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IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa softball (15-12, 1-2 Big Ten) team fell to Western Illinois (8-14, 1-2 Summit), 10-1, on Wednesday night in its home opener.
Iowa had five hits by junior Lea Thompson, freshmen Hallie Ketcham and Cameron Cecil, and sophomore Aralee Bogar.
The Hawkeyes had a total of seven strikeouts over three pitchers.
HEAR FROM COACH GILLISPIE
“It’s not the team that we usually put on the field. We had ten walks and three different pitchers and none of them were sharp tonight. It starts with our pitchers, and when our pitchers aren’t on then our defense falls apart.”
“We need to focus on playing our game, getting sharper, and taking care of business. We need more practice and to get comfortable on Pearl field to use it as an advantage.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hawkeyes started off slow in the first, but junior Lea Thompson started some momentum for the Hawkeyes with a stand-up triple in the second, scoring freshman Sydney Owens, who reached on a hit by pitch.
Freshman Hallie Ketcham and sophomore Aralee Bogar both contributed hits in the third. Bogar advanced her perfect stealing record to 43 in her career with her Big Ten leading 20th stolen base of the season.
The Hawkeyes were threatening in the fifth but left two runners on. Ketcham got on by a single and senior Mallory Kilian by fielder’s choice.
Senior Erin Riding started off pitching for the Hawkeyes, striking out two, but was relieved by junior Allison Doocy in the second. Doocy threw 3.1 innings striking out four, as sophomore Sarah Lehman entered to finish the contest. Lehman threw 2 innings.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes host Northwestern this weekend in their first Big Ten home series of the season. The series starts Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CT).