March 21, 2010
IOWA CITY, IA – The University of Iowa softball team handled South Dakota 10-2, in six innings, in game two of Sunday’s doubleheader at Pearl Field. Chelsey Carmody paced the Hawkeye offense with a perfect 4-for-4 effort, Liz Watkins added five RBI and Jordan Goschie belted her first career homerun to lead Iowa to a doubleheader sweep in the 2010 home opener. The Hawkeyes scored a season-high 10 runs and have won five of their last six contests.
Iowa jumped on the Coyotes early with a pair of runs in the first inning. Following back-to-back singles by Lindsey Digmann and Carmody to start the frame, Jenny Schuelke delivered a two-out double to give the Hawkeyes an early 2-0 lead.
The Hawkeyes extended their lead by sending eight batters to the plate in the second inning. Goschie led off the frame with her first collegiate homerun and Liz Watkins added a two-out three-run homerun to plate Taylor Leichsenring and Carmody to give Iowa a 6-0 edge.
South Dakota plated a pair of runs in the sixth inning when Jessica Lussman singled through the right side and a pair of Coyotes scored when the ball was misplayed in right field. Freshman pitcher Chelsea Lyon then stranded Lussman on third base when she coaxed an infield popup to limit the damage and preserve the 6-2 lead.
Iowa bounced back in the bottom half of the inning when Ashley Akers and Carmody singled and scored on Liz Watkins’ double down the right field line, extending the Hawkeyes’ lead to 8-2.
Katie Brown then powered Iowa’s third homerun of the game, plating Watkins with a long bomb to centerfield and ending the game in six innings. The big fly was Brown’s fourth of the year.
Lyon earned the win for Iowa. The Oklahoma native allowed just four hits and tied a season-high with six strikeouts en route to her third career complete game.
Iowa (14-12) returns to action Wednesday with a 4 p.m. contest against Illinois State at Pearl Field. The game will be televised on BigTenNetwork.com