Lyon, Hawkeyes Blank Dayton in Lovelace Opener, 3-0

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Feb. 15, 2013

Box Score

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DENTON, Texas — The University of Iowa softball team blanked Dayton, 3-0, in the opener of the Lovelace Invitational on Friday morning. The Hawkeyes used a gem from senior starter Chelsea Lyon and clutch hitting to move to 4-2 on the season. The game was held at Lovelace Stadium on the campus of the University of North Texas.

Senior Johnnie Dowling got things rolling early, tripling to left center to open the bottom of the first. Classmate Bradi Wall followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Dowling to give the home team a 1-0 advantage.

“We came out and attacked early,” said UI head coach Marla Looper. “That is what we talked about after last weekend; go out and set the tone, and attack offensively, defensively, and in the circle. We did that. Johnnie started us off with that triple to open the game. That got the momentum heading our way with a nice scoring opportunity early on.”

With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fourth, freshman Sammi Gyerman stepped to the plate. Gyerman roped a singled to right center, scoring Michelle Zoeller from second and Brianna Luna from third. The two-RBI single marked Gyerman’s first career RBIs.

“Sammi did a nice job,” said Looper. “In her first at bat, she was trying to do a little too much, as were a few of the hitters because they felt they could. She took a deep breath and knew we needed to put the ball in play. She did a nice job staying through that pitch to score a couple runs.”

Lyon tossed a gem, moving to 2-0 on the year. She threw seven complete innings, shutting out Dayton. Lyon allowed three hits and struck out seven Flyers. She ranks 10th in school history with 294 career strikeouts.

“Chelsea went right after those hitters today and pounded the zone,” said Looper. “She gave us a chance to play some easy defense.”

Kayla English started for Dayton in its first game of the season. She took the loss, allowing three runs on two hits in six innings pitched.

“Definitely, a solid victory,” said Looper. “It was a good start to the weekend, but it is just the beginning. You cannot win them all unless you win the first win, so it was a nice way to start.”

Iowa continues play in the Lovelace Invitational today against Oklahoma State. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.