#20 Hawkeyes Sweep Jackrabbits In Slugfest

[Dakota]

Hawkeyes Sweep Jackrabbits In Slugfest

Iowa picks up 40th win of the season  
http://www.collegesports.com/sports/...042405acb.html
April 24, 2005

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa softball team collected two wins against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Sunday. The Hawkeyes won game one, 8-0 in five innings and picked up their 40th victory of the season in game two with a 14-1 five-inning win.

Iowa outhit South Dakota State, 22-5 and smashed four home runs on the day. Game one started off quickly when Stacy May led off with a blast over the left field fence for a 1-0 lead. After Summer Downs reached base on an error, Emily Nichols crushed a double into left center, scoring Downs. Sami Baugh followed with another double to left and Nichols scored. Iowa scored its fourth run of the inning when Brandi Sargent singled in Baugh.

The Hawkeyes added another run in the second when Nichols recorded her 16th home run of the season to make the score 5-0.

The offensive surge continued in the fourth. With runners on second and third, Kylie Murray grounded out to the shortstop, allowing May to score from third. Baugh followed with a single to score Downs and Sargent slapped a single to right field, scoring Nichols for the final run of the game.

Three Hawkeyes collected multiple hits in game one. Sargent was 3-3 with two RBI while Nichols and Baugh each went 2-3 with two RBI a piece.

Ali Arnold improved her record to 16-2 with the win. The junior threw five shutout innings and allowed two hits while striking out five.

Iowa's bats were even hotter in game two, scoring at least two runs in each of the five innings. Baugh continued her hot streak, knocking a single to right field in the first to score Abby Ruff. After a Lisa Birocci single, Steph Ackerson singled to left field, scoring both Baugh and Birocci for a 3-0 lead.

After Downs singled in May, Kylie Murray hit a three-run home run to right center field for a 7-0 advantage after two innings.

Nichols hit a double to right field with two outs in the third, scoring Downs and Natalie Johnson for a 10-0 Iowa lead.

The Hawkeyes added two runs in the fourth and capped off the scoring in the fifth when Baugh belted a two-run home run to center field.

Baugh led the Hawkeye offense in game two, going 3-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Murray was 2-4 with three RBI and two runs scored while Nichols also went 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Birocci went the distance and allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven.

Iowa will return to action on Tuesday against Western Illinois. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Pearl Field.

[Dakota]

SDSU beaten twice by #20 Iowa

04/24/2005
SDSU beaten twice by #20 Iowa
http://www.gojacks.com/

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa hit four home runs in sweeping a softball doubleheader from South Dakota State Sunday afternoon at Bob Pearl Field.

The 20th-ranked Hawkeyes won a pair of five-inning games by scores of 8-0 and 14-1 to improve to 40-9 overall. SDSU fell to 26-27 on the season.

In the opener, Stacy May led off the home half of the first inning for the Hawkeyes with a homer off Jackrabbit starter Kim Westendorf, and three more runs scored on RBI doubles by Emily Nichols and Sami Baugh.

Nichols added a solo homer in the second inning off SDSU reliever Jordan Bottorff, and the Hawkeyes added three more runs in the fourth inning as they out-hit the Jackrabbits 10-2.

SDSU’s hits were a third-inning single by Lindsay Reiter and a fifth-inning base hit by Chris Pesquiera.

Ali Arnold picked up the victory, striking out five and walking three in a complete-game effort as she upped her record to 16-2. Brandi Sargent went 3-for-3 with two RBI.

In Game 2, Iowa scored at least two runs in every inning in the 14-1 victory. The Hawkeyes scored three runs on five hits in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Steph Ackerson.

Iowa tacked on four runs in the second inning as Summer Downs singled in the first run and three more crossed the plate on a home run by Kylie Murray. The Hawkeyes made it 10-0 in the third with the help of a Jackrabbit error and a two-run double by Nichols.

SDSU got on the board in the fourth inning with a two-out rally. Kassy Hernandez singled to center, moved to second when Steph Kuhl was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on a base hit by Kiley Schwedhelm and scored when Chris Pesquiera was hit by a pitch.

Baugh, who was 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored, closed out the scoring in the fifth with a two-run homer to center field.

Lisa Birocci improved to 23-7 on the season with a seven-strikeout performance. Three Jackrabbits worked inside the circle, with starter Bottorff taking the loss after throwing the first two innings. Westendorf worked two innings and Schwedhelm pitched the final frame.

The Jackrabbits return to action Tuesday with a single game at Augustana, beginning at 3 p.m. at Bowden Field on the Augustana campus in Sioux Falls. That game will precede the Creighton-SDSU baseball game at Sioux Falls Stadium, starting at 6 p.m.

SDSU is scheduled to host Wayne State (Neb.) in a makeup doubleheader Wednesday at Southbrook Park. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

Game 1 Box Score: http://web.sdstate.edu/users/WHPR/jacksb52.htm

Game 2 Box Score: http://web.sdstate.edu/users/WHPR/jacksb53.htm

[filbert]

Re: #20 Hawkeyes Sweep Jackrabbits In Slugfest

Well, I guess we're not quite ready to join the Big Ten.