April 25, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — In the first at bat of Friday’s game at Indiana, senior Brianna Luna knocked a ball out of the park to left to give the University of Iowa a 1-0 advantage. The solo shot proved to be the game-winner as neither team would reach the scoring column in the remainder of the contest giving the Hawkeyes the 1-0 final victory.
“It’s been nice having Brianna Luna at the top of the line up,” head coach Marla Looper said. “She has been our spark plug, and she continued to be that. She attacked early today.”
With the win, Iowa improves to 14-25-1 overall and 7-11 in Big Ten play. Indiana drops to 14-34-1 overall and 4-14 in conference action.
Brianna Luna started the game on a high note, blasting a leadoff solo home run in the top of the first to provide Iowa with a 1-0 advantage. It is her second leadoff home run of the season, as she started the first game of the Nebraska series with a long ball.
The Hoosiers and starting pitcher Lara Olson recovered from there by retiring the next 12 Hawkeye batters in the contest.
Whitney Repole and Kayla Massey ended the Indiana defensive streak with consecutive singles in the top of the fifth inning. An Erin Erickson groundout put two Hawkeyes in scoring position at second and third, but the Hoosiers got out of the inning with a looking strikeout and a Kaitlyn Mullarkey line out to left.
The Hawkeyes were unable to get a runner in scoring position in the remainder of the game, but the defense kept the Hoosiers off the board. Iowa retired the Hoosiers in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings. A Haley Hansel diving catch in right field highlighted the stretch along with three Massey strikeouts.
Indiana stole its way into scoring position following a fielder’s choice in the sixth, but a fly out ended the scoring threat. A Massey strikeout, a line out to Hansel in right and a Massey looking strikeout closed out the bottom of the seventh to solidify the final 1-0 win.
Massey (8-14-1) recorded her eighth complete game win in the pitcher’s duel. She held the Hoosiers to two hits and matched her career-high with nine strikeouts. Her nine strikeouts also marks a season-high.
“I tell our pitchers to find that zone early, stay in that zone and take advantage of it,” Looper said. “Kayla Massey did a nice job of that today. She tied her career-high in strikeouts and only had one walk. She’s a veteran; she knows what to do and how to fix things. She had a nice ball game.”
Olson (6-15) took the loss. She allowed three hits and a run in her complete game effort with four strikeouts.
Game two of the series at Indiana is set for 12 p.m. (CT) on Saturday afternoon. Live audio and Gametracker links are available at hawkeyesports.com. Fans can also tune in to 800 AM KXIC to hear game action.
| Iowa 1, Indiana 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |||||
| Iowa (14-25-1, 7-11) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Indiana (14-34-1, 4-14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Game Decision | |||||||||||||||
| W: Massey (IOWA) 8-14-1 | |||||||||||||||
| L: Olson (IND) 6-15 | |||||||||||||||