boston. Later, with one out, both baserunners moved up a bag on a double-steal. The Terriers then attempted a squeeze, but the throw home from the Hawkeye infield sailed to the backstop, allowing both runners to score.
The Hawkeyes didn’t go away without a fight, mounting a small comeback in the seventh. Two Iowa freshmen, Liz Watkins and Missy Mazur, delivered big hits to start the rally. Watkins roped a single to start the inning to the center field fence, and Mazur followed one batter later with a double to the same spot. Senior Erin Riemersma drove in Iowa’s only run of the NCAA Tournament with a sharp line drive off the Boston third baseman’s glove, which rolled into left field. Iowa couldn’t score any more runs, however, as Boston eliminated the Hawkeyes from the Atlanta Regional.
Freshman Missy Mazur had a big night in her first NCAA Tournament start, going 2-for-3. Senior Sam Heinzman also collected two hits for Iowa Saturday night.
Senior Brittany Weil wrapped up her stellar Hawkeye career with a tough loss, throwing five innings. She allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. The Garden Grove, CA, native finishes her career as one of the most decorated pitchers to ever wear a Hawkeye uniform. She holds school records for career strikeouts (1,084), single-season strikeouts (340), career games pitched (183) and career complete games (110). She is also tied for the most wins in school history with 99.