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KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The University of Iowa softball team opened the Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom falling to Villanova, 4-2, on Friday morning at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
HEAR FROM COACH GILLISPIE
“DoniRae gave us a good outing today, but there are still some things are working through to make ourselves more successful. Bogar had a good day at the plate, scoring a run for us, and Mallory (Kilian) did a great job with a single that scored two runs for us.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hawkeyes and Wildcats battled early with no runs being scored through the first two innings. Junior DoniRae Mayhew got the nod in the circle. She finished with a season-high five strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Villanova got on the board first in the bottom of the third innings, taking a 2-0 lead into the fourth.
After a scoreless fourth, senior Mallory Kilian responded with a two RBI single through the left side of the field in the top of the fifth. Thompson scored, who was pinch-running for sophomore Ashley Hamilton, and Bogar crossed the plate to tie the game.
Iowa’s lead didn’t last in the bottom half of the fifth as the Wildcats struck back with a leadoff home run. The Wildcats tacked on another run to stretch its lead to 4-2.
Iowa’s attempted comeback fell short as the Hawkeyes went down in order in the top of the seventh.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes face off against Kansas this afternoon at 3 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed live on FloSoftball. Live stats are available on hawkeyesports.com/sblive.
