By Jess Westendorf
The Iowa softball team (18-30) dropped the series opener of its weekend series against Northwestern (23-27) on May 5, 5-2, at Pearl Field.
At first, the game looked promising for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa scored 2 runs in the bottom of the first, but four errors and a lack of offense turned the game upside down.
Eight Hawkeye batters came up in the bottom of the first, with junior Cheyenne Pratt leading the charge. After grounding a isngle up the middle, she advanced to second on freshman Lea Thompson’s sacrifice bunt.
Senior Kaitlyn Mullarkey smacked a right-field single to put runners on the corners. Mullarkey then stole second, and Pratt scored on the double steal. Sophomore Brooke Rozier drove in Mullarkey with a single to left.
After the first inning, the offense went on vacation for the Hawkeyes. They were able to put runners on base but could not drive them home. Mullarkey and senior Claire Fritsch took over at the plate, both going 2-for-3.
Hawkeye starting pitcher freshman Allison Doocy took the loss, tossing 3 strikeouts while allowing 5 runs in 7.0 innings.
The Wildcats tied the game in the top of the third inning, using a Hawkeye error and a Marissa Panko RBI single to left field.
Northwestern opened the game up in the top of the fifth inning and never looked back.
Iowa committed 2 more errors and gave up a hit, resulting in a pair of runs that allowed Northwestern to take the lead. In the seventh inning, the Wildcats extended their lead on a Panko run-scoring single to shortstop.
The Hawkeyes usually look like a different team when they are able to get on the board early and control the pace of the game.
But on May 5, the Hawkeyes gave up 4 costly errors. They cannot afford a repeat in the May 6 2 p.m. game.
“We attacked the game early,” head coach Marla Looper said. “… Northwestern is a scrappy team, and they will put the ball in play. … We continue to fight. We get to come back out tomorrow and face Northwestern, I feel like we match up really well with them if we take care of the ball. We have to put pressure on them.”
