Hawkeyes Rout No. 24 Oregon State

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March 2, 2013

Box Score

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FULLERTON, Calif. — The University of Iowa softball team routed No. 24 Oregon State, 9-3, on Friday night in its second game of the Easton Invitational. Iowa earned its second-straight top-25 victory after defeating No. 15 Stanford earlier in the day (7-6) and ended the Beavers’ 12-game win streak. The contest was held on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

Iowa (12-5) finished 2-0 on the opening day of the tournament. The Hawkeyes have won three straight overall.

“Our team took a step forward today,” said UI head coach Marla Looper. “We found a way to get the job done.”

Senior starter Chelsea Lyon earned the victory to move to 6-1 on the year. She tossed her sixth complete game of the season, allowing two earned runs on five hits. She struck out two.

“Chelsea did a nice job in the circle,” said Looper. “Early on, she was trying to find her way. When she settled in, she really buckled down. She did a really nice job for us tonight.”

The Iowa offense posted eight hits. Megan Blank registered a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and four RBIs. Johnnie Dowling, Bradi Wall, Holly Hoffman, Kayla Massey, Michelle Zoeller and Ashley Akers all found the hit column.

“It was good to see that happen,” said Looper. “Early on, we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities, but then we did and our base runners started moving. We had good speed on the bases. We can force the action.”

Oregon State tallied the game’s first run in the bottom of the second, pushing across a bases loaded walk.

The Hawkeyes answered in the fourth. Blank launched a two-run home run to right center to score Wall and give the designated visiting team a 2-1 lead. It marked the first time in 27 innings Oregon State trailed.

Lyon held the Beavers in check and Iowa added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth. Wall reached on her second hit-by-pitch. Blank followed with a walk. Hoffman then roped a double off the wall down the line in left, scoring Wall and moving Blank to third. Massey then gave Iowa a 4-1 lead with an RBI groundout to short.

Oregon State cut the lead to 4-2 with a solo home run in the bottom half, but it was too little, too late. Iowa blew the game open in the seventh, plating five runs on six hits. Akers, Dowling, Wall and Blank notched RBIs in the frame.

The Hawkeyes handed Oregon State starter Marina Demore her second loss of the season (9-2). She allowed nine runs on six hits in six innings.

Iowa concludes action in the Easton Invitational on Saturday against host Cal State Fullerton (3:30 p.m.) and CSU Bakersfield (5:45 p.m.). Both times are listed Central.