Purdue Tops Iowa, 6-4

April 1, 2016

IOWA28

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa softball team fell to Purdue, 6-4, in its home opener at Bob Pearl Field on Friday night. The Hawkeyes fall to 8-20 overall and 0-4 in conference action with the loss.

Purdue took a 1-0 lead on a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning, but the Iowa bats fought right back in the bottom of the inning. Junior Claire Fritsch reached on an error and moved to second on a stolen base. With two outs, freshman Mallory Kilian capitalized on the RBI opportunity with a double through the right side to knot the game, 1-1.

“I wish we could have held on to it,” said UI head coach Marla Looper. “We came right back in the first inning against one of the best pitchers in the conference. I didn’t think she had that much more than us tonight. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted.”

After five scoreless innings, the Boilermaker bats got hot in the top of the seventh. Purdue plated five runs on two home runs, a single, and two walks to take a 6-1 lead.

The Hawkeyes rallied in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Allie Wood led off the inning with a single to center and moved herself into scoring position on a stolen base. After two quick outs, junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey sent an RBI single to right. Sophomore Claire Fritsch followed with an infield single to the Purdue shortstop to put runners on first and second for Sammi Gyerman. The redshirt junior came through with an infield single to the pitcher, and an error on the throw pulled the Hawkeyes within two. The Hawkeyes brought the tying run to the plate with two outs but could not complete the comeback.

Elizabeth Wiegand took the loss in the circle. The junior allowed five earned runs on four hits and five walks. Erin Riding also saw action in the circle. The freshman gave up an earned run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Mullarkey led the Hawkeyes at the plate. The Park Ridge, Illinois, native went 2-for-3 with two singles, a walk, and an RBI.

“We have to keep giving ourselves opportunities and then executing when we get those opportunities,” said Looper. “Early on we had runners on and couldn’t score them. We have to be better in those moments. When we do that, we will definitely see a different outcome.”

The Hawkeyes and Boilermakers return to action tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.