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ATLANTA, Ga. — The University of Iowa softball team (7-2) shutout Georgia Tech, 5-0, in the final game of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon.
The Hawkeyes left Atlanta as the only team at the site to win three games.
Junior Lauren Shaw threw a complete-game shutout with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Offensively, Iowa tallied nine hits, including a two-run home run from freshman Kalena Burns in the fifth inning.
Freshman Nia Carter and sophomore Riley Sheehy put together two-hit performances at the plate.
HEAR FROM COACH G
“It was a fantastic game today. The girls played great. Shaw took care of it on the mound. 80-percent of our game is pitching, and she did just did and had a career-high 10 strikeouts. The hitting was alive today. We’re looking at (Kit) Rocco with two hits, (Kalena) Burns with a two-run homerun, and Nia (Carter) almost hit her first career homerun. She was just inches away. Sheehy did the little things right at the plate. They did a fantastic job and showed their passion and perseverance to come back and win this game. We’re looking forward to our next game in Hawaii.”
HEAR FROM LAUREN SHAW
“Georgia Tech is a good team and they showed it yesterday. We didn’t come out as strong as we could have and we knew that. Today we came out with strong energy. (Aralee) Bogar started us off with a double on the first pitch and our energy picked up and never let off the whole game.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Iowa set the tone immediately with junior Aralee Bogar taking the first pitch she saw off the center field wall. Junior Mia Ruther moved Bogar on a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single from Rocco gave the Hawkeyes a quick lead.
Junior Lauren Shaw was battling the Georgia Tech batters early, but escaped a jam with runners on second and third to keep Iowa’s lead intact.
The Hawkeyes threatened again in the second inning thanks to hits from freshman Nia Carter and sophomore Riley Sheehy. Bogar loaded the bases after getting hit by a pitch, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t muster a run and the score remained 1-0.
After a quiet third, Iowa plated a run in the third off an RBI single from Sheehy to score Carter, who reached on an error.
Freshman Kalena Burns broke the game open with a two-run homerun to left field in the fifth inning. The long ball was her second of her career.
Iowa tallied one more run in the frame thanks to a Sheehy sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Carter.
The Yellow Jackets threatened with two runners on in the seventh, but a fly ball to Carter in right field sealed Iowa’s seventh with of the season.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
» Shaw tossed a six-hit shutout for the Hawkeyes.
» Shaw struck out career-high 10 Yellow Jackets hitters.
» Iowa’s highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Iowa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first and didn’t surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Hawkeyes out-hit the Yellow Jackets at a 9-6 clip.
» Iowa pitchers limited Georgia Tech to just 1-for-9 (.111) with runners in scoring position.
» Iowa pitchers faced 30 Georgia Tech hitters in the game, allowing four ground balls and six fly balls while striking out 10.
UP NEXT
Iowa travels to Honolulu, Hawaii, to play in the Hawaii Invitational next weekend. The Hawkeyes face Portland State, UMKC, and Hawaii.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Stay up-to-date on all the happenings with the Iowa softball program on social media via Twitter (@Iowasoftball), Instagram/iowasoftball, and Facebook/iowahawkeyessoftball.
