No. 19 Missouri Sweeps Doubleheader

April 19, 2016

IOWA41 | IOWA42

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa softball team dropped a doubleheader to No. 19 Missouri on Tuesday afternoon at Bob Pearl Field. The Tigers took game one, 7-1, before winning game two, 11-4.

“You let a good ball club like that get a few on you, and it’s hard to come back,” said UI head coach Marla Looper. “Unfortunately, we didn’t play very good defense today. We have to clean a few things up before this weekend.”

Missouri got the bats going early in game one, plating five runs over the first three innings. The Tigers plated their first run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first. They added two in the second on two singles and an Iowa fielding error, before using a walk and a pair of doubles to take a 5-0 lead in the top of the third.

The Hawkeyes got one back in the bottom of the third. Junior Kaitlyn Mullarkey drew a two out walk and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Redshirt junior Sammi Gyerman followed, sending an RBI single to left to put the Hawkeyes on the board, 5-1.

After two scoreless innings, the Tigers tacked on to their lead in the top of the sixth. Missouri used a leadoff single and a two-run home run to seal the 7-1 victory.

Erin Riding (0-6) took the loss in the circle. The freshman allowed five earned runs on eight hits and four walks. She struck out three in five and 2/3. Sophomore Ashley Yoways threw a scoreless inning and 1/3 in relief.

Missouri took an early lead in game two, plating a pair of runs on an infield single and a two-run home run. The Hawkeyes fought back in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Cheyenne Pratt led off the inning with an infield single. A sacrifice bunt by Mullarkey allowed Pratt to move around to third with one out. Gyerman came through with a sacrifice fly to center to pull the Hawkeyes within a run, 2-1.

The Tigers plated four more runs in the top of the second on a two singles, two doubles, and a two-run home run. They tacked on another run in the third on a walk and an RBI single to take a 7-1 lead.

Iowa battled back, plating three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Redshirt senior Holly Hoffman led off the rally with a one-out double. One batter later, Schmiederer singled back to the pitcher to put runners on first and third with two outs. An error by the Missouri first baseman off the bat of Mallory Kilian allowed Hoffman to score. Sophomore Sarah Kurtz continued the rally with a two run single up the middle to pull the Hawkeyes within three runs, 7-4.

After two scoreless innings, the Tigers added four insurance runs in the seventh. Missouri used four hits, two walks, and an error to seal the 11-4 victory.

Elizabeth Wiegand (6-10) took the loss in the circle. The junior allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and four walks. She struck out two in five and 1/3. Shayla Starkenburg tossed an inning and 1/3 in relief. The redshirt junior allowed four runs — one earned — on four hits and three errors and struck out three.

Cheyenne Pratt led the Iowa offense with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. She sophomore singled twice and scored a run as Iowa’s leadoff.

“She’s (Pratt) been putting in the extra time trying to work her way in the lineup,” said Looper.” When the kids are doing that, they appreciate opportunities to take advantage of it. They are ready to go. I’m proud of how she’s been able to do that.

Iowa’s game at Iowa State originally scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed due to rain in the forecast. The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game will be made up on Wednesday, April 27. The time is yet to be determined.

The Hawkeyes (12-30) return to action Friday, April 22, when they take on Penn State for a three-game Big Ten Conference series. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. (CT) from Bob Pearl Field.