IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Penn State softball team fell in a 4-1 loss to the University of Iowa Saturday, Apr. 23 at Bob Pearl Field. The Nittany Lions (25-18, 12-4 B1G) tallied just five hits on the afternoon, while the Hawkeyes (13-31, 3-13 B1G) notched seven hits in the Big Ten Conference contest.
All five of the Blue and White hits came from five different players, while senior Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) drove in the lone RBI of the contest. Relief pitcher Jessica Cummings (Owings, Md.) suffered the loss in the circle, allowing four earned runs to score in the third inning, while Christy Von Pusch (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) got the start in the circle and Madison Seifert (Wildwood, Mo.) closed out the final four inning in relief.
Holly Hoffman and Sarah Kurtz drove in all four of the Hawkeye runs with each driving in two apiece, while Claire Fritsch was the only hitter between the two teams to tally a multi-hit day. Elizabeth Wiegand pitched the complete game win to improve to 7-10 overall on the season.
A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out for the Hawkeyes but after a Penn State pitching change in the bottom of the second inning a play at the plate and a ground out to second base closed out the inning before Iowa could push a run across the plate.
The Hawkeyes used a leadoff single and a walk to put runners in scoring position for Hoffman, who placed a double into the right center gap to plate two and give Iowa the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. UI continued to press, forcing Penn State to make its second pitching change of the game before loading the bases for the second-straight inning on a bunt single with no outs. With one out, Kurtz placed a shallow single to the edge of the center field grass to bring in two more runs for the Hawkeyes and extend the lead to 4-0.
Again, the Nittany Lions struggled at the plate until the fifth inning when Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) drew a walk and Erin Pond (Lagrange, Ohio)sat back and placed a single in center field to put runners in scoring position. An infield groundout moved runners to the corners for the Nittany Lions before Jones notched a single to right field that plated Dubois to bring Penn State within three, 4-1.
Dubois looked to spark the offense in the top of the seventh inning with a leadoff single, but Iowa retired the next three batters in order en route to the 4-1 victory.
PSU and UI conclude the three-game series Sunday, Apr. 24 with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch at Bob Pearl Field.
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